Human Capital

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Shellie Zhang, "Means of Exchange series ($37.89, $31.94 and $76.30)," 2020

inkjet print. Courtesy of the artist.

Online opening reception December 17 at 7 PM featuring a conversation with Tak Pham and artist Jeannie Mah. The event will be held virtually and will be live streamed on the MacKenzie’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

Human Capital presents work that offers insight into the legacy of Canadian immigration policies and practices in the context of globalization, migrant rights, and histories of marginalized groups in Canada. The exhibition features the work of eight different artists alongside a feature documentary film inside the MacKenzie’s Shumiatcher Theatre—Min Sook Lee’s Migrant Dreams—which explores the systemic oppression and exploitation of migrant farm workers in small-town Ontario.

“All of the artists in this exhibition are speaking to and reflecting on the true cost and meaning behind Canadian multiculturalism,” says John Hampton, Interim CEO and Executive Director. “The work presented is thought-provoking, enlightening, and rooted in a complex system that has often treated ‘inclusion’ as a system of exchange rather than an ideal worth pursuing for its own value.” 

Canada, like most Western nations, has a long history of immigration campaigns that promise economic prosperity to both the state and immigrants. As a result, Canadian immigration policies have historically focused on maximizing economic contributions while minimizing disruption to the “fundamental character of the Canadian population,” as remarked by Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1947.

Canada’s current immigration system, in place since 1967, attempts to provide a non-discriminatory framework for assessing individuals and directing them to strategic economic and geographic sectors. Once inside Canada, new immigrants are expected to boost the country’s economy. The system has little regard for existing marginalized communities, as it continues to reinforce “Canadian values” with an ever-growing intake of immigrants, whose admittance is driven primarily by economic demands.

“I am thrilled to be able to present this show and these artists to our community here in Regina,” says Tak Pham, curator of Human Capital. “The exhibition reflects the complicated and exclusionary history of Canada as a nation, as well as the alienation of immigrants arriving to this country; asking the question: How can you quantify the value of human potential?”

The artists featured in this exhibition include: 

Aleesa Cohen

Chantal Gibson

Brian Jungen

Duane Linklater

Jeannie Mah

Esmaa Mohamoud

Florence Yee

Shellie Zhang