When I spontaneously decided to compile a Top Five of Hamilton art events and exhibitions last year, the job practically happened on its own - 2008 was a promising year full of unexpected things in wonderful places, from Christ’s Church Cathedral to Cootes Paradise to 270 Sherman. There was a forward momentum that I had hoped to see carried into 2009, but this year proved a grim place to be, and not just in Hamilton. Tighter times call for simpler pleasures, so this year’s Top Five is as much about experiential playfulness as it is the visual intelligence that made each of these shows stand out at the end of the year.

Allyson Mitchell’s Ladies Sasquatch @ McMaster Museum of Art, January 29 - March 28, 2009

Playful spectacles don’t really come any more spectacular than Mitchell’s gargantuan fun-fur sasquatches, which brought the added gratification of exceptional handiwork and conceptual rigour. Sexuality, fear and nostalgia are woven deeply into every reclaimed fibre in this towering tableau, but the result is ultimately celebratory.

Jean-Pierre Gauthier’s Machines at Play @ Art Gallery of Hamilton, January 31 to May 18

I’ve seen very few shows in the AGH’s broad contemporary gallery that have been equal to the cavernous quality of the space, but Jean-Pierre Gauthier’s traveling exhibition of robotic works held their own while remaining elusively insubstantial. Delicate whirring machines ran their courses and threw graphite shadows onto walls in a constant spectacle that was as appealing to school children as it was to my cynical, overthinking mind.

The Hood, The Bad and The Ugly @ You Me Gallery, August 14-September 6

Of all the shows I’ve seen at You Me in the last two years, this one stands out as an exceptional accomplishment that struck closer to the heart of the gallery’s social engagement with a piercing look at the conditions of life in Hamilton’s poorer neighbourhoods. Many of the documentary approaches opened questions rather than proposed solutions, leaving a legitimate space for the viewer’s own thoughts, which were directly transposed into a series of mapping exercises in the gallery.

Drawn Thread @ Loose Canon Gallery, October 9-31

Amidst the rain and bluster of this year’s inaugural Supercrawl, the true highlight of the evening was the opening of a modest group show of textile-based works curated by Thea Haines. These modest yet meticulous gestures from Amy Belanger, Amanda McCavour and Joanna Schleimer had a presence that far outstripped their material weight, proving that powerful art need not happen at a monumental scale.

Le Cyc @ Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, November 13

With a drawing style as utterly unique as the shiver-inducing musical score that accompanied its performance, Le Cyc’s projection-operetta was a rare event whose dystopian message seemed to speak directly to Hamilton’s increasingly post-industrial audience (even if the show did travel from Guelph) while retaining a dark edge of humour. That such a formidable performance is rooted in the simplicity of drawing and conventional musical instruments makes it even more compelling.

Best wishes to everyone for even better, sexier and riskier art for Hamilton in 2010! Thanks for reading this year.

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