As spring approaches we want to take the time to highlight the creative work and community spirit of some of our Akin Waterfront Members. Introducing Marcia Bianchi, Vicky Vyas, and Niki Nazhand! Click “READ MORE” below to continue reading and learn more about these artists, their art practices, and why they love working in an Akin studio!
Read MoreWe continue today with our final post highlighting the creative work and Akin spirit of five artists from our beloved St. Clair Studio! Introducing Natalie Plociennik and Rumi! Continue reading to learn more about these artists, their art practices, and why they love working in an Akin studio! Click here to visit part one of this blog post where we met three other Akin St Clair artists.
Read MoreAs the year comes to a close, we would like to highlight the creative work and Akin spirit of five artists from our beloved St. Clair Studio! Today we are introducing Liliana Botero, Tam Phan, and Rose Sevhan Kaynar. Continue reading to learn more about these artists, their art practices, and why they love working in an Akin studio! And stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two!
Read More
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.
Image credit: Noor Gatih, Khobs & Chai, 2022
ID: Image 1: An image of wrinkled hands, attached to a body wearing a blue dress, padding dough.
We’re so excited to be in partnership with AACT and their month long programming to celebrate Asian Heritage Month!
To celebrate the 20th Asian Heritage Month in Canada, in May 2022, AACT has an exciting lineup of upcoming exhibitions, workshops, and events. Mark your calendars for a month of free public programming this May for the following dates:
May 7: Community Care Art Workshop at Tam Cafe
May 7-30: Gentle Care Exhibition at the Akin Vitrine Gallery
May 13-22 Travelling Through: Conversation with Elders Exhibition at TIFF Bell Lightbox
May 14 as Community Mosaic Art Workshop
May 27-29 as Nostalgia: In Search of Familiarity at Akin Remote Gallery
Stay tuned for the more details on our social media or learn more at their website link.
[Image Description: On a pink background is blue and orange text that reads, "Giving Tuesday". From the second G of giving comes an orange line that forms two hearts and is connected by two small blue birds. In the right upper corner is the Akin logo]
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.
Image source: STEPS Initiative
Since 2011, STEPS has supported Business Improvement Areas (BIA), community groups, and social service agencies across the GTA in realizing projects that foster vibrant public spaces and encourage diverse participation in arts based initiatives.
Do you have a community project that you’re struggling to launch?
A place you’ve identified for public art but are unsure how to make it happen?
An identified cultural programming gap in your community, but not sure how to fill it?
We want to hear your project idea!
If you’re a non arts-based community group, STEPS may be able to help you through:
sharing our knowledge and expertise in project management, partnership development, public outreach, program facilitation, artist recruitment, design development, onsite production and community engagement.
supporting a lead organization in funding requests through identifying opportunities, grant proposal coaching, and providing letters of support.
leveraging our relationships within the cultural sector in order to identify collaborating artist(s)/ artistic facilitators/ documentarians who may be a fit for a project.
integrating capacity building opportunities within the proposed project for host agencies and/or area residents.
This is NOT A GRANT PROGRAM. We strive to lend support, knowledge, and capacity to projects that may not come to fruition without a strong and experienced community partner. Interested?
To request an application, send us an email to renee@stepsinitiative.com.
Photo via Mildred’s Lane
“The entire site has become a living museum, or rather – a new contemporary art complex(ity).”
Mildred’s Lane is a rustic, 96-acre site deep in the woods of rural northeastern Pennsylvania, in the upper Delaware River Valley, which borders New York state. It is an ongoing collaboration between J. Morgan Puett, Mark Dion (artist behind The Life of a Dead Tree, on view at MOCA beginning May 24th 2019), their son Grey Rabbit Puett, and their friends and colleagues. It is a home and an experiment in living. Mildred’s Lane attempts to coevolve a rigorous pedagogical strategy, where a working-living-researching environment has been developed to foster engagement with every aspect of life.
The entire site has become a living museum, or rather – a new contemporary art complex(ity). It is now important to sidestep the debates around what is art ( or design, architecture and fashion) in order to activate these turbulent multiplicities. It is more a question of praxis and action, is it in an institution? Storefront? A gallery? Deep in the woods? At Home?
The Mildred’s Lane site is a home where the Artist/Practitioner, the Student and the Institution have collapsed roles as they attempt to coevolve with an emergent strategy.
Apply For Summer Sessions
Whether or not you are affiliated with a sending institution, applying is an easy and straightforward process for independents of all ages.
Deadline: May 1st 2019.
