Michael ManChoi Chow, Photographer news and updates

art, fine art, local art ManChoi Chow art, fine art, local art ManChoi Chow

Chez Nous at GRACe, 144 Gaukel St, Kitchener - May 3 to 31, 2024 (Copy)

A Group Collaboration on the theme of HOME

ManChoi Chow | Arlene McCarthy | Tom Samolczyk | Val Thomson | Anne Williamson | Roger Young

Opening Reception Friday, May 3, 4-8 pm

Thursdays May 9, 16, 23, 30 — 3 to 6 pm

Saturdays May 4, 11, 18, 25 — 11 am to 2 pm

Victoria Day, May 20 — 11 am to 2 pm

Like many others, I have been disturbed by the crisis of adequate affordable housing in just about every community in Canada, and definitely “at home” in Kitchener. As an artist, I want to use this exhibit as a means to engage with this social challenge.

Father Toby Collins, CR, Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kitchener, guided me through A Better Tent City (ABTC) in December. ABTC is home to a community of residents who are underhoused. There are supervised facilities on site for food, shelter and support.

Again, I am reminded that we are inter-connected and inter-dependent, no matter human, animal, bird, aquatic, insect, vegetation, or microbial.

A hard lesson, to be sure, that we can no longer ignore. While looking for solutions to homelessness is daunting, I am emboldened that crisis is both danger and opportunity.

Read More
art, fine art, Landscape, local art, nature, photography ManChoi Chow art, fine art, Landscape, local art, nature, photography ManChoi Chow

Natural Beauty of Autumn

‘Liminal’ - Chiba (Japanese maple) harbinger of winter in our front garden, Kitchener, ON Canada

Autumn or Fall conjures up for me mixed feelings. Fall is a happy time for me celebrating thanksgiving; many, many birthdays in our extended family; gorgeous beauty in nature; time to put the garden to sleep… I even tolerate Halloween! However, I also feel the loss of the warmth of summer, almost always wondering if I made the most of the short season; coming to terms that I am one year older, and still getting used to the idea of being an “elder”; preparing myself for hibernation till next spring… From the perspective of an art photographer, the season is full of promise, capturing that ‘perfect’ fall scene, discovering the hidden late blooming gems of the garden like tricyrtis, fall crocuses, catkins on the locust and red berries on the aronias, and being blown away by the brilliant burgundy, burnt orange and popping golds of the native shrubs and trees that surround our home. A few personal and family happenings sidetracked me this fall, however I am grateful for life and all the parts of creation that sustain our lives, especially the nurture and love of family. This autumn I have had a much more profound experience of liminality than I can remember, amplifying the realization of transitions and being neither here nor there, in between summer/winter, young/old, wellness/sickness, even life/death. I have renewed my appreciation for who we are and what we have, here and now.

Pioneer Tower, Doon village, Kitchener, ON Canada

‘Golden Sunset’ near Paris ON Canada (available at Uptown Gallery Waterloo until January 2023)

‘Harvest Traditions’, Mennonite families harveting stooks Hawkesville ON Canada

Benjamin Road, Waterloo ON Canada

Overlooking Hidden Valley, home to endangered species and precious wet lands and woods, Kitchener ON Canada (available now until Jan 2023)

Read More
art, fine art, Landscape, trees ManChoi Chow art, fine art, Landscape, trees ManChoi Chow

Phoenix Rising

Rising from the ashes of personal turmoil, shared tragedy or misfortune, demands every fibre of our being, all our strength and courage, to persevere in the face of darkness and uncertainty.

Here's to the phoenix within us rising and soaring!

'Phoenix Rising' Nov 2017

'Phoenix Rising' Nov 2017

Read More

Search Posts

 

Featured Posts

Featured
Big Heart & Small Art - 44 Gaukel Street, Kitchener
DTK Travellers Tour - Asia - Feb 23 to Mar 2 - Kitchener Public Library-Queen Street
DTK Travellers Tour-Celebrating diversity
'Images of God' through the lens of disability
FINAL WEEK: NEGOTIATING CULTURE at Martin Luther University College, Waterloo
Negotiating Culture
Negotiating Culture
GRACe Show & Sale at 44 Gaukel, Kitchener downtown
Negotiating Culture at 44 Gaukel, Kitchener, ON