What we all knew but couldn’t articulate is an exhibition that revolves around a common sense of closeness and the desire to connect, while also acknowledging the barriers that often stand in the way of attaining that connection. This exhibition is the result of a year-long international curatorial internship between the FOFA Gallery and SOMA México, which aimed to foster cultural exchange between Mexico City and Montréal. After various encounters and meetings with contemporary artists in Mexico City, curator Ellen Belshaw developed the exhibition’s premise in Montreal. The five selected artists—Marcela Armas, Daniel Monroy Cuevas, Lorena Mal, Armando Rosales, and Rogelio Sosa—have all created works that actively engage viewers in the attempt to interpret connection—or a lack thereof—through personal, political and sensorial means.

In conjunction with the exhibition What we all knew but couldn't articulate at the FOFA Gallery, curator Ellen Belshaw and moderator Dr. Nuria Carton de Grammont will host a roundtable discussion between the five Mexico City-based artists featured in the exhibition. This conversation seeks to address the exhibition’s theme by asking: How do we connect with one another, and what happens when we can’t? Expanding on this question, the artists will share their interpretations of the exhibition’s premise, their experiences in creating site-specific works, as well as their larger research and creation interests.

The FOFA Gallery, in partnership with SOMA in Mexico City is pleased to welcome Emma Sharpe as curatorial intern thanks to the support of Young Canada Works. This international curatorial internship will bridge two cultural regions through the development of an exhibition that will connect artists from Mexico City to the Montreal cultural community. As curatorial ambassador, Sharpe will begin the internship at SOMA, a non-profit organization conceived to nurture discussion and exchange in the field of contemporary art and education in Mexico City. She will conclude the internship at the FOFA Gallery, working with the research produced during her time in Mexico.