Akin's Winter Programming Announced!

Akin is gearing up for a winter season chock full of exciting programming within Toronto's vibrant arts scene. Rather than hibernating until April, we hope that you will bundle up, brave the cold and join us for these upcoming events.

Show & Tell: Handmade Gifts at Akin Ossington | December 4th, 6-8PM, 888 Dupont Street

This month Akin is hosting a relaxed and fun ‘Show and Tell for Artists’ at Akin's Ossington studios (888 Dupont Street). This month's Show and Tell will feature a holiday twist! Artists are encouraged but are not required to share works that they are planning on gifting this holiday season.

Feel free to bring art to share, bring a friend or two, bring snacks or drinks or just bring yourself! Come for the conversation or just to meet other artists and makers. This is a FREE public event - everyone is welcome!

The December edition of the Show and Tell is happening at Akin Ossington at 888 Dupont Street in unit 100.

Accessibility Information:

Akin Ossington is not currently wheelchair accessible. Akin regrets this barrier to access. There is a loading bay on the east side of the building. 

About Akin Projects

Akin Projects is an arts programming organization and registered nonprofit established for the purpose of providing both creative and professional development opportunities to members of Toronto’s artistic and cultural community. 

Akin's Holiday Card Making Party | December 6th, 6-8PM, 2970 Lakeshore Blvd W

Akin Projects is feeling festive and excited to present this casual crafting and card making party! Join us in the studio and make a card (holiday-themed or otherwise) for your best friend, neighbour, significant other, or a complete stranger! Some materials provided.

PWYC/Free, but please register at: http://tiny.cc/971ggz

BYOS- Bring your own supplies! Akin will have scissors, colored paper, pencil crayons, markers and pens ready but encourage everyone to bring extra!  Bring a friend, a snack or drink, and your creativity!

Accessibility

Akin Lakeshore is located on the third floor of the building and there is no elevator. Akin regrets this barrier to access. There is a ramp entrance to the building and then 38 steps to access the studios on the third floor. There are 3 gender-neutral washrooms in the studio space. One of the bathrooms has grab bars, the other two do not, and the toilets are not raised. The doorway to the kitchen is narrow, measuring approximately 24 inches across

For additional accessibility information and directions, please visit https://www.akincollective.com/lakeshore

Akin's Annual Holiday Market + Party | December 14th, 10AM - 5PM, 158 Sterling Road

Akin invites you to join us on Saturday, December 14th at MOCA Toronto for a day of good cheer at the Akin Holiday Party and Artist Market.

Free / All Welcome! Kid friendly!

In 2019 Akin collaborated with some amazing partners, said goodbye to one of our most central locations, opened a new studio,  (Akin Lakeshore in South Etobicoke), turned 11 years old, and welcomed many more artists to the studio community. This event is a celebration for members from all 9 Akin studios, as well as our neighbours, community partners, friends and family.    

MOCA Toronto will be open from 10am to 5pm. Come and stay for a while. Mingle, enjoy the museum, offerings at Forno Cultura and browse the market featuring art and objects by members of Akin’s community!

Artist Market Vendors:

• Linds Miyo

• Heavy Flow

• Felicia Cirstea

• Purple Fig Pottery

• 83 Studio

• Studio Indent

• Mayli Makes

• SIX-REALMS

• Goodplace Studio

• Sadia Fakih

• Erin Candela

• Jocelyn Hirtes

• The Otter Potter

• Foot-to-Face

• Sarah Moreau

• Tonya Hart

• Jenn Woodall

• Dalia Hassan

• Leesa Coleman

• Jill Smith

Dress festive, fun or fancy! Children of all ages welcome, but please no pets. This year we will also be collecting gently worn or new hats and mittens for Sistering. Gently worn items must be washed.

Accessibility:

MOCA Toronto aims to be a barrier-free and accessible museum for all. Each floor has elevator access. There are two wheelchairs that are available to borrow. Service animals are welcome.

