Johnnie Walker

Design / Curation / Production / Experiential / Content Creation /

Launching the inaugural year of Johnnie Walker’s First Strides initiative in Canada

FIRST STRIDES INITIATIVE

Full development and execution of She Work Hard For It, an immersive installation and extended gallery project spearheading the brand’s mandate to confront the inherent gender bias that exists in the arts, while highlight the importance of incubating, celebrating, and creating more dedicated space for women-identifying artists in Canada.

In Canada, women constitute 51% of the artist community, yet only 28% are represented by galleries. While women-identifying artists have made bold strides in combating historical gender biases in the art industry, there remains important work to be done to create more space and equal opportunities.

CASE STUDY

Curated by Ashley McKenzie-Barnes for Nuit Blanche Toronto, we worked with artist Lido Pimienta, Maria (Hatecopy) Qamar and Miss Me to launch Johnnie Walker’s First Strides, an initiative that invests in cultural trailblazers through grants, visibility, mentorship, and empowerment programming. To spotlight the brand’s goal to uplifting diverse communities spanning film, music, sports, art, hospitality, and technology.

Aligning with the brand’s unwavering mission to foster meaningful firsts, paving the way for countless seconds, thirds, and fourths to follow.

We partnered with Cultural Goods Gallery in Toronto to extend the project past Nuit Blanche Toronto. Thoughtfully reimagining the build and design to fit within gallery walls. The exhibition remount furthered the goal of the First Strides platform nationwide, creating gallery space for women-identifying artists within the contemporary arts industry.