Inside The Alchemist Heart: A Guided Tour with Dafne Blanco-Sarlay

Join multidisciplinary artist Dafne Blanco-Sarlay for a special guided tour of her exhibition The Alchemist Heart, an intimate exploration of identity, memory, and transformation. Drawing from her Afro-Mexican and Jewish heritage, her family’s history of migration and activism, and her experiences as an immigrant in Canada, Dafne’s work creates a hybrid visual language where multiple voices converge.

Inspired by Fire Never Dies: The Tina Modotti Project, the exhibition presents the heart as an alchemical vessel where suffering and resilience, love and social commitment are transmuted into something precious. This unique event offers the rare opportunity to hear directly from the artist about her creative process, the symbols woven into her pieces, and the personal stories that shaped them.

About the Artist
Originally from Mexico and now based in Vancouver, Dafne Blanco-Sarlay works primarily in mixed media, ceramics, and painting. Her practice reflects on transcultural identity, migration, and memory, offering layered narratives where history and the present intersect. Since arriving in Canada in 1996, she has developed a body of work deeply committed to social justice, cultural dialogue, and the unseen connections that bind us together.

Presented in partnership with Electric Company Theatre (Vancouver) and The Cultch.

Host or Publisher VLACC