Akin's Winter Art Crawl | January 18th, 1-4PM, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street

Akin Projects invites you to join us for special tours conversations during the 2019 edition of DesignTO in the Queen West area - an Akin Art Crawl focused on local design in alternative spaces!

Come along as artists, curators and staff provide special walkthroughs and tours of their special festival exhibits and projects.

Crawl Schedule

1:00PM - Visit Artscape Youngplace for ‘Can’t Say Nothing (Lorem Ipsum, Moving Patterns)’

1:30PM - Visit 55 Ossington Avenue for ‘Daydream Under the Penny Vine’

2:00PM - Visit 1010 Queen Street West for ‘(AI) – Aesthete’s Items’

2:45PM - Visit Black Artists’ Network in Dialogue (BAND) 19 Brock Avenue for ‘Akwaaba | Welcome Home.’

3:30PM - End the crawl at the Gladstone Hotel for ‘Come Up to My Room’
 

PWYC (suggested $10 donation), but please register at: 

All are welcome, open to the public. The more the merrier!

Any attendees who wish to explore ‘Come Up to My Room’ at the Gladstone Hotel at the end of the crawl must purchase a special discounted ticket here http://tiny.cc/g09vgz. Please be advised that not all areas of the building are open to the public.

Accessibility Information:

TBA

Please let us know of any other accessibility needs so that we can do our best to assist you. Please email janet@akincollective.com at least one week before the event and we will do our best to accommodate. Thank you!

Show & Tell at Akin Sunrise | January 26th, 12-2PM, 100 Sunrise Avenue

Kick off the new year and your new projects with Akin for our next Show & Tell session at our Sunrise studios (100 Sunrise Avenue). This is a time for Akin members and other Toronto artists to show completed works or works in progress and get friendly feedback and answers from their peers in a casual studio setting.

Feel free to bring art to share, bring a friend or two, bring snacks or drinks or just bring yourself! Come for the conversation or just to meet other artists and makers. This is FREE public event - everyone is welcome!

The January edition of the Show and Tell is happening at Akin Sunrise at 100 Sunrise Avenue, Unit 106.

Accessibility Information:

There is step free access to the main entrance located at the side of the building parallel to the parking lot. The first door on the right hand side, once in the main entrance, is access to the studio. The studio entrance requires a key and there is no button to open the door, so someone may require assistance. There are narrow aisles and sharp turns to get into the gender-neutral washroom within the space. There are no grab bars in the bathroom and the toilet is not raised. There is a small lip on the floor upon entering the bathroom. Akin does have access to a wheelchair accessible gender-neutral washroom in the hall across from the Akin studio within the building. The space is not ideal for people with sensory processing issues, due to the white noise in the building.

Save the date!

Akin Lansdowne Farewell Party, 87 Wade Avenue | January 31st 2020 | 8PM til late

Details TBA

Valentine's Card Making Party | February 12th, 6-8PM, Akin St. clair, 1747 St. Clair Avenue West

Akin Projects is excited to present this casual, drop-in crafting party! Join us at Akin St. Clair (1747 St. Clair Avenue West) and make a card for your best friend, neighbour, significant other, worst enemy or a complete stranger! All materials are provided. Please note this is a 19+ event.

Participants will be provided with one card per PWYC donation (donations go to Akin Projects, registered not-for-profit arts organization). The cards are made of heavy-duty hemp card stock, cut and scored to make a 4”x6” card. Each card comes with a 4”x6” envelope. You can decorate the card and envelope however you wish!

Decorating supplies will be provided including:

• a variety of coloured and patterned paper

• pencil crayons, markers and pens

• paints and brushes

• stamps and ink

• stickers

• stencils

• scissors

• glue

• magazines for collage and more!

Feel free to bring additional supplies!

Accessibility Information:

This building is all on a single ground floor. Akin St. Clair Studios regrets any barrier to access. If you require more information or are concerned about accessibility barriers please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Akin at the Artist Project | February 20-23, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place

Akin Projects invites you to join us at the 2020 edition of Artist Project Toronto. Akin is excited to join this year's Artist Project as the non profit partner. In our booth, visitors are invited to view new work by a handful of our current members, learn more about our services and the many ways we offer support for artists.

