Dalhousie Art Gallery – SoundBites Exhibit Tours Nationally
Dalhousie Art Gallery Presents Roger Mooking: SoundBites
Dalhousie Art Gallery is pleased to present Roger Mooking: SoundBites, the first solo exhibition in Atlantic Canada by internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Roger Mooking. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 10 and will be on view from September 11– November 8, 2026. SoundBites is an immersive, interactive exhibition inspired by Mooking’s acclaimed 2023 album of the same name and the accompanying publication Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements, created in collaboration with acclaimed writer and artist francesca ekwuyasi. Extending the exhibition through essays, conversations, photography, lyrics, music, and short stories, the publication forms an integral part of the project.
Drawing inspiration from the sampling traditions of Hip Hop, Mooking remixes reproductions of his own artworks, photographs, music, lyrics, and writing into layered visual and sonic environments. The result is what he describes as “a celebration of chaos” – an embrace of the fragmented, interconnected ways we experience culture, creativity, and lived experience in our contemporary world. Structured around three interconnected chapters – The Learning, The Living, and The Leaving – the exhibition traces the arc of a life while inviting visitors to engage with memory, identity, and storytelling through listening, looking, reading, and touching. Together, these interconnected experiences invite audiences to consider how memories are continually remixed, reshaped, and carried forward across generations. Mooking invites visitors to become active participants in the creative process through QR codes connecting individual works to songs and short stories, while selected installations encourage physical interaction.The exhibition reflects Mooking’s commitment to collaboration and community, continuing his interdisciplinary approach, positioning the Gallery as a space where visual art, music and public engagement intersect.
While his public career has often centred on music, culinary arts, and broadcasting, visual art has always been a foundational aspect of his creative practice. SoundBites marks an important milestone, introducing audiences to a visual language that has evolved alongside his better-known pursuits.
A free public panel discussion, SoundBites: Music, Memory and Black Canadian Archives, will take place on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30–8:00 p.m. in the Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library, one day before the exhibition opens. Bringing together Roger Mooking, Phil Vassell (Canadian Black Music Archives and WORD Magazine), Dr. Mark V. Campbell (University of Toronto and Afrosonic Innovation Lab) and Julien Matwawana (African Nova Scotian Music Association), the conversation will explore Black Canadian music histories, community archives, artistic research, and cultural memory while considering how artists create new forms of cultural preservation beyond traditional archival institutions.
Roger Mooking: SoundBites opens at Dalhousie Art Gallery on Thursday, September 10, with a public reception from 6:00–8:00 p.m., co-presented with Prismatic Arts Festival. The reception will also celebrate the opening of the concurrent exhibition Burnt Sugar Blue, curated by francesca ekwuyasi featuring artists Stina Baudin, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Bushra Junaid, and Christina Leslie. Both Mooking and ekwuyasi will be present, with remarks beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Dalhousie Arts Centre (lower level), 6101 University Avenue, Halifax.
