155,578

Taking Guelph’s current estimated population as its title, 155,578 is both an exhibition and a map. Curated through an open call, artists from across the community were invited to share their work in a collective reflection of the city’s creative landscape. The title also speaks to Lucy Lippard’s “numbers shows”—a series of exhibitions in the late 1960s and early 1970s that emphasized locality and demystified the relationship between art and place. In this spirit, 155,578 brings together 55 artists living and working in the region, offering a platform for dialogue and exchange while honouring the multiplicity of perspectives that shape creative and civic life.

From painting and photography to sculpture, textile, and installation, the works included in 155,578 reflect the breadth of contemporary practice and the diverse concerns of artists working in Guelph today. Whether engaging personal memory, social histories, environmental issues, or explorations of form and material, these works reveal how artists are responding to both local and global contexts. Together, they form a dynamic visual conversation that invites visitors to consider what defines this moment, highlighting creativity as a powerful means of making sense of our experiences and the world around us.

Rooted in the belief that contemporary art reflects and refracts the lived experiences of its makers, 155,578 champions a vibrant cross-section of practices that range in medium, subject, and sensibility. As a first curatorial initiative by Erin Szikora in her role as Curator of Contemporary Art, the exhibition seeks to listen to the city—to the stories, questions, and creative gestures that define its present, while looking ahead at possibilities for its future.