Psychedelic Storytelling Gathering
Kelby James, Psychonaut Toolkit, 2024, Mixed-Media (Deconstructed Print media, Textile, Found Objects), Photo: Courtesy of Maggie Whitmore
with Kelby James
Wednesday, July 24 at 3pm
Open to: Everyone!
Free + in-person program
Come gather, listen, share, ponder, question, and explore. During this program, participants will be encouraged to consider, share, and reflect upon ideas around psychedelics through an exchange of thoughts and personal experiences.
We will be questioning what are some of its contexts and histories; what does each substance and its quest offer us; what are the benefits; what inhibits us from doing it; and what are the risks? The discussion will include readings from exhibiting artist Kelby James, and will be followed by a psychedelic dance performance.
Sharing is always optional, but everyone is invited to participate by listening to each other's stories. Through discussion, we will create a collaborative drawing that explores these questions through language and visual creation.
This program is in part of The Garden of Forbidden Fruits and the Laws of Cosmic Consciousness. Through a mixed-media installation featuring screenprints, textiles, and found objects, Kelby James invites viewers into the world of The Garden of Forbidden Fruits and the Laws of Cosmic Consciousness. Starting from the rhythmic repetitions of printmaking processes, then embracing the expansive possibilities of their deconstruction and reassemblage through installation, Kelby’s work illuminates queer psychedelic experiences through rich visual language and material processes.
KELBY JAMES
Kelby James (b. 1993) is an emerging mixed-media artist exploring the intersection of psychedelics, consciousness, and printmaking through their queer perspective.
He received the Dean’s Award of Excellence at Queen’s University in 2024 and recently presented his research at Queen’s University’s 18th Inquiry for Undergraduate Research (2024). Kelby’s screenprint, The Entheogenic Dance, was featured in Open Studio’s virtual exhibition Future Proof (2024). He has exhibited in Union Gallery’s Side by Side fundraiser exhibition (2024) and their group show Honesty, Glory and Possibility: Queer Experiences of Gender (2022).
Upon completing his undergraduate degree, Kelby plans to pursue a Master’s degree, continuing his research on psychedelics through mixed media. Born and raised in Kingston, ON, he currently splits his time between here and Toronto, ON, where he works in the film production and hospitality sectors. Kelby is also the studio assistant for Sameer Farooq, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre’s Stonecroft Artist in Resident, helping Farooq prepare for their modular installation that will be showcased at the MOCCA for the upcoming Toronto Biennial 2024.