Tallinn, ESTONIA – 15 August 2021 – Multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Vanessa Crosbie Ramsay will be hosted by the Estonian Artists’ Association in October 2021, as part of the European Artist Exchange Program in partnership with Hamilton Arts Council, and the Cotton Factory (Ontario, Canada).

Vanessa is an award-winning Hamilton-based artist and arts-educator whose practice includes film and video, storytelling, visual experimentation, installation, sculpture, and collage. Gender-based barriers, marginalization, and social equity are constant themes in her work. Vanessa’s current project considers the disproportionate impact of land issues and climate change on women and other oppressed communities who face pervasive inequality.

“On daily walks through this difficult year, I’ve thought a lot about what it means to be ‘Canadian’ – about stolen land, settler colonialism, generational trauma, and Indigenous understandings of our relationships to one another and to the land. I’ve thought about cultural memory, and an artist’s role in confronting their country’s shameful history. How do we live collectively as citizens of a place? What is our responsibility to future generations, and to this land which sustains us?”

While in the city of Tallinn, Vanessa plans to spend her time creating a multimedia ‘walking diary’ comprised of photos, visual art, and media inspired by hikes in the city’s green spaces and other daily experiences. Upon her return to Canada, a culminating mixed-media installation will include a collage of these audio and visual elements.

Vanessa holds a BFA (Film & Video) from York University, and recently completed an MA in Gender Studies and Feminist Research at McMaster University.
Estonian Artists’ Association

The Estonian Artists’ Association’s main goals are to promote and enhance the visual arts in Estonia; to support its members; and to create good working and exhibition conditions for them.

Hamilton Arts Council

Hamilton Arts Council envisions an arts community that is professionally sustainable, innovative, diverse, and impactful.

The Cotton Factory

Built in 1900, the former site of the Imperial Cotton Company has been transformed into a creative industries complex with space for studios, workshops, and office space for artists, photographers and creative professionals.

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