The AGH has delivered a successful annual Film Festival for the last 13 years; however, with the rise of two flourishing repertory cinemas in this city, alongside the Gallery’s broadening interest in cultural disciplines beyond visual art, it was time to re-think the mission of this annual event.

Therefore, beginning in 2022, the AGH will intensify the regional resonance of its Festival offerings, expanding its focus beyond film to include visual art, music, live performance, craft, and other genres. It will also focus more deeply on spaces within the AGH to connect performance and social happenings to specific aspects of the exhibitions or collection items on display. In addition, it will host and co-present cinematic screenings and performance events at select venues throughout the city. “The AGH is committed to celebrating and raising the profile of the arts in Hamilton at a time when the city has become a magnet for artists and culture,” says Shelley Falconer, AGH President and CEO. “I am delighted that this event will be an annual fixture in the city’s cultural calendar. I also want to extend a thank you to Presenting Sponsor BMO Financial Group for their continued support of our fall Festival for the past 12 years!”

This summer and fall, the AGH will present a suite of exhibitions with strong connections to regional art and culture, including a significant survey of Hamilton visual art created between 1950 and 2000, a father and son exhibition from Trinidad-Canadian Hamilton artists Roger and Kareem-Anthony Ferreira, a collection-based exhibition in collaboration with local theatre companies Industry and Porchlight, and an ongoing residency with Hamilton multidisciplinary artist Nathan Eugene Carson.As a core feature of the AGH Festival, these exhibitions will be promoted through extended Gallery hours throughout the 10-day Festival and will be enhanced by signature performance events, tours, and special educational programs.Venue Partners Working with local heritage venues, including The Westdale, the soon-to-be-renovated Music Hall at New Vision United Church, and Mills Hardware, the AGH will present select screenings, concerts,and performance events.Artisan MarketAn artisan market coordinated as an extension of the AGH Shop will connect to signature programsoffered online and in-person during the AGH Festival. The AGH is also issuing a Call for Vendors to be a vendor at the market.

Please visit this linkto apply for the Artisan Market.

“The AGH is truly at its best when it can bring a wide range of people together, communities that otherwise don’t connect, and then use artists and culture to electrify and connect them,” says Tor Lukasik-Foss, Head of Programming and Education at the AGH. “Our Film Festival was always really good at doing this—my hope is that the new AGH Festival takes it to the next level, using more artists, more kinds of art, and connecting with all kinds of new audiences.” As the event draws nearer the AGH will be releasing more details about the programming that will make the AGH Festival the event of the season.

BMO Financial Group first sponsored the Film Festival in 2010 and in 2012 became the Presenting Sponsor. The AGH is grateful for their past support and celebrates the ongoing partnership. Without BMO the emergence of our reimagined AGH Festival would not be possible. The AGH has received a Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario. This grant enables the Gallery to rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19 by hiring a Festival Director, purchasing equipment, and reimagining the annual Film Festival into a multi-arts event. The AGH Festival is also supported by the Government of Canada and through annual operating support from the City of Hamilton.