Beyond the Threshold

Curated by Peter Flannery, Denis Longchamps & Cheyenne Mapplebeck

This exhibition, its catalogue, and special programming grew from a spirit of community and collaboration between A Better Tent City and the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.

Now more than ever, housing in Canada is in crisis. In 2021, more than one in ten Canadians reported experiencing homelessness in their lifetime, but homelessness isn’t always visible. With rising costs of living, inflation, and widening inequality, hidden homelessness—like couch-surfing, overcrowded housing, or forced evictions—is on the rise. In Waterloo Region alone, chronic homelessness increased by 129% between 2020 and 2024.

This is only part of the story, however. For many, home is complicated by food insecurity, social isolation, and systemic barriers. The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights states that the global crisis of forced displacement is at a scale not seen since the Second World War and many arriving in Canada are met with inadequate support.

Beyond the Threshold brings together the work of 18 artists from across the country who confront these realities through deeply personal and intersectional lenses. Their work speaks to the complex, and often painful, relationship between identity, place, and survival. These stories are rooted in lived experience. Together, these artists offer a glance at what home can look like in the face of instability, change, and hope.