Growing Pains

Growing Pains brings together works by students navigating the discomforts of growth and change as they adapt to new environments. The artists come from varying cultural backgrounds and regions, and their practices reflect ongoing negotiations of identity across generations and cultures.

The exhibition examines the challenges of feeling like an outsider and the emotional labour in navigating life between worlds. Through varied approaches of self-reflection and acts of self-authorship, the artists explore ways of understanding and reclaiming their narratives. Across the exhibition, the works reveal growth as a continual process of estrangement, adaptation, and transformation.

Growing Pains is the result of an ongoing partnership between the Doris McCarthy Gallery and the Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, which annually provides space for an exhibition of U of T Scarborough student artwork. This exhibition is curated by U of T Scarborough student Maryam Ahmed Sheerani, who participated in a curatorial mentorship led by DMG staff, and selected works by student artists enrolled in the Department of Arts, Culture & Media at U of T Scarborough.