Show Hours:

OPENING NIGHT - Thursday, February 20, 7-11pm

Friday, February 21, 11am - 10pm

Saturday, February 22, 11am - 8pm

Sunday, February 23, 11am-6pm

This year, the Artist Project turns 13 with its most exciting show yet and we can't wait to be a part of it! From collectors and curators, to gallerists and designers, visitors can explore and discover works of art from over 300 top contemporary artists from Canada and abroad.

This year, visitors you can view and interact with new works by members of Akin's community in Akin's non profit partner booth. Artists will be on site throughout the show to discuss their work and answer your questions.

Exhibiting Artists:

• Antonio Pendones

• Dalia Hassan

• David Fredrik Moussallem

• Foot-to-Face

• Janet Hinkle

• Jill Smith

• Kim Kermode

• Laura Kay Keeling

Accessibility Information:

The Artist Project is committed to excellence in serving all customers including persons with disabilities.The Better Living Centre is an accessible venue. It has a step free access to the building and is level throughout. A limited number of assisted devices are available onsite at the information desk for those who need them. Service animals are allowed into all areas of the event that are open to the public. Artist Project is happy to offer a complimentary admission pass for the support person of a person with a disability.

Studio Mates Group Exhibition

September 26 - October 1, 2019
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 26, 7 PM – onwards
Gallery Hours: September 27 - Oct 1 • 12 to 7 PM, Closed Monday

Curated by Mel Hayes and Dalia Hassan and hosted at Black Cat Showroom (1785 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto).

Studio Mates is a group show featuring work by 16 artists who share a space at the Akin Lansdowne studios.

Studio Mates is a snapshot of a shared studio’s constantly changing occupants and their diverse work, capturing a dynamic environment where at any given moment there is a plethora of concepts, processes, materials and creations.

Featured artists:
Rakefet Arieli, Andrea Bailey, Elizabeth Basskin, Brianne Burnell, Rachel Butler, Claire Correia, Dalia Hassan, Mel Hayes, Kim Kermode, Michelle Evelyn Lee, Aaron Lozynsky, Linds Miyo, Eloisa Morra, Nick Murido, Michelle Rawlings, and Gwen Tooth.

Artist Project 2020 Information Session at Akin Lansdowne!

Artist Project in partnership with Akin invites member artists to a cinq à sept meet and greet with the Artist Project team. Complimentary drinks and canapes will be provided.

Location: Akin Lansdowne, 87 Wade Avenue, 2nd Floor Studio

When: September 10th 2019, 5-7PM

FREE!

As Canada’s largest artist exhibited fair, Artist Project exists to create an environment that ignites enriching conversation for a more personal experience with art.

Join over 300 talented, independent, contemporary artists in showcasing and selling their work to over 16,00 art lovers and collectors this February 20-23rd at the Better Living Centre.

Applications close September 20th for the following sections of the fair;

MAIN
The fairs premier section of emerging or established artists working across many disciplines.

UNTAPPED
Untapped Emerging Artists is a juried competition that awards 20 of the country's best up-and-coming artists an opportunity to participate in a dedicated feature space at the fair.

ZINE
Introduced to the fair in 2019, the Zine section features 10-12 artists and art collectives.

Artist Project is also excited to welcome back Akin as our Non-Profit partner in 2020 as we work to further promote issues fundamental to current art practices and fundraise to help Akin with their ongoing programming and studio space efforts.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Artist Project Team

Earth Day Community Clean Up on April 22 at Akin Lansdowne

Join Akin artists, friends and neighbors on Earth Day for a casual community clean up followed by a free beer and a snack courtesy of Henderson Brewing Co. Limit of one beer and snack per person in exchange for a bag of garbage. 

