🎉It's Giving Tuesday 🎉

Today is November 29th, also known as Giving Tuesday! As the opening day of giving season, Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to supporting your favourite organizations and the causes closest to your heart.

This year we're using Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to support our upcoming Clark Centre Art Market and programming. From December 3-18th, 2022, Akin will be hosting a public arts event at the Clark Centre for the Arts in Scarborough, featuring art by local artists around the GTA. Artists of all levels of experience and expression will be exhibiting and selling work through the Winter Arts Market and Group Exhibition.

Our artists are currently preparing their works to be shown and sold and we want to centre them by making this event as accessible as possible for them. Your financial contribution will make that possible.

This Giving Tuesday, with a goal of $5000, we are asking you to give to artists; to support their practices, their work, and to join us in our determination to make space for them in our city.

Visit our link to donate or email info@akincollective.com with any questions or to discuss alternatives to donating online.

Community Check-in: AREA

Since its inception, Akin's mandate has centered around one main goal: securing suitable work spaces for artists in order to enrich and ensure the stability of artistic practice- in the city of Toronto. Over the course of nearly 14 years, our organization has developed a partially nomadic nature, a necessary reality for us and our community, to endure the challenges of Toronto’s real estate market. Adding a pandemic to the mix, one that forced many of our studio members into difficult financial decisions, Akin has become actively interested in engaging with the broader community to continue developing novel and innovative methods of considering and maintaining creative space in the city. 

Akin collectively asked itself, “How do we help support healthy artists and organizations while reducing barriers to creative spaces in a continuous real estate dilemma?”

Thus AREA was born. AREA stands for Akin Real Estate Advisory, an initiative set up to help ensure Akin evolves in a healthy and sustainable way while continuing to support our growing community long term . Akin has convened experts in Toronto’s development and real estate industry who care to see artists thrive and who share feedback with us as we plan for the future. In recent months, Akin has been focused on stabilizing our administrative processes in order to advance our role, connecting artists and arts organizations in need of space with property developers and building owners eager to invigorate the arts and culture community through activation of space.  

Akin’s founder, Oliver Pauk comments  “It’s exciting to witness how a group of people, with a common goal of enriching Toronto’s creative scene in the long-term, can come together to build language and ideation around mixed use spaces. These spaces are the future of urban growth in Toronto. Building art and artists into the earliest stages of the development process, as a fundamental component of the city’s structure, gives us the ability to ensure the richness and well-being of communities.”

“We are looking forward to continuing to partner with Akin and to support them with their real estate strategy. The AREA committee strongly believes in the work Akin is doing to support the arts in Toronto, and we are proud to lend our expertise to expand their reach even further” said AREA Board Member, Heidi Tibben.

Monthly and on a volunteer basis, Pauk is joined by Jonathan Peretz (JLL), Katie Fong (Slate), Heidi Tibben (Carttera), Liza Stiff (TAS), Ashley Wedlock (Kingsett Capital), Ayelet Klaczkowski (Kingsett Capital), and Joshua Mitchell (University of Toronto) for a chance to strategize around Akin’s recovery and ongoing search for relevantly located, suitable spaces (both short- and long-term). AREA is also advising on the development of a system for creating creative work and exhibition opportunities with property owners, a valuable collaboration building structure for mutually-valuable relationships across Toronto. 

We are grateful for the support of the AREA team and are excited for the insights they will share that shine a light on opportunities ahead of Akin to further our work in advocating for artists and creative spaces in the city of Toronto.

For any questions or concerns, please email us at info@akincollective.com.

Our 8th Studio is here: Introducing Akin Bloor-Yonge!

Akin is thrilled to announce the opening of a new studio location in one of Toronto’s most bustling intersections; Akin Bloor-Yonge! This space is located at 717 Church Street, north of the Bloor St W and Yonge St intersection, making it a great addition to a lively and cultural Toronto neighbourhood.

This studio is Akin’s 8th studio in the city, marking a slow but sure recovery from the necessary closures occurring during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic. Akin Bloor-Yonge will bring with it 28 dedicated studios —12 private, 10 semi private, and 6 regular studios along with 8 Shared Memberships. 

Our Akin Bloor-Yonge Shared Memberships will be available for $71/month, which includes access to shared working areas, shared storage, kitchen, and bathroom. The 28 Dedicated Memberships available will be ranging from 37sf for $216/month to 179sf for $662/month including 12 completely private studios (four walls that go to the ceiling and a door that closes) and 10 semi private studios (three or four walls that go to the ceiling, but no door - just an entranceway) as well as some regular dedicated studios (partitions or walls). The Private and Semi Private studios range from 95sf for $440/month to 179sf for $662/month. Just like at all of our studio memberships the monthly fee includes HST, 24/7 access, insurance, WiFi, contents insurance, cleaning and maintenance service, and access to all common areas. 

Priority for studios has been given to current Akin members from other studio locations, artists who have been on the Akin waiting lists for 6 months or longer, Akin members from our former Akin studio locations which closed in 2020 or 2021, as well as those who identify as a member of one or more of the Toronto Arts Council’s Equity Priority Groups (Persons of Colour, Deaf Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Persons Living with Mental Illness, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIAP). That being said, we will do our best to provide space at this new location to anyone who is interested in the future. 

We would like to acknowledge the support of our partners Capital Developments for making this location available for our community and a special thank you to our community for uplifting our efforts to return our spaces back to the city. 

Akin is looking forward to you joining us in building this space together and carving out more affordable working areas for our artists in similarly appealing spots. This studio currently has a limited number of private, semi-private, and regular studios available ranging from 110sf for $576/month to 179sf for $662/month, as well as Shared Memberships which are $71/month.

Please email info@akincollective.com to learn more.

Let's Have a Summer Party!

🎉LET'S HAVE A SUMMER PARTY 🎉

Summer is here in all of its glory and we want to celebrate the opening of Akin Stockyards with you in this FREE community and family event! Come meet the Akin members in an open studio along with food, live music from Astrosurf, and a community paint wall for you to participate in.

We will also be having a special visit from Councillor Frances Nunziata, and will be hearing from them, our event sponsors from Marlin Spring and some familiar Akin faces.

When: Wednesday July 13th 2022

Time: 4:00PM - 7:00PM

Address: 2231 St. Clair Ave West

We're so excited to celebrate with you 🥳🎊🎈

Invite your friends on social media through our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter posts!

We're Hiring: Administrative Assistant - Part Time

Job Title: Administrative Assistant - Part Time

Location: This will be a remote position.

Compensation:  $21/hour, approximately 5-20 hours a week

The Opportunity

At Akin, we’re excited to bring your eye for detail, your organization skills, and your creative aptitude to our organization. Reporting to the Facilities Manager, Studio Operations Manager, and Director your responsibilities will include: 

• Regular, ongoing administration related to Akin memberships, and supporting ongoing initiatives such as the Akin Studio Rent Relief Fund

• Supporting with administrative tasks related to Akin’s leases, contracts, payment processing, applications, purchases, and accounting

• Studio and Akin community research, file, and data management

• Managing and organizing applications on an as-needed basis for the Akin Studio Program, hiring at Akin, and other special projects

• Managing Akin’s Google listings for all locations

• Managing Akin Membership data in our member management software (software used: Pickspace and Quickbooks)

• Supporting the Studio Operations Manager with Customer Relationship Management data (software used: Streak)

• Occasional administrative support related to marketing and programming (software used: Hootsuite, and Squarespace)

• Calendar management using Google Calendar

• Payment processing

• Studio inventory management

• Note-taking and other participation in meetings with the Akin team members on an as-needed basis. 

• Optional: joining one or more of Akin’s Committees, depending on your interests and experience/skill set (Programming, Marketing, Community Experience, Conflict Resolution, Fundraising) 

• Optional: Participating in community building Akin events and programming. 

Benefits: You will have access to a free shared membership at Akin or a free Dedicated Studio (100sf or less), as well as access to the Akin Office located near Yonge and Bloor. You will also be able to book Akin’s Remote Gallery for 3 days for free ($450 value). 

To Apply: Submit resume and cover letter by email to work@akincollective.com (one PDF preferred) with “[YOUR NAME] - ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT” in the subject line. Please have your file(s) labeled with your name as well. 

Call for Submissions: Local Art for New Residential Community

Daniels HR Corporation, on behalf of The Daniels Corporation, invites artists from the Regent Park and downtown East area to submit proposals in consideration for the residential areas at Artworks Tower and Artsy Boutique Condominiums in Regent Park. The installation of the various artworks will take place in phases between late 2022 to early 2023. The proposal process will involve consulting with Daniels HR Corporation on the design and fabrication of the work to arrive at a final concept, as well as the installation of the piece.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

For The Daniels Corporation (Daniels) each new home community is a work of art - literally. From conception through to completion, every Daniels neighbourhood is designed to enhance its surroundings, the community and to make a statement about its unique character. Daniels has pioneered a new approach to décor and art focused on sourcing local art for each of our new buildings. Within each community Daniels looks to source a wide range of art forms from paintings to photography to sculptures and beyond. This addition of striking local art through community engagement has quickly become a cornerstone of the company’s design philosophy.

The community is located at the north side of Dundas Street, between Tubman Ave. and River St., consisting of the 32-storey Artworks tower on the east side and the 11-storey boutique condominium, Artsy on the west, joined by a 4-storey podium with shared amenities.

For this opportunity, priority will be given to artists who self-identify as:

• Having a connection to the Regent Park Community and downtown East area: current or former resident, or works within the specific community identified 

• Emerging and mid-career artists 

• Diverse and equity-deserving individuals including but not limited to members of visible minority groups, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S+ people

Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on May 15, 2022.
For any other questions, please contact LocalArt@danielscorp.com.

Akin Taxes for Artists Workshop

Tax season can be a particularly stressful and confusing time for artists, performers and other creatives. This workshop will help you get prepared! With decades of experience in accounting and taxation, Kelly Ross will spend an hour discussing some of the most important tax topics for artists including: tax preparation, deductions, tax deadlines, HST, how to handle grants, T4s and more. The session is suitable for artists who are new to filing taxes or those who are looking for a refresher. Please come prepared with your questions, or email them in advance to erin@akincollective.com . This session will be recorded, and Closed Captions available. An ASL Interpreter will be in attendance.

Date: January 25th

Time: 6PM-8PM

Place: Online

Accessibility: This session will be recorded, and Closed Captions available. An ASL Interpreter will be in attendance.

Facilitator: Kelly Ross is the Managing Director and CEO of Ross Professional Corporation. She is a member of CPA Canada leading with strength, knowledge and passion, having over 20 years of experience in accounting and taxation. Through her career she worked in a multi-national CPA firm, then moved on to be a subject matter expert for development of an accounting program at a college. Kelly’s interest and passion for accounting came from her mother whose career was in the accounting realm. Kelly has a love for the arts and entertainment industry, which stemmed from having a father who had talent and love for music. Kelly herself played the piano, trumpet and was a dancer through her early years. Now in her downtime, Kelly can be found around the hockey rinks supporting her daughter’s hockey team and following her nephews in their live band performances. She is truly a people person and has a special skill making everyone she meets feel special.

It's Giving Tuesday!

Today is November 30th, also known as Giving Tuesday! As the opening day of giving season, Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to supporting your favourite organizations and the causes closest to your heart.

Our community supports us in countless ways and the past 20 months have cemented our belief in the transformative power of artists coming together when we need them most. We saw it in our Akin Rent Relief Fund, our virtual events, our studios, and amongst our very own members and team. 

[Image Description: On a white background is text that reads How have we allocated resources from the Akin Rent Relief Fund?. A pie graph breaks down three sections: the biggest slice in the darkest orange has text that reads $20,389 distributed out to over a 100 artists." The second slice in orange has text that reads, $1,159 Akin's admin, and the final darker orange slice has text that reads $1640 left in funds. In the right upper corner is the Akin logo.]

Our Akin Rent Relief fund is our pride and joy, supporting over a 100 artists and counting. Providing Akin artist members with anonymous one-time emergency grants towards their studio membership costs, the fund provides short term financial aid in unexpected situations or times of financial instability.

For the next 24 hours, we are hoping to reach a goal of $5000, funds that will allow us to support at least 5 artists per month for the next 5 months. These funds will be placed directly in the hands of our artist studio members.

Image Description: Text that reads Help us reach our goal! $5000. This amount can support 5 artists for the next 5 months. Akin’s logo is at the top right.

This Giving Tuesday, we are asking you to give to artists; to support their practices, their work, and to join us in our determination to make space for them in our city.

We’re grateful for you, and for the effort you put into showing us how essential it is to uplift each other during times of need.