Esmaa Mohamoud: To Play in the Face of Certain Defeat repurposes language and inconography from the realms of professional sport in order to highlight the pressure, sacrifices, and burdens black bodies endure within cultural systems.
This panel talk will connect themes from this exhibition to issues and activism unfolding both globally and locally within the Hamilton area.
Artist Esmaa Mohamoud will talk alongside two of Hamilton’s most passionate activists: artist, educator, and organizer Sahra Soudi, and School of Social Work Associate Professor at McMaster University Ameil J Joseph, PhD.
Image: Esmaa Mohamoud, Heavy Heavy Hoop Dreams, 2016-19, 60 concrete basketballs, black Plexiglas, 10 x 10 ft. Courtesy of Georgia Scherman Projects. © Esmaa Mohamoud
From the Contemporary Art Collection

Self Validation, Columbia Icefields n.d.
Carl Beam (Canadian 1943-2005)
monoprint – photo lithography, ink wash and acrylic on paper, Gift of Wintario, 1980
© Carl Beam (Licenced by Copyright Visual Arts-CARCC, 2016)