Artist talk with Emmanuel Henninger

Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 2PM
Club SAW (67 Nicholas Street, Ottawa)

Free admission

Talk and reception presented by SAW and the French Embassy in Canada

Join us for an artist talk with Emmanuel Henninger, where he will discuss his recent projects and the work he is currently undertaking during his one-month residency at SAW. This residency is offered in partnership with the Embassy of France in Canada as part of the ART + PROTEST research and production residency program. Emmanuel Henninger's drawing practice explores the presence of humans in the landscape. His research on environmental issues in Canada has led him to focus on the proposed nuclear waste disposal site in Chalk River, Ontario, a project contested by local First Nations and environmental activists.

The presentation will be held in French and English, followed by a Q&A session and a wine and cheese reception.

About the artist

Emmanuel Henninger is a visual artist born in France in 1980. After studying visual arts at the University of Strasbourg, followed by political and social sciences, he settled in Mulhouse, where he practices drawing at the Motoco artist residency. For the past five years, Henninger has been engaged in artistic research focused on the aesthetics of protest within the context of situated and territorialized spaces, primarily in contact with ZAD (Zones to Defend) in Europe. Drawing holds a central place in the artist's work. He regularly exhibits in galleries and art centres in France and Germany.

Dedicated to the practice of drawing, Emmanuel Henninger is interested in the iconography of landscapes and the survival of ecosystems, as well as their transformation due to resource exploitation. Through his close relationship with activist communities, he investigates the connection between humans and their environment—whether inherited, transformed or newly formed.

Taking inspiration from climate struggles within the ZAD and activist movements, Henninger seeks to outline a vision of a hybrid society where state structures and autonomous territories—spaces of resistance and experimentation—coexist. Through his art, he aims to redefine our relationship with the living world, weaving intimate connections with wildlife and creating new narratives about our role within it.

www.emmanuelhenninger.art

ART + PROTEST

Offered by SAW in partnership with the French Embassy in Canada to visual and media artists from France, the ART + PROTEST program supports the production of artistic work that addresses contemporary social issues and social and political protest movements. During their residency, artists live at the Rochon Residence, a heritage house located in downtown Ottawa, and have access to a studio at SAW. SAW’s artist residency programs are presented as part of the Culture Lives Here initiative of the National Capital Commission.

Funders and partners: Canada Council for the Arts, Government of Canada, City of Ottawa, Ontario Arts Council, Government of Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ottawa Community Foundation, French Embassy in Ottawa + National Capital Commission