Gurdeep Pandher

A portal to joy

A multimedia portrait of Gurdeep Pandher presented online by the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

A Whitehorse-based dancer, teacher, and author, Gurdeep Pandher has become a global online superstar whose work has been viewed by millions all over the world as his performances and videos continue to transcend geographic and cultural boundaries. He has touched individuals in myriad ways, especially since the pandemic lockdowns, when in his solitude, through his dance, he radiated positivity to a world in isolation.

Curated by media artist, ethnographer, and theorist Narendra Pachkhédé, the exhibition explores themes of discovery, joy, connectedness, movement, and landscape. Pachkhédé writes in his curatorial essay that Gurdeep has “disrupted prevailing ideas around Bhangra” and that “through his Bhangra, he offers an archaeology of us, as if asking: what does it mean to be us in the contemporary condition of our lives?”

Complementing the exhibition, upcoming programs and events will take place at locations across Canada.

The Portrait Gallery of Canada (PGC) is a new kind of museum for Canada, one that will present the stories of the individuals and groups from all walks of life who make up Canada—in their own communities in all parts of the country and online.

The Portrait Gallery of Canada is generously supported by its Founding Partner TELUS.