Carmella Dolmer

she / her      Filipino - Canadian       b. 1997

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I am an emerging multidisciplinary artist, with roots in both Hamilton, Canada, & Bicol, Philippines. With personal struggles restricting my young life, in my adulthood I just try to move and play freely—with free play being my main artistic practice.

I think that art & beauty already make up our everyday lives, and that artmaking-rules & conventions ruin the perfection of what is already naturally demonstrated by children who play freely: something pure, raw, honest & unafraid. I think that free play can produce / act as a study of that raw beauty. 


With this, my goal is to unlearn all conventions built into my art making, with the hope of someday becoming exactly like a child. 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming:


October 16th - 19th, 2025

Art @ Night Activation, Nocturne: Ground, Halifax, NS

A collaborative curatorial window activation curated by students in Carla Taunton's art history Art @ Night class, that considers Nocturne 2025's curatorial theme of Ground in relation to the dynamic histories of making in Mi'kma'ki, and the past and future of Halifax's art at night. 


This presentation is supported by Curating Change and the NSCAD University Library.



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Currently Showing


  • Didn't you say you'd been here before? 
    Two-Person Exhibition, Curated by Paige Paton,
    James Gallery, Hamilton Artists Inc., ON

  • The Beautiful Ones
    Group Show and Public Art Installation, Curated by Joey Aspen Nicol,
    Victoria Ave. & Ferrie St., Hamilton, ON
  • to play is to be whole
    Free-Play Community Mural & Wheatpasting Workshop, Curated by Carmella Dolmer,
    Hamilton Artists Inc., ON


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Solo Shows

2024

  • Baby Steps, Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON


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Group Shows

2025 (see upcoming & currently showing)

2024

  • Sculpture Openhouse, Port Loggia Gallery, Halifax, NS
  • Fruit Punch, Merit Brewing, Hamilton, ON
  • Total Eclipse of The Art, The Hamilton Artist Inc., Hamilton, ON

2023

  • Reset, Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON 
  • Circle 2023, CICA Art Museum, Incheon, South Korea 
  • Moma Dada: Room To Breathe, Centre[3] Gallery, Hamilton, ON 
  • Art at Atlas V.1, Creamy Atlas, Hamilton, ON 
  • Golden Hour, Paul Elia Gallery, Hamilton, ON 

2022

  • ODD Gallery: Yukon SOVA, ODD Gallery, Dawson, Y.T. 
  • SOVA 2022 Year End Exhibition, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T. 

2021

  • Mid-Year Rundgang, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.

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Collections

Work permanently in the collection of:

  • Art Gallery of Burlington's Living Library

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Organizing & Curatorial

2025 (single event)

  • Sole curator & host of 'to play is to be whole', free-play community mural & wheatpasting at Hamilton Artists Inc., Hamilton, ON

2023 - 2024 (series)

  • Sole organizer & host of Open Freeplay, community art drop-in at Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON 

2023 - present (series)

  • Co-founder & co-host of Light Lounge Poetry Series, a quarterly poetry event at Into the Abyss Records, Hamilton, ON

2021 Winter - 2022 Spring (series)

  • Sole curator of 'Freeplay Creation Space Series', workshops & on-site performances with student-run SOVA SkillShare Artist Collective, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.

2021 Summer (series)

  • Sole founder & host of 'Freeplay Outdoor Art Group', weekly public art workshop, Gage Park, Hamilton, ON

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Poetry Readings & Artist Talks

2024
      •    Artist Talk - Shower Thoughts vol.6,  Monday Press Studios, Hamilton, ON

2023
      •   Readings - Get Zine-y, Opening of Living Library, Art Gallery of Burlington, ON
      •   Readings - Poetry Crawl, Monday Press Studios, Art Crawl, Hamilton, ON

2022
      •    Artist Talk - How to Free Play, SOVA Gallery, Dawson, Y.T.

2019
      •    Readings - Plan-B Cabaret, The Staircase Theatre, Hamilton, ON
      •    Featured Reader - Moonmilk Finale, Sistermoon Collective, HAVN, Hamilton, ON


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Print & Publication

2023

2022

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Awards

2025

  • Takao Tanabe Award in Painting
  • Doris Evelyne Dyke Teasdale Scholarship

2024

  • Arts Champion Award, City of Hamilton Municipal Arts Awards, Ontario
  • Cliff Eyland Memorial Award
  • Friendly Futures Foundation Scholarship

2023

  • Dr. Elizabeth Connor Scholarship
  • Allan Clark Fleming Memorial Scholarship
  • Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Entrance Scholarship

2021

  • Yukon University Entrance Award

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Studio & Gallery Positions 

2025
     •    Gallery Assistant, Hamilton Artists Inc. (The Inc.)

2024 
     •    Guest Workshop Host, Monday Press Studios (Monday)
     •    Painting Studio Assistant, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (NSCAD)

2023
     •    Guest Workshop Host, Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB)


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Volunteer Work

2021 

     •    Project Setup, 'Nocturn: Ground (2025)', Nocturne Art at Night Society (Nocturne) 

2021 - 2022

     •    Gallery Attendant, Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture (KIAC) 


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Education

2023 - 2026
Fine Arts BFA, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, NS

2021 - 2022   Dean's List
Visual Arts Certificate, Yukon University - School Of Visual Arts, Dawson, Y.T.


Using Format