Social Rejection

Premiere Installation at gallerywest in Toronto

Social Rejection is an exhibition that addresses the stressful condition imposed on artists by those they seek acceptance from. All artists have received rejections; some more frequently than others. The guilt, shame, pain and isolation that an artist feels when they receive a rejection can feel insurmountable. Social Rejectionempowers rejected artists by publicly acknowledging the hostile environment these artists face.

Alex Campbell and Jackie Carter performance based painting at Social Rejection North Bay

The essence of this exhibition is conforming to non-conformity and the empowerment that an artist can feel when participating in something that has a base value of worthlessness. By exhibiting rejection letters from artists, collectives and organizations, this exhibition will address the stressful condition imposed on the artistic majority by the elite few.

Clayton Windatt, Jackie Carter and Alex Campbell are all emerging artists and curators who advocate for artists’ rights.North Bay’s Social Rejection exhibition was a collaborative effort put forth by the North Bay Arts Collective with permissions from the following who contributed letters: Jason Baerg, Colleen McLaughlin Barlow, Lisa Belloli, Eric Boissonneault, Trevor Busch, Leigh Cline, David Cumming, Doug Donley, Sky Fairchild-Waller, Summer Geraghty, Judith Graham, Birte Hella, Allan Hirsh, Wenyun Hua, Istvan Kantor, Kelly Marie-Aline Kehoe, Bryan Konefsky, Lise Melhorn-Boe, Diana Pakkala, Amy Roger, Evan Tyler, Garrett Walker, Mary Walker, Yvonne Wiegers, Dermot Wilson, Tara Windatt, Tony Yin Tak Chu.