{"id":55488,"date":"2026-10-08T11:38:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?p=55488"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:20:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:20:58","slug":"between-classes-into-art-a-student-visit-to-cuag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/2026\/between-classes-into-art-a-student-visit-to-cuag\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Classes, Into Art: A Student Visit to CUAG"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Between Classes, Into Art: A Student Visit to CUAG\n <\/h1>\n \n \n \n\n

Reflections from English student Ayla Sully on the Carleton University Art Gallery\u2019s fall exhibitions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Did you know we have an incredible art gallery right here on campus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With two new exhibitions at Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG)<\/a>, I had the chance to meet with Fiona Wright, the gallery\u2019s Academic and Public Programs Specialist, last Wednesday between my classes. It was a chance to step out of my usual routine and spend some time with art, without even leaving campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting on the second floor, we worked our way through Somali Canadian artist Faisa Omer\u2019s exhibition, Threading Roots \/ Xididdada Isku Xiran<\/a><\/em>. Full of colour, textiles, photographs and family artifacts, Omer\u2019s work took us through a journey of ancestry, cultural identity and questions of home, while also exploring mental health and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Framed<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are some close Carleton connections<\/a> here, too. Omer earned her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in neuroscience here and now works as the university\u2019s Counsellor for Racialized Students in Residence. The exhibition\u2019s curator, Reyhab Mohmed Patel, is a PhD candidate in sociology at Carleton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omer ends her exhibition with a display of photographs set against traditional Somali fabrics and apparel. Titled Exist<\/em>, this section celebrates cultural identity as a living practice, with inherited traditions reinterpreted through joy, creativity and new expressions of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What stood out to me was the care in these portraits, from the colours and fabrics to the ways people presented themselves. Seeing them alongside family photographs and artifacts made me think about how we carry a sense of home, and how much a photograph can say about identity and belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, we headed downstairs, where the gallery was transformed once again. While both exhibitions explore cultural identity, n\u0113hiyaw (Plains Cree) artist Joi T. Arcand approaches these questions through a different lens: language. Her exhibition, k\u0101-isin\u0101kwahki itw\u0113wina: The Shape of Words<\/a><\/em>, gives vibrant visual form to n\u0113hiyaw\u0113win (Plains Cree language), asserting its presence and imagining a present and future in which it thrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Colourful<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With bright neon signs and walls splashed with pinks and blues, the space invites you to explore and play, while also asking you to slow down and pay attention. Features such as the telephone and magnet wall, which includes a syllabic chart in Cree Comic Sans font, give you ways to get involved by listening, looking and engaging with the shapes of the language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an English student interested in languages and their cultural significance, this exhibition was particularly exciting. Arcand\u2019s creative use of familiar objects and signs made me think about the languages we expect to see in public spaces, and what their presence or absence means. Her work shows how language can shape a place and affirm cultural identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both exhibitions gave me something to think about when I headed back to class. In very different ways, Omer and Arcand explore questions of identity, belonging and expression that reach well beyond the gallery. Having their work right here on campus felt like an opportunity worth making more of as a Carleton student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you get a chance, I encourage you to check out the exhibitions yourself! Admission is free, and CUAG is in St. Patrick\u2019s Building, so you can fit a visit into an hour between classes or a quieter afternoon on campus. You don\u2019t need to be studying art to find something that interests you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both exhibitions are on view until Dec. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next time you\u2019re looking for a break from your usual campus routine, stop in and see where it takes you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n The In-Between World of Faisa Omer\n <\/h2>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n \n\n

Faisa Omer new exhibition \u201cThreading Roots\u201d at the Carleton University Art Gallery explores Somali identity, survival and self-actualization through family portraits, textiles and poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read the full story<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n
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Reflections from English student Ayla Sully on the Carleton University Art Gallery\u2019s fall exhibitions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":511,"featured_media":55512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuag"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/511"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55488"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55513,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55488\/revisions\/55513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}