In the Folds of Memory Opens at Surrey Art Gallery

By Date Spark · Published October 7, 2026

Surrey Art Gallery opens In the Folds of Memory on October 3, 2026, a free exhibition from artists Farheen Haq and Russna Kaur running through December 6. Expect paintings, installations, video and textiles built around South Asian motifs, inherited language and the kind of family memory that resists being folded flat.

What's on the walls

Curated by Jas Lally, the show pairs Haq's and Kaur's distinct practices around a shared preoccupation with transformation. Memory here is treated less as a fixed photograph and more as something carried, mistranslated a little each time, and remade by whoever is doing the carrying. If you have ever argued with a sibling about how a family story actually went, this is the gallery version of that argument, minus the argument.

The gallery is free, which removes the usual admission-price excuse for leaving after ten minutes. Hours run Tuesday, then Thursday through Sunday, closed Mondays and Wednesdays, and holidays, and parking on site is also free, a genuinely rare Lower Mainland sentence.

Extra dates worth knowing

Three companion events extend the show beyond looking at labels. On October 22 at 7pm, Haq hosts a free Community Weaving session where visitors contribute to a communal artwork. On November 21, the Weaving with Memories media arts symposium pairs conversation with a new media work. On December 5, Associate Curator of Engagement Jas Lally leads an exhibition tour conducted in Panjabi.