Testimonials & Press
Akin would like to thank all of the journalists and news outlets that have covered Akin’s efforts in print and online. See below for some highlights!
If you are interested in featuring Akin in your news outlet or submitting a testimonial please get in touch!
TESTIMONIALS
“Akin is incredibly unique and widely celebrated for its ability to build community and foster a network of
support among its artist membership and throughout Toronto’s arts sector. Through the delivery of
affordable studio production space and responsive, highcalibre professional development and creative
programs, Akin provides crucial support and opportunities that benefit hundreds of Canadian
artists every year.”
“It’s clear to us at Toronto Arts Council that Akin is a much needed organization. Run by artists who saw
the need for space, Akin took the initiative to work with their community and with building owners
to find solutions. Their growth is really remarkable. Moreover, the unique nature of flexible rentals
affords an artist to rent short term to produce for an upcoming show, or to rent long term as a permanent
studio. The collegial nature of the studios allows for conversations to range from technique to taxes, from
engaging curators to visit, to working on grant applications together. Given that demand for space is
very high, Akin shows willingness to grow and evolve in its quest to help the arts community and
that should be supported.”
“Without Akin I really feel like my artistic practice would have been over before it even had a chance to begin...”
“As a freelance visual artist, working in the city of Toronto for the last 9 years, Akin has been an indispensable and welcomed resource. Finding an affordable space to make art and meet other artists in Toronto is a difficult task at the best of times and Akin has met this need for so many people. Their ongoing open critique series is also a critical resource for artists looking to get honest and helpful feedback about their work. It is this type of open engagement in dialogue that fosters a sense of community in our city and I applaud Akin for creating this much needed atmosphere and resource. It’s rare to find a group with such heart and a drive to provide opportunities for the purpose of creating artistic community. I’m proud to consider myself part of the Akin community and excited to see the future of Akin in the coming years.”
“Working with Akin was a defining moment in my emerging career in the arts. With Michael and Oliver’s
tireless efforts, the “Forge Collaborative Workshop Series” helped me grow markedly as an arts administrator, building programming that would enrich the community and creating opportunities for the artist facilitators of events to be paid fairly for their work. Akin is more than just a studio that offers events; it is a thriving ecosystem of creative workers that would not exist if not for the unflagging support and innovative endeavours that Oliver and Michael pour into it.”
“I would highly recommend that more patients who are undergoing therapeutic treatment be provided the same opportunity with Akin. It’s a great way of leveraging the artistic talent in Toronto, and to heal and improve the lives of mental health patients”
PRESS
Stories from the legendary 888 Dupont art squat
Featured news from Toronto Life, December, 2023
Jen Pilles OPERATIONS MANAGER AT AKIN, Years: 2017–2021
Units: 100, 101, 102, 105, 110, 204, 212, 213, 214 and 215
We were in 888 Dupont from 2017 to 2021. We had space for 70 artists across ten units, and over those years, we had around 300 artists work there: painters, digital artists, printmakers, ceramicists, jewellery makers. We even had a stone carver in there for a time, but they had to leave because we couldn’t accommodate all the dust. The studios ranged from 25 square feet to 250 square feet, divided either by plywood or just tape on the floor.
Welcoming Akin to the Waterfront
Featured news from the Waterfront Toronto, January 18, 2022
Waterfront Toronto has a new partnership with Akin that creates affordable studio space on the waterfront at Quayside. Activating unused space on a temporary basis will bring many visual artists, designers and creatives to 200 Queens Quay East.
How 2 Toronto projects are creating dialogue about BIPOC art and communities
Featured news from the CanCulture, November 9, 2021
There are multiple initiatives in Toronto that are dedicated to fostering and promoting BIPOC identity through art, including Akin Collective: a Toronto-based arts organization run by a small team of artists that provides creative studio space for young people, as well as arts-based programming.
Charitable Choices: Akin, Creative Space / Arts Programming Organization
Featured news from the Toronto Guardian, May 2021
“When I joined Akin, Covid-19 had already greatly impacted the organization financially, however, admirably, Akin’s focus remained on supporting artists and creatives. On the same day that Ontario went into a state of emergency, Akin launched its Rent Relief Fund to provide studio members with short term financial aid in times of financial instability”
Akin Collective responds to local artists’ need for affordable studio space
Featured news from the Toronto Arts Council, October 2019
“Given the current economic realities in the city that has seen live-work spaces and other vital venues close, Akin’s team is dedicated to finding ways for artists to continue their practice in a sustainable way.”
Creative Cities, Creative Minds
Report published by students from Stuttgart Media University in Cooperation with Ryerson University - August 2019
“It was in 2008 when Oliver Pauk…decided to take personal charge of finding a solution to …. a problem which had been a burden on him and many of his fellows for quite some time: the lack of studio spaces in Toronto. Together with Michael Vickers, he co-founded the Akin Collective, a business that rents out shared workspaces to artists in need of such. Pauk offers us a closer look into one of Akin's studios…”
50 artists are working out of this soon-to-be-demolished building, where eviction is part of the deal
Article by Jacob Lorinc for The Star - September 12, 2019
As the price of long-term studio space rapidly exceeds the budgets of artists, temporary space in soon-to-be demolished buildings, such as the one at 7 Labatt Ave., has become a common alternative.
