The gallery is currently closed to the public as we are preparing for our spring exhibitions: Prince Sîpihko, Sailor Wâpakwiniy by Jasmine Piper (Curated by our Artistic Director, Sanaa Humayun) & Dreams to get you through the night by Abby Nowkakowski and Rania Haider. Our opening reception for these exhibitions will be on Friday, February 20th from 7-9pm. Come & join us!
New New Deal is a window installation that plays with commercial applications of graphic design and type. Part of a two generation sign-making family, Bursey uses her interest in signs to question how the capitalist logic of so many signs in the public realm might be flipped to serve radical or anti-capitalist aims while maintaining their ability to inform, provoke, or serve as a call to action. This installation connects the history and trajectory of signs in urban space with the language of social reform—specifically the New Deal, an American post-Depression plan for economic recovery being revived today—to draw attention to the power and potential of post-pandemic mobilization.
The artist recommends interested visitors and viewers interested in learning more about the signs as well as the New Deal and its legacy to check out the following articles and resources:
New Deal Timeline | Living New Deal
How Neon Signs Have Shaped American Communities - YouTube
The New Deal Made America's Racial Inequality Worse. We Can't Make the Same Mistake With Covid-19 Economic Crisis. - The Rockefeller Foundation
Was the New Deal Racist? | Living New Deal
Housing: How We Built a Foundation for White Supremacy and the Fight for Housing as a Human Right, Issue 004, Radical History Club
The Red Deal Is an Indigenous Climate Plan That Builds on the Green New Deal | Teen Vogue
Tara Bursey is an interdisciplinary artist, self publisher and arts worker. She has curated exhibitions and projects for the City of Hamilton Tourism and Culture Division, Hamilton Supercrawl, Craft Ontario, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Wychwood Barns Community Association. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally, and she has presented her artistic research in the areas of textiles and contemporary art at symposia in Los Angeles, Sackville and Savannah. Over the past five years, she has worked rigorously in the areas of programming and education, bringing arts education to first and second graders at her neighbourhood school, and curating exhibitions about zines, and professional wrestling.
Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Tara lives in Hamilton and works as an educator and programmer at the Art Gallery of Burlington. She is currently serving as Curator and Consultant with Re*Storying Autism, a project of the Department of Education, Brandon University focused on publishing and circulating zines reflecting autistic experiences of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also runs Partizanka Press, a micropress and zine distro. Visit: www.tara-bursey.com
This work is presented as part of Hamilton Artists Inc.’s special projects stream, implemented by the NEW Committee. Special projects are activities that do not take the form of regular exhibitions. They can be one-off performances, zines, posters, screenings, workshops, community events, digital platforms, outdoor projects in our courtyard, site-specific interventions, off-site projects, or other similarly unique initiatives.
©2026 Hamilton Artists Inc.