There are daily activities including intensive workshops, lectures, and seminars by dynamic contributing guests, thinkers and creative producers that outnumber fellows by three to one. Everyone works together – in collaboration – on large-scale artist site works. Together guests conceptualize and produce socials that engage town interactions and local government. Visitors are inter-connected, international characters from all disciplines that help guide you into creating new sustainable habits for the future through the philosophical, experience-based teachings of workstyles. Importantly, you will make lifelong friends and attachments, especially to Mildred’s Lane.
Image from Walnut Studios
In the early morning of May 19, 2018, Walnut studios, nestled between Niagara street and Walnut Ave in Toronto experienced a devastating fire. The devastating fire in the north end of the studio, affected 22 artists who lost not only their artwork but also all of their art supplies.
Founded in 2008, Walnut Studios is a community of 45 artists in a large warehouse studio in Toronto's King West Village. It is home to Painters, Sculptors, Fashion Designers, Jewellery Makers, Photographers, and Installation Artists.
As the friends, family and community of those artists affected by the Walnut studio fire, let's give back to our creative community during their time of great loss. All funds raised through the GoFundMe campaign will be distributed so that the artists can purchase new equipment and art supplies to get making again. This money will also go towards helping these artists relocate temporarily while the major repairs are being completed on their Walnut studio spaces.
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.
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!
This month we are meeting at Akin Dupont located at 1485 Dupont St in studio 204 (second floor).
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch! See you there!
Accessibility Information:
Akin Dupont is not currently reliably wheelchair accessible. Akin regrets this barrier to access.
The main entrance (located on Campbell Ave) has step free access into the lobby area. Once inside, the main entrance staircase leading to the second floor has 23 steps with a handrail. At the second floor landing, the hallway to the left leads you to our four studio doors.
There is a secondary building entrance also located on Campbell Avenue, a little south of the main entrance. There is one step up to the door and once inside, there is a staircase with 22 steps and a handrail that takes you to the second floor.
There is a freight elevator that opens onto the main, second and third floors for loading and unloading furniture and equipment. However the elevator is not always available, and has two heavy doors which must be manually lifted to be operable.
The second floor bathrooms are located in the hallway and are wheelchair accessible. however the building has installed key locks on the bathroom doors making entry into the washrooms more difficult as the doors are heavy. Keys for the washrooms are located in each of our four studio rooms. The washrooms are gendered MEN and LADIES. Akin does not have access to gender-neutral washroom in this building.
Akin is excited to be one of the Community Partners featured at the 2017 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition along with our friends at Toronto School of Art and CARFAC . We will be onsite in the South Mews to answer questions about artists' rights, representation, studio access, education and professional development services.
The event features over 340 artists and makers, including many Akin studio artists! Make sure to visit Akin Sunrise artist Kristy Blackwell (Booth P-118), Akin Lansdowne artist Katrina Jurjans (Booth SM-21), and Akin Dupont artists Chris Harms (Booth P-088), Iskuhi Avagyan (Booth P-126), and Loren Kaplan (Booth P-141).
The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is open to the public and free of charge. Enjoy amazing art, family programming, new exhibition layout, new works, new artists, along with live performances, food, and refreshments.
Hours:
Fri July 14 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sat July 15 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sun July 16 10:00am - 5:00pm
#TOAE2017
Wed Jan 25 / 7-10pm / Akin Lansdowne - 87 Wade Ave - Studio 101
On the last Wednesday of every month Akin hosts 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 special edition of the Akin Show & Tell will end at the Territory Orphanage (www.territroy.org) a.k.a. the studio of Allen Morgan on the third floor of 87 Wade Ave with a special surprise for everyone!
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 people and hang out.
This month we are meeting at Akin Lansdowne - 87 Wade Ave - Studio 101
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch! See you there!
AKIN #PUMPKINPARTY
Come carve with us!
Thursday, October 20: 6-9pm / AKIN Dufferin- 444 Dufferin St. Unit E
You want to make a Jack-o’-lantern but rather than do it at home alone in your underwear watching Netflix - let's all get together and Akin can handle the hassle.
Reserve yourself a spot and get yourself a lil' pumpkin and candle at the party $5. Space is limited, reserve your seat here: https://www.universe.com/pumpkinparty
We'll have your pumpkin ready for you, some cold beverages in the studio, and pumpkin spice everything. Please bring your own carving items.
Note: All welcome:
Pumpkins large and pumpkins small,
Pumpkins short and pumpkins tall,
Pumpkins yellow and pumpