OPENING RECEPTION

February 20th | 7:00pm - 9:00pm

IN-PERSON EXHIBITION

Hallway Gallery | February 9  - March 8
White Studio | February 20 - February 22

SHIFTING FORMS 2026

  • Past Residency & Juried Show

    • A SHOW THAT SHIFTS THE STANDARD.

    VAM proudly presents Shifting Forms (Formerly Now Streaming), an annual juried exhibition showcasing emerging artists (18-29) from across the GTHA. Spotlighiting artists who challenge traditional approaches and rethink what art can be.

    Co-curated by VAM’s Creative Residents, Delfina Nadzieja Wierzchucka, Inaya Sher, Bince, Kaitlyn Wilcox
    and Della Vaz, Shifting Forms explores experimental approaches and the dynamic evolution of artistic practice.

    The works on view move beyond static presentation inviting interaction, experimentation, and new ways of thinking.

    VAM CREATIVE RESIDENTS

    The artists participating in VAM’s Creative Residency 2025-2026 will serve as the jurors for this exhibition. Drawing from their diverse practices and perspectives, they carefully reviewed submissions and selected works that demonstrate strong concept, technical ability, and a distinct artistic voice.

    Bince

    Delfina Nadzieja Wierzchucka

    Kaitlyn Wilcox

    Della Vaz

    Inaya Sher

    Gallery

    Dogearred: FLESH EDITION

    Vanna Nguyen
    8.3 x 5.8 x 3 in
    Sculpture
    1st Place

    Afterthoughts

    Effie Ferguson
    24 x 56 x 1.75 in
    Oil on Canvas
    2nd Place

    Echoes

    Taylor Hogan
    12 x 14 in
    Cone 6 Stoneware, Glaze
    3rd Place

    In Transit

    Snehal Mahajan
    14 x 18 in
    Mixed Media
    Honourable Mention

    To Be Enough

    Gem Hormillosa
    16 in
    Mixed Media on Canvas
    Honourable Mention

    Say Cheese

    Erica Gibbs
    11 in
    Reflective Vinyl on Secondhand Mirrors
    Honourable Mention

    What’s Tonight to Eternity

    Anne Ibor
    36 x 48 in
    Oil on Brace Panel
    Honourable Mention

    Weight of the River

    Rue Grewal
    24 x 30 in
    Oil Painting
    Honourable Mention

    What Will They Think?

    Danielle Alexander
    5 x 7 in
    Watercolour, Ink, Glass Engraving

    Dogearred: FLESH EDITION

    Vanna Nguyen
    8.3 x 5.8 x 3 in
    Sculpture

    In collaboration with author Angela Luo, “dogearred: FLESH EDITION” presents the book “dogearred” as an interactive soft sculpture made with natural latex. Fleshy and malleable, the pages contort and conform in the palm of your hands like a gentle embrace. As you hold the book, the book holds you, too. In doing so, a reciprocal sense of care emerges between animate and inanimate as you read Luo’s reflections and expressions of queer love.

    Afterthoughts

    Effie Ferguson
    24 x 56 x 1.75 in
    Oil on Canvas

     “Afterthoughts” breaks the boundaries of the traditional flat surface of a canvas and explores the mundane chores of life, distorted by the movement of the canvas and our individual perception of the composition. At first glance, the image of dishes in soapy water might seem mundane, but it powerfully symbolizes renewal through routine. Washing dishes is a repetitive, domestic act that marks the end of one meal and preparation for the next. The foam and water signify cleansing—a metaphor for cycles of letting go and starting fresh. The distorted and fluid shape of the canvas challenges the viewer’s expectations of what a painting or sculpture should be. This warping of form can be seen as a reflection of personal transformation—how experiences, even ordinary ones, shape and reshape our identity. Collectively, it reminds us that transformation doesn’t always come through dramatic events, but often through quiet, daily rituals.

    Echoes

    Taylor Hogan
    12 x 14 in
    Cone 6 Stoneware, Glaze

    This piece is a richly textured, hand-built vessel adorned with an intricate collage of impressions and raised patterns. Wrapped in swirling paisleys, florals, and lace-like motifs, the surface feels alive—almost like a garden captured in clay. Its glossy green glaze pools beautifully in the recessed details, highlighting every curve and contour. The scalloped rim adds an elegant finish that complements the ornate body, giving the piece a sense of movement, depth, and delicacy. It’s a statement piece that was made to represent both lush and timeless vessels.