Rain or shine! Gloves and garbage bags will be provided by Akin. Please RSVP on this Facebook Event Page so we know how much supplies we need. Everyone is welcome to participate but you must be legal drinking age to receive your free beer. Garbage pick-up has been arranged by Henderson Brewing Co.

SCHEDULE:
9:45am - We will meet at 87 Wade Ave on the north side of the building.

10am - Garbage clean-up begins as we walk slowly south along Wade Ave to Bloor street and continue West to the West Toronto Railpath. We will then head south on the Railpath and continue our clean-up.

11am - Arrive at Henderson Brewing Co at 128A Sterling Road where you can exchange your bag of garbage for free beer and a snack! 


About Earth Day:
Earth Day is an annual global event celebrated on April 22. Various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection all over the world. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.www.earthday.org

About Akin Projects:
Akin Projects is an arts programming organization and registered nonprofit established in 2015 for the purpose of providing both creative and professional development opportunities to members of Toronto’s artistic and cultural community and the public at large. We have offered services to over thousands of individuals since our inception in 2015. Our sister organization, Akin Collective, was founded in 2009 and provides affordable studio and shared workspace in a friendly atmosphere for over 300 members. www.akinprojects.org

Kwentong Bayan Collective of Akin Lansdowne present Balikbayan at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre‎

Kwentong Bayan Collective of Akin Lansdowne presents Balikbayan at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre‎ (WAHC) from January 24 - April 21, 2018. The exhibition Balikbayan features a visual timeline of the 150+ year history of caregiving in Canada by racialized women, and Balikbayan boxes that contain migration and labour stories. Opens to the public on January 24th, 2017. Join us for the opening reception on Friday, February 9th, 7 – 9 pm; artists will be in attendance. 

Learn more about the work of Kwentong Bayan with a slide talk and exhibition walkthrough conducted by Althea and Jo on Saturday February 10. Click here for more information. 

About the Exhibition:
In the Filipino language, “balik” means “to return” and “bayan” can mean “country, place, home, or town”.

Since the 70’s, the labour export policy of the Philippine government has forced Overseas Filipino Workers to work abroad to provide for their families. An average of 6,000 workers leave the Philippines each day. One way they maintain a connection with their loved ones is to send home balikbayan boxes home packed with items that symbolize their labour and care.

BALIKBAYAN will transform WAHC into a gathering place to listen to migrant worker stories. In a series of gatherings, workers from Hamilton and Toronto will participate in a healing soup circle, create storytelling wearables, and plant native seeds. At each gathering, folks can create their own pasalubong (gifts) to take home and share with others.

This exhibition will be accompanied by an exhibition essay by Zenee Maceda, Labour Activist and National Representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada.

The Workers Arts and Heritage Centre will also offer additional programming alongside BALIKBAYAN over the winter season, including two PA Day camps, a comic jam for ages 12 and up and much more. Click here for more information.

About the Kwentong Bayan Collective:
Kwentong Bayan is a collective of two Toronto-based artists, Althea Balmes of Akin Lansdowne and Jo SiMalaya Alcampo. Their artistic mandate is to explore a critical and intersectional approach to community-based art, labour, and education.

Althea Balmes is an artist-educator rooted in community work. She uses her strong connection to her culture and her place as a diasporic Canadian woman of colour to inspire her work and as a way to connect to others. Althea is pursuing a Master of Information degree in User Experience Design at the University of Toronto.

Jo SiMalaya Alcampo is an interdisciplinary artist whose art practice includes community storytelling, interactive installations, and electroacoustic soundscapes. Jo volunteers with Caregiver Connections, Education and Support Organization (CCESO) – an organization that support migrant caregivers and is a member of the Kapwa Collective – a mutual support group of Filipinx Canadian artists, critical thinkers, and healers bridging narratives between the Indigenous and the Diasporic.

About the Workers Art and Heritage Centre:
Founded in 1991, the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre is a national museum dedicated to celebrating the historic and contemporary cultural contributions of Canada's working people through both the arts and a wide range of interpretive exhibitions. wahc-museum.ca

Akin Show & Tell #61 at Akin Lansdowne on October 25!

On the last Wednesday of every month Akin host’s a relaxed and fun ‘Show and Tell for Artists’ at one of the Akin Collective studios. This is a time for Akin members and other Toronto artists to show completed works or works in progress and get friendly feedback and answers from their peers in a casual studio setting.

This month we are meeting at Akin Lansdowne in studio 101 - 87 Wade Ave. 

Feel free to bring art to share, bring a friend or two, bring snacks or drinks or just bring yourself! Come for the conversation or just to meet other artists and makers. This is FREE public event - everyone is welcome!

Since this edition of the Akin Show & Tell is so close to Halloween we would like to encourage you to not only bring your artwork to share but your creative costumes, decorations, jack-o-lanterns and of course, candy! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch! See you there!

Accessibility:

Akin Lansdowne is not currently wheelchair accessible. Akin regrets this barrier to access. When you arrive at Akin Lansdowne's entrance at the north side of the building, there are 6 steps into the building to access studio 101. There are two steps into the main floor gender-neutral washroom. There are no grab bars in the washroom and the toilets are not raised.

Getting there:

By TTC:
Akin Lansdowne is walking distance from Lansdowne Subway Station and is accessible by the Bloor­/Danforth subway line (Line 2) and the 47 Lansdowne Bus.

By car:
There is no reserved onsite parking but there is street parking on Wade Ave, Paton Road, and Lansdowne Ave - please check the street signs for hours. For after hours parking there is a Green P lot located at 695 Lansdowne Ave.

Forge Professional Workshop Series: Documenting & Archiving Artwork

Wednesday July 5 / 6:30-9:00pm / Akin Lansdowne - 87 Wade Ave, studio 302 / $30 per person / limited seating - get your ticket at www.universe.com/documentart

In this workshop, artist and curator Jessica Thalmann will discuss the importance of clear, accurate and striking documentation of artwork. Various technical and logistical issues will be broached while photographing paintings, ceramics, sculptures, installations, performances and various print based media. Artists and creatives will be informed about best photographing practices including, lighting, placement, camera techniques, digital workflow, editing, export settings, and scanning. Archival and cataloguing practices will also be discussed; focusing on data management software, long term storage, preservation and creating and easy catalogue of current inventory to find and locate items.

After providing advice on each of these topics, Thalmann will offer a demonstration on techniques for photographing 2D and 3D media. This workshop is ideal for artists and makers of all skill levels but should have some experience with a digital camera and tripod. Workshop will be followed by a Q&A.

We regret that the building is not wheelchair accessible / Please let us know of any other accessibility needs by emailing michael@akincollective.com at least one week before the event and we will do our best to accommodate you. Thank you.

About the Instructor:
Jessica Thalmann is an artist, curator and educator currently based in Toronto and New York City. She received a MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP-Bard College and a BFA in Visual Arts from York University. She has worked at the Doris McCarthy Gallery, Toronto International Film Festival, C Magazine, the Art Gallery of York University and Yossi Milo Gallery. Thalmann has taught at the International Centre for Photography, MacLaren Art Centre, Gallery 44 and City College of New York. She has shown at various venues in Toronto, Vancouver and New York City including the Art Gallery of Mississauga, Flash Forward Festival, Gallery TPW, Hashtag Gallery, Whippersnapper Gallery, Nuit Blanche, the Artist Project, VIVO Media Arts Center, Aperture Foundation, International Centre of Photography, Photoville, Camera Club of New York and Printed Matter’s New York Art Book Fair.www.jessicathalmann.com

The Northern Beaver Gallery - now at Akin Lansdowne

Now at Akin Lansdowne in studio 101 - The Northern Beaver Gallery is a tiny gallery inside a Canadian-made Beaver vending machine. Original, collectible artist editions are sold for just a toonie. See more at www.artvendu.com.  

Curated by Rebecca Jane Houston, an Akin Lansdowne member. All proceeds go to participating artists.