By Katelyn Halter

At the Edge: Revolution and Ommatidia are two recent exhibitions that I have had the pleasure of curating and co-curating respectfully. At the Edge: Revolution (ATER) featured four artists: Joshua McKee, Meghan Dennison, Diana Delsooz, and Leidy (Tatiana) Navarrete Restrepo. The exhibition was presented in the Cohen Commons, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre from the 9th to the 29th of January, 2026, with its opening reception taking place on the 8th from 4-6pm. The significance of this exhibition, in my opinion, was the theme it revolved around: political uncertainty and a hope for a brighter future.

Ommatidia: Fanshawe Advanced Photo Showcase is the result of a collaborative effort between UWO Visual Arts and SASAH student curators, and Fanshawe College’s Advanced Photo students. This exhibition was presented from February 6th to the 21st, 2026 at TAP Centre for Creativity in downtown London Ontario. The theme for this exhibition largely centred around colour and different perspectives of the perception of the world.

At the Edge: Revolution, featuring artists Joshua McKee, Meghan Dennison, Diana Delsooz, and Leidy (Tatiana) Navarrete Restrepo, served as my first curatorial experience. Prior to ATER, the most I knew about curating an exhibition was that I’d be responsible for where and how each artwork would be situated in my given exhibition space. Looking back on this exhibition, I can say that there are most definitely a few things that I’d do differently. However, I am quite proud of how it turned out overall, and very thankful to the four artists who enabled me to make my first exhibition happen.

The Cohen Commons is situated in the Visual Arts Centre on Western University’s’ campus. Working on-site was quite easy for me, as my classes are on the third floor of the same building. The exhibition itself had its opening reception from 4-6pm on the 8th of January, 2026, and remained open until the 29th of the same month. The Cohen Commons is a small but open exhibition space with seating and tables for students to work and view any open exhibitions. Conveniently, the Cohen Commons is located in front of the artLAB gallery, another much larger exhibition space in the Visual Arts Centre. This makes the Cohen Commons a very well travelled location for students and visitors of the artLAB, which I believe greatly aided in ATER getting more attention than it otherwise would have if it was placed in a less trafficked space.

The theme and subject matter of the exhibition itself was largely political, something I was hesitant to do as my first exhibition but wanted to pursue given the current political climate. ATER served as an opportunity for the artists featured in the exhibition to transform their anxieties, doubts, hopes, and fears surrounding modern day politics and societal issues into beautiful works of art. I believe that there is no subject “too taboo” for art, as long as the artist goes about researching and representing their subject with respect and understanding. Politics, especially today, are messy, scary, and polarizing. Still, I didn’t want to shy away from giving these works the attention they deserved.

Ommatidia, a collaborative exhibition between Western Visual Arts and SASAH student curators as well as Fanshawe Advanced Photo students, had its opening reception on the evening of February 5th, 2026 at TAP Centre for Creativity and remained open for viewing from the 6th to the 21st of the same month.

Being on the curatorial team for Ommatidia served as my second experience when it came to curating an exhibition. I didn’t know at the time that coming across this opportunity was very well timed, as another student curator just so happened to need to step away from the project when I was recommended by my internship supervisor. As preparations for the exhibition were already somewhat underway, I joined the curatorial team slightly later than the other student curators. This was no problem, however, as I was still assigned to a group of Fanshawe Advanced Photo students, and was able to give them feedback on the photographs they wished to have featured in the exhibition. While working on-site for this exhibition was not as convenient as the location of ATER, being in a large group made communication and setup between curators, faculty members, and TAP staff much easier and less overwhelming than it likely would have been if I was working alone. Together, TAP staff, students, and curators helped put together a visually pleasing exhibition that filled the entire first floor gallery. The opening reception of Ommatidia was also very successful with it being situated in the heart of downtown London. This allowed for city foot traffic to interact with the exhibition, with friends and families of the artists as well as passerbys unaffiliated with the exhibition to stop in and appreciate the artwork.

The central theme of Ommatidia was about perspective and colour. The word ‘ommatida’ is defined as the individual optic unit that makes up the larger eye of an insect. These small optical units allow for insects to see their surroundings from multiple angles and perspectives simultaneously, hence the exhibition’s theme of perspective. A variety of photographs were shown in this exhibition ranging from portraiture shots, inanimate objects, and even to the namesake of the exhibition: insects. The variety of photographed subjects and different ways in which the theme of the exhibition could be interpreted allowed for the Fanshawe photographers to be creative in what they photographed and how they went about their respective creative processes.

[View the exhibition publication for Ommaditia here.]

At the Edge: Revolution and Ommatidia were both very successful exhibitions in their own right. ATER, though on a much smaller scale than Ommatidia, served as an amazing opportunity for me to begin my curatorial journey, and allowed me to have some experience when I helped co-curate Ommatidia. Both of these exhibitions and the lovely artists and curators involved have helped me shape my own curatorial style, and allowed me to glimpse behind the curtain at all the complexities and difficulties that come with being the mind behind an exhibition.

At the Edge: Revolution
January 9 – 29, 2026
Cohen Commons, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre

Ommatidia: Fanshawe Advanced Photo Showcase
February 6 – 23, 2026
TAP Centre for Creativity

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My name is Katelyn Halter, and I am a 21 year old 4th year student at Western University. I am in the Visual Arts program at Western University and hope to graduate with an Honours Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with a specialization in Studio Arts, and a minor in Art History.

With the social and political climate of today being the way that it is, I believe that self-expression and freedom of speech are of utmost importance. Expression through art is deeply personal, and has the ability to transcend conventional language barriers in a way no other form of media can. It was a great privilege to curate, co-curate, and attend the exhibitions I discussed. I encourage anyone who is able to do the same; visit local exhibitions, support small artists, and perhaps even make art of your own.