Artist Talk and Q & A: Barbara Cole at Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
Join us on Saturday, October 19th from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm at 1384 Dufferin Street for an artist talk and Q & A, hosted by Kyle Matuzewiski, the Co-Director of Bau-Xi Gallery. Guests will hear from Barbara Cole about her Shadow Dancing series and learn about the artist’s dynamic career. The artist talk begins at 11:30 am and light refreshments will be served.
Barbara Cole is an award-winning Canadian photographer known for her timeless aesthetic. As a self-taught photographic artist, Cole has built an extraordinary career in image making since beginning her practice in the 1980s. Cole employs various photographic practices that range from the historical method of wet collodion to the latest in modern-day technology for her innovative underwater series.
Throughout her career, Cole has worked internationally on commercial projects and has created several large-scale commissions, including installations for the atrium at the M. Lau Breast Cancer Centre in Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital. The artist’s work is included in private and corporate collections across Canada and internationally, including but not limited to the Bisha Hotel and Residences, Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts Houston Texas, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and Polaroid Corporation USA. She has also exhibited at the Canadian Embassies in Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
Cole has won prestigious awards such as the Grand Prize at the Festival International de la Photographie de Mode in Cannes, third prize at the International Photography Awards in New York, 2023 Canada Arts Council Research and Creation Grant, Commitment to Service Award (Mental Health Advocacy) from Give an Hour, and Swim Drink Fish Ambassador supporting clean water initiatives in Toronto. In 2012, the acclaimed documentary series Snapshot: The Art of Photography II featured an episode devoted exclusively to Cole’s photographic practice.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Cole is a passionate mental health advocate. The artist uses her practice as a platform to raise awareness about the stigma surrounding mental health and spotlight the strength and resilience of women.