material disobedience

material disobedience is an exhibition that showcases contemporary craft practices that reclaim and revel in what has been labelled as the frivolously feminine, the scandalously queer, or the exotically ornamental. Rhinestones, beads, crystals, embroidery, textiles, and ceramics have all been variously perceived as symbols of “excessive” cultures or lifestyles, an association that has served to reinforce creative hierarchies and trivialize marginalized identities. By centering these trivialized materials in their work, the artists entwine visual and haptic pleasures with critical analyses of labour, gender, sex, and colonialism. These works seduce us while glittering in friction-–in the artists’ skillful handling, gendered and racial norms give way to refusal and self-creation.

The exhibition will be on view at The Lost & Found Project Space (tlaf.ca), 420 Queen St E, Toronto, from May 30 to June 20, 2026. Curated by Madeline Collins (ON), featuring Théo Bignon (QC), Molly JF Caldwell (AB), Lux Gow-Habrich (ON), and Hea R. Kim (QB).

Join us for refreshments and to meet the artists att he opening reception on May 30, 6-10pm!

Featured artist Théo Bignon will be hosting an embroidery workshop on May 29, and the artists and curator will gather to discuss the exhibition at the Harbourfront Centre on May 30, 1-3pm. See our event page to grab your spot!

This exhibition and programming has been developed as part of the Openwork Project (tlaf.ca/openwork) and funded by the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. The panel discussion will be hosted by the Harbourfront Centre Craft & Design, and w would also like to acknowledge the incredible generosity of artverb* in helping to realize this exhibition.

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