The Mitchell Art Gallery invites you to an online artist talk on October 27 at 6 p.m., led by Sanaa Humayun in conversation with artists Joni Cheung and Jasmine Piper about their new book project, at arm’s length.

About the project

at arm’s length is a letter-writing project between Joni Cheung and Jasmine Piper, curated by Sanaa Humayun. Their friendships are built in intentional defiance of the white art world. They are honest, they keep each other’s secrets, and they look out for one another. For six months, they wrote each other letters and at the end of this period, they got their letters back and redacted anything that was for their eyes only.

Racialized artists often trade secrets as a form of protection. They warn each other of those who have caused them harm and they trade information to keep one another safe. Out of necessity, they hold much of the world at arm’s length. The relationship between identity and art is intensely complicated for racialized artists, and keeping secrets in their work is a necessity when trauma is fetishized. This project keeps secrets, and it makes sure that you know it. It brings into the forefront the conversations that happen within the whisper network, without giving their content away. Keeping secrets keeps each other safe.

This project is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton.

From the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications and the Mitchell Art Gallery