Akin Lakeshore makes art studio space affordable in Etobicoke
Article by Tamara Shephard for Toronto.com - August 20, 2019
“Akin meets local artists’ needs for affordable art space in their neighbourhood, and provides opportunities for workshops, events and networking, said Kim Dayman, Lakeshore Arts’ program manager.”
Akin Projects provides affordable, shared space for artists in Toronto
Video by Susan Hay for Global News - August 30, 2018
WATCH: Engaging, connecting and education the community through art is the goal of Akin. Established by two artists a decade ago in a modest 600-square-foot loft, the organization has grown to become the largest provider of shared studio space in Toronto. Susan Hay has the story.
Round the Block Podcast - Episode 1
Podcast by Groundstory, November 22, 2018
Oliver Pauk & Michael Vickers of Toronto’s Akin Collective discuss the stories and potential of meanwhile leasing to provide affordable studios for artists and other solutions to gentrification in the arts with host Jessa Agilo.
How indie art spaces are surviving gentrification in Toronto
Article by Rosemary Heather for NOW Toronto - September 4, 2018
“From garages and shipping containers to members' clubs, art galleries are finding creative ways to carve out space in the city.”
Art, Development and the New MOCA Toronto
Article by Leah Sandals for Canadian Art - September 20, 2018
“There are also other distinctive features of the new MOCA, like a studio space on the fourth floor where 32 Toronto artists are renting small spaces for the period of one year. The studio project is managed by Akin Collective, an artist-run organization that rents studio space in areas across the city.”
Inside the Junction’s new Museum of Contemporary Art
By Allison Baker for Toronto Life - September 22, 2018
“The other half of MOCA’s fourth floor is a partnership with Akin Collective and the Akin Studio Program, which offers integrated, affordable studio space to local photographers, painters, sculptors, weavers and other artists. “
Five things to expect at the new MOCA
By Samantha Edwards for NOW Toronto - September 26, 2018
“To nurture the local community, MOCA teamed up with Akin Collective to run the fourth-floor studio space. Thirty-two artists, ranging from architects, illustrators, photographers, sculptors, weavers and painters, have their own studios that range from $125 to $670 per month. “
Meanwhile on King West
By Sarah Steinberg for BLOCK Magazine Issue 17, Fall/Winter 2018
Read more about Akin’s unique collaboration with Allied Properties REIT to develop Akin studios on King St West space as the site awaits development.
Stella LIVE at Museum of Contemporary Art
Breakfast Television Toronto visits the Akin Studio Program at MOCA. (Akin footage starts at 2:00)
MOCA Toronto set to open in new industrial home that hosts both art and artists
By Tim Cornwell for The Art Newspaper
“MOCA has leased space on its fourth floor to the Toronto arts non-profit Akin Collective, which will provide studios for 32 local artists, curators and writers and stage workshops and open-studio events.”
Akin Collective buys artists space and time
By Murray Whyte for the Toronto Star - December 18, 2017
“It’s a surprising professionalization of what has always been an ad hoc, catch-as-catch-can arrangement. Artists have typically accepted precarious tenancy as a way of life, month to month in tumbledown buildings they fix up and retrofit in exchange for cheap rent. But that trade-off often also means spontaneous forced migration when a better deal for the landlord comes along.”
Creators of Toronto | Akin Collective
Interview for Brainstation Blog - June 2, 2016
“This month, we had the chance to sit down with Akin Collective, an innovative and inspiring team that offer shared art studios and workspaces, and also provide creative development opportunities for their community. Read on to hear more about Akin Collective!”
For Toronto arts spaces, a creative tax break takes shape
By Murray Whyte for the Toronto Star - December 18, 2017
“Last week, Oliver Pauk and Michael Vickers, the two partners who run Akin Collective, got some welcome news: Their notice of eviction on the shared studio property they run for a few dozen artists on Dufferin Street had been extended from February to March. While it might be hard to see the sunny side of an eviction notice, for once, there’s a glimmer of silver to the stubborn black cloud that’s hung over the city’s cultural communities for at least a generation.”
Akin and Connected
Article by Sean Howard for Medium - January 3, 2017
“Akin has been able to forge relationships with building owners and secure long-term leases with max rent increases in writing. The result is studio space that artists can afford and not worry about being ousted by the next coffee shop or greedy developer.”
Akin Collective Interviewed on CBC - Video
After the tragic events of the Oakland warehouse fire, CBC News interviewed Akin's founder Oliver Pauk about art collectives, studio safety, and Akin Collective.
The Art of Healing project at Ronald McDonald House opens a creative outlet for sick kids
By Andrea Gordon for the Toronto Star - June 4, 2015
“A unique event was under way that brought kids ages 1 through 15 together with 19 local artists to collaborate on original paintings, sculptures, drawings and collages. Their creations — bursting with colour, texture and personality — will be shown and sold at an exhibition for families and Ronald McDonald House donors called The Art of Healing ...”
The top 7 artist collectives in Toronto
Kate Fane for Blog TO - May 7, 2013
“This once low-key collective has now expanded to two studios off Lansdowne and Bloor and Dufferin and Queen west. With monthly art crits, open studio events…AKIN is a great option for burgeoning artist in two of the city's major artistic hubs.”
Where to rent studio space in Toronto
Robyn Urback for Blog TO - February 3, 2012
“While it doesn't look much from the outside, artists are constantly toiling away inside this shared space near Queen and Dufferin. Akin offers a total of 2,000-square-feet of studio and shared work space, which renters can access at any time, any day of the week.”