The Feminine Lived Experience is the first installment of a two-part exhibition. The Masculine Lived Experience opens on July 7, 2025. Eighteen artists from across Canada are featured in the exhibitions, each articulating a visual narrative of how social norms as well as traditions, learned behaviours and stereotypes impact self-perception and lived experience. Each of us is impacted by social norms, which are “expectation[s] about appropriate behaviour in a group context. . . Norms not only detail what is appropriate behaviour, but these expectations in turn define what the group does, and who the group is.” Social norms can influence who we become, how we see the world and how we treat others. For example, they can be a cause of prejudice, as “about half of all prejudiced attitudes are based only on the need to conform.” This exhibition aims to articulate the personal impact that social norms can have within contemporary society. The Feminine Lived Experience features nine insightful artists with immense self-awareness. Some utilize introspection as a guide, questioning and examining and then expressing their contemplation visually. Contributing artist Bria Fernandes explains, “My work is an expression of my social and cultural experiences as a Black woman. It begins with an introspection where I draw from real life, bringing into clear focus thoughts and feelings.” Contributing artist and architect Destiny Kirumira describes her artistic exploration as such: “It is not the audience I’m questioning, but myself. Undoubtedly, my work incites reflection since it is inquisitive in nature. But it is my own mind that I am trying to re-educate and refocus.” Each of the artists featured in this exhibition courageously reveals the type of reflection that often remains private. The large-scale paintings by Medicine Hat artist Jessica Plattner explore what is expected of the feminine. “Painting self-portraits allows me to better understand myself and the world around me,” she says. “As I get older, expectations of professional success, motherhood, political engagement, beauty, homemaking, sexuality and social responsibility all jostle for position within my shifting sense of self. My paintings reflect this multiplicity with figures that are repeated, fragmented, reassembled, and scrappily patched together.” The Feminine Lived Experience invites the viewer to contemplate how oppressive social norms have shaped the past and the present and, importantly, how they might shape the future. They also challenge the viewer to reexamine their own social biases. Contributing artist Joon Hee Kim articulates this intention perfectly: “My work invites audiences to embody the complexity of our diverse identities, while also reflecting and reevaluating preconceived notions of others."