    In Transit

    Snehal Mahajan
    14 x 18 in
    Mixed Media

    In Transit is a wall-mounted mixed-media sculpture that explores how form is perceived through light and movement. A three-dimensional eagle ray is embedded beneath sculpted layers of resin, which function as both surface and optical medium. Rather than remaining visually fixed, the work continuously shifts as light interacts with its form. The resin refracts and redirects light, producing moving reflections that alter depth, clarity, and the visibility of the form beneath. These changes occur in response to natural or artificial light and to the viewer’s position. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the work by moving around it or by introducing a handheld light source to activate and explore its shifting visual states. Through this interaction, In Transit exists in a constant state of transformation, emphasizing impermanence and the instability of perception. Form is not presented as static or complete, but as something that emerges through engagement.

    To Be Enough

    Gem Hormillosa
    16 in
    Mixed Media on Canvas

    A measure of success through the collection of stars and pursuit without resolution. Whether to be enough or have had enough, this is an inner conflict towards one’s self actualization. Rendered with soft vibrancy yet marked by emotional restraint, the work reflects Gem’s self-perception as both devoted and distant from satisfaction.

    Say Cheese

    Erica Gibbs
    11 in
    Reflective Vinyl on Secondhand Mirrors

    This triptych features my mother, father, and brother’s reactions to being photographed with a flash in close range. Each of their expressions is depicted in reflective vinyl on a secondhand mirror, directly representing my experience of the increasingly blurred line between the acts of viewing and being viewed due to contemporary technological advances. When a photo is taken of the work with a camera flash, the faces reflect the light back in a blinding way, making the work interactive.

    What’s Tonight to Eternity

    Anne Ibor
    36 x 48 in
    Oil on Brace Panel

    I began to study the sexual habits and rituals of different types of birds. How the species have lots of variants and how almost 90% of birds are monogamous. I began painting. It started out as a bird person bending over in bed waiting to get the cloacal kiss. I then expanded my research into different types of animals to see if I could include any more references to the animal kingdom. After doing that I quickly learned how gross, and violent the sex habits of most animals are. I decided to restart with a new composition. The painting became a demon-like animal dominating an angel- like figure with bdsm toys. About a week later I was heading to a therapy appointment at 8pm I arrived almost a whole hour early and deceived myself to kill time by drinking at the bar across the street. We had spent the entry of that session talking about how gross and awful the people I was watching in this bar were. How gross and aggressive then men were, it really reminded me of all the research I had been doing. Soon I began painting again but focusing on the ideas of how we are just animals and many people have these weird impulses and act awful and how self reflection and therapy are hard but they really work. My piece was informed by so many of my own conversations with my therapist and my own thoughts and anxieties about being human and trying to understand yourself and the fact we are nature. 

    Weight of the River

    Rue Grewal
    24 x 30 in
    Oil Painting

    Observing the movement of water quickly becomes a reflection on thought and time. Water moves freely while stones and moss remain clinging. It curves, softens and continues forward while the stones remain for time, shaped slowly by what passes over them. Our thoughts behave the same way; some move through us freely while others require patience. This painting explores the quiet choice between dwelling and moving on, revealing that change does not

    need to be rushed and everything eventually shifts. It is an invitation to notice where we cling, and where we allow ourselves to flow.

    What Will They Think?

    Danielle Alexander
    5 x 7 in
    Watercolour, Ink, Glass Engraving

    What Will They Think? is a watercolour and glass engraving artwork based on the artist’s memories of wearing makeup to school for the first time. The 5” x 7” painting presents a tight close-up of the artist’s face. Blue eyeshadow is smeared across a hooded eye, and a mascara wand grazes the bottom lashes. Overlaying the image is text engraved into the glass frame, reading ‘WHAT WILL THEY THINK?’. The frosted glass flits between opaque and transparent, subtly shadowing the painting below. This artwork captures a moment of self-reflection. Worry clouds the artist’s thoughts, imprinting and altering the memory for years to come.