Community Arts Space: What we long for

July 9 to September 4

The Gardiner Museum presents a full summer of free programming, including community exhibitions, hands-on workshops, talks, and a podcast series co-presented with Hyperallergic. Inspired by the transformative possibilities of clay, the Community Arts Space is a platform for local artists, youth, curators, and community organizers.

How can we take care of ourselves, as well as each other?

This year’s Community Arts Space is inspired by the theme “What we long for”, and features four public projects that engage with community healing, survival tools, transformative justice, the gaps between community and institutional memory, and how craft creates opportunities for acknowledgment and action.

Visit gardinermuseum.com/whatwelongfor for the full schedule and to register for free events.

Shary Boyle, *Triumph of the Will*, 2010, Gardiner Museum, Gift of Sarah and Tom Milroy. Photo: Brian Boyle.

The Projects: Art Movements

July 9 – August 20
Co-presented with Hyperallergic

Hosted by Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic, this limited-run podcast inspired by the Gardiner’s collection invites prominent artists like Kent Monkman and Shary Boyle to explore the social history of ceramics and its multifaceted role in our culture. Through personal anecdotes, art historical reflection, and archival recordings, this four-part series explores issues at the intersection of contemporary ceramics and museums.

Learn more here: https://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/event/art-movements/

Intimate Encounters - Animate Histories

August 1 – 15
Co-presented with The 519, Salon Noir, and YYZ Artists Outlet

Inspired by the ‘cruising’ histories of nearby Queen’s Park, artist Abdi Osman and curator Ellyn Walker consider the diverse ways in which culturally-specific experiences of desire, physical expression, and social connection take up space across Toronto. Intimate Encounters ~ Animate Histories makes visible the dignity, love, and generative practices embedded in local Black, Trans, and Queer histories through community art-making workshops, talks, and an exhibition.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/2ZPESQM

Reading Room: Queen’s Park Oral History Transcriptions
August 14 & September 12, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Join us for a collective reading and discussion of anonymous transcripts from artist Abdi Osman’s oral history research around cruising encounters in Queen’s Park.

The Sin Fronteras Monarch Butterfly Project – A Flight Path Without Borders

August 22 – September 4
Co-presented with Akin and Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization

Coinciding with the arrival of the monarch butterflies in Canada and their departure to Mexico, the Davenport Perth Community Ministry, alongside Canada Nos Une Multicultural Organization, held a series of clay butterfly-making workshops facilitates by artists Lourdes (Lumy) Fuentes and Tina Conlon. These ceramic butterflies, installed in the Gardiner’s Exhibition Hall and Ancient Americas Gallery, are intended to mobilize conversation and action surrounding both the decline of the monarch and the migrant crisis.

Learn more here: https://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/event/sin-fronteras-monarch-butterfly-project/

The Sin Fronteras Monarch Butterfly Project – A Flight Path Without Borders Project Launch
August 22, 6 – 8 pm
All are welcome to attend the public opening of The Sin Fronteras Monarch Butterfly Project, featuring a butterfly dance performed by seniors of the Davenport-Perth Community, music, refreshments, and more.

Family Sunday: Spread Your Wings
August 25, 11 am – 3 pm
Just before the monarch butterflies begin their annual migration to Mexico, join us for a special ceramic butterfly-making workshop in English and Spanish.

Learn more about the gardiner museum here