NORTH BATTLEFORD - Wilbur Sargunaraj hopes to encourage people to learn about other cultures and value them, to help "confront bias and build bridges across cultural differences."
His photography exhibit "Exploring CQ: Building Relationships Using Cultural Intelligence," which is running now at the Chapel Gallery in North Battleford, offers a glimpse of a bounty of different cultures from all over the world, showing people how to better get along together.
The artist and musician has also written a complementary book about Exploring CQ.
During a recent reception for the show at the gallery, Sargunaraj read from his book and sang some songs he wrote that aim to help bridge gaps between people of different cultures.
He performed to about 330 students at McKitrick Community School earlier in the day.
The artist asks people to step outside their comfort zone and make a decision, to get to know people from different cultures, and reap the rewards of growing their cultural intelligence.
The exhibit is particularly poignant now as March 21 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Rhonda Rosenberg, executive director of the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, spoke at the reception, talking about the importance of learning about people of different cultures. The Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan participated in the event as part of its anti-racism campaign.
"Coming together in groups like this to celebrate our cultures and to see each other with curiosity - [is] about asking those questions why, and to really talk to each other, be prepared to ask questions and come to understand each other. That's really what this work is about," Rosenberg said.
In addition to being an artist, Sargunaraj is also the director of CQ World Wide Consulting.
The photography exhibition started about five years ago during the pandemic.
"I thought why don't we educate people and introduce them to the cultural intelligence framework using photography," Sargunaraj told SaskToday.
The photography exhibit, which features about 55 pictures, comes under the umbrella of the Cultural Intelligence Festival.
"These are all a passion of mine to explain cultural intelligence - how do we get along with people who are different from ourselves," Sargunaraj said. "That's the definition of CQ - of cultural intelligence."
The photographs were taken over about a 15-year period during his travels around the world, while performing concerts and talking about cultural intelligence.
"For me, it's not about going to these different places, it's about relationships. That's the foundation of this exhibition," Sargunaraj said. "You understand in the world we have different cultural values... A culture is maybe collectivist or independent. For example, in India we are very collectivist, which means there is much more of an emphasis on family and relationships. Whereas if you come to North America or Europe, some of the countries are very independent. So, a lot of these misunderstandings culturally could be mitigated if we have a basic understanding of some of these cultural values."
He said at the core, CQ is about how to work effectively with people from different cultures.
"For me, I gravitated towards that because I love meeting people from different cultures," Sargunaraj said.
The artist was born in Canada, raised with his family in India, then returned to Canada to pursue further education and his career as an artist.
He noted getting along with people isn't about tolerance; it's about getting to know them and appreciating their cultural uniqueness.
"How do we move beyond that tolerance and build meaningful relationships?" Sargunaraj said. "That's what really struck me, because I love making friends with people from different cultures. As I was a musician touring in different parts of the world, I had to rub shoulders with people from different cultures, and navigate that in a work setting. I think this gave me the framework in order to do that."
The exhibit also looks at breaking down stereotypes, having an interest in different cultures (CQ drive); understanding how cultures are similar or different (CQ knowledge); asking questions to better understand people from different cultures and not judging (CQ strategy); and appropriately adjusting one's own behavior to better work efficiently with people from different cultures (CQ action).
"Those are the four pillars of CQ," Sargunaraj said. "If you can just take those four pillars and exercise that, if everyone can do that, I think we would be in a better space."
The show is on display until March 23rd.
