Tour and Conversation with Negarra A. Kudumu and Rajni Perera

Surrey, BC - Surrey Art Gallery is pleased to present a Tour and Conversation with Negarra A. Kudumu and Rajni Perera in conjunction with the Gallery’s winter exhibition Rajni Perera: Futures. The event will be on Saturday, March 1 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Rajni Perera is a contemporary multimedia artist. Experimenting with mediums as varied as painting, sculpture, and photography, the Toronto-based artist expresses her vision of imagined futures in which mutated subjects adapt to exist in dystopian realms through strength and resilience. Perera draws deeply on the artistic traditions of Sri Lanka, her childhood home. Indian miniature painting, medieval armour, South Asian textiles, and science fiction also factor into her body of work that spans feminist and diasporic narratives while contemplating survival in an environmentally degraded future. 

Negarra A. Kudumu is an independent scholar and curator based in Seattle, Washington. She has written extensively on Perera’s practice, including (m)other’s work, Traveller Persists, and Rajni Perera and Nep Sidhu: On World Making. Her curatorial interests focus on Afro-Surrealism, Black Abstraction, contemporary art from the Pacific Northwest (US and Canada), Africa, South Asia, and their respective diasporas. Her scholarly interests focus on African Diasporic spiritual traditions of the Americas namely Palo Monte and Conjure (also known as Hoodoo).

The event will begin with a tour of Rajni Perera: Futures led by Perera and Negarra A. Kudumu followed by a conversation between the two on prominent themes in Perera’s work—namely her engagement with futurism, mythic creatures, and ancestors.

About Rajni Perera 

Rajni Perera was born in Sri Lanka in 1985 and lives and works in Toronto. She explores issues of hybridity, futurity, ancestorship, migrant and marginalized identities/cultures, monsters, and dream worlds. These themes come together to fuel explorations within a multimedia practice that includes drawing and painting, clay, wood, lanterns, new media sculpture, textile, and most recently, synthetic taxidermy. Perera seeks to open and reveal the dynamism of the icons, beings, and objects she creates by means of a subversive aesthetic that counteracts antiquated, oppressive discourse and acts as a restorative force. Her work is in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, the Sobey Foundation, and the Musée De Beaux Arts De Montréal.

About Negarra A. Kudumu

Negarra A. Kudumu is an independent scholar and curator focused on Afro-Surrealism, Black Abstraction, and contemporary art from the Pacific Northwest, Africa, South Asia, and their diasporas. Her scholarship examines African Diasporic spiritual traditions, particularly Palo Monte and Conjure, alongside philosophical and theological concepts. Negarra A. Kudumu curated the 2023 Neddy Award Exhibition and has exhibited at ARCO Madrid and CoCA (Center for Contemporary Art) Seattle. Her writings have been published in Surrealism and Us (2024), Atlantica (2018), and Recent Histories (2017). Negarra A. Kudumu also lectures and moderates panels on contemporary art and Black spirituality at institutions such as Gardiner Museum (Toronto, CA), Framer Framed (Amsterdam, NL), and National Gallery of Zimbabwe (Harare, ZM). She holds an MA from Leiden University and a BA from Dartmouth College.

About Surrey Art Gallery

Founded in 1975, Surrey Art Gallery presents contemporary art by local, national, and international artists, including digital and audio art. Recognized for its award-winning programs, the Gallery engages children through to adults in ongoing conversations that affect our lives and provides opportunities to interact with artists and the artistic process. The Gallery is located at 13750 88 Avenue in Surrey on the unceded territories of the Salish Peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and Semiahma (Semiahmoo) nations. Surrey Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges operating funding from the City of Surrey, Province of BC through BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Surrey Art Gallery Association.