Carole Condé

Carole Condé D.F.A. (June 27, 1940 – July 19, 2024) was a Canadian artist whose practice responds to critical contemporary cultural, social, and political issues through the use of collaboration and dialogue. In their career, which spanned over thirty years, Condé and Beveridge have had over fifty solo exhibitions at major museums and art spaces across four continents, including: the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, UK; Museum Folkswang in Germany; the George Meany Centre in Washington; Dazibao Gallery in Montréal; Centro Cultural Recoleta in Buenos Aires; the Art Gallery of Alberta; and the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney.

Background In 1969, Condé and Beveridge, then working as independent conceptual artists, left Toronto for the burgeoning conceptual art world in New York City, where they found their overtly politicized voice. In 1975, they picketed at the Museum of Modern Art, protesting its lack of inclusion of women artists.

Artistic career Condé and Beveridge have worked on social issues including the working conditions of migrant farm labourers, the histories of auto workers, women in the workplace, projects relating to labour education and labour arts, national and global "free trade" agreements, police brutality and systemic racism, environmental issues, nuclear power, the decline of the fishing industry, struggles against neoconservative government policies, healthcare issues, anti-globalization protests, and the transnational politics of water. Condé and Beveridge were key figures in the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. Their work expressed the fundamental principle that art is a social transaction that becomes a participatory, collaborative process, communicating and articulating commonalities and differences shared by all. 1982–83 – Oshawa—A History of CAW Local 222 – A collaboration with members of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 (at the time still a part of the US-based United Auto Workers), which investigated the changing role of women in both the workplace and the union. 2018 – Winds of Change: Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge – Durham Art Gallery, Durham, ON. 2016 – I stood before the source – Blackwood Gallery, Mississauga, ON. 2015 – Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge: Scene Otherwise – Khyber Centre for the Arts/Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS. 2012 – Open Conversations: The Art Practice of Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge - Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC. 2009 – Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge: Working Culture – Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON.

Selected publications 1998 – Carole Condé & Karl Beveridge: Political Landscapes – Investigates the strategies employed in the artists’ tableau photographs, which centre around the collapse of the cod fishery, strikes by union workers and activism by students, teachers, etc. 1986 – First Contract: Women and the Fight to Unionize – Focusing on working women and how women, more than men, have been forced to confront the interconnection of work and life after work. Although originally conceived as true documentary, the project used fictionalized accounts and actors after fears of employer reprisals arose.

Selected film/video 2011 – Portrait of Resistance: The Art and Activism of Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge – Intimately captured the artistic duo as they created their provocative and powerfully political staged photographs.

Awards 2010 – Honorary Doctorate, Ontario College of Art and Design/OCAD University, Toronto, ON. 2015 – Honorary Doctorate, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design/NSCAD University, Halifax, NS. 2022 (with Karl Beveridge) Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts

Collections Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa, ON. Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB.

Archives There is a Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge fonds at Library and Archives Canada. The archival reference number is R9079. The fonds covers the date range 1980 to 1984. It consists of 40 audio cassettes, 71 photographs and 4.6 centimeters of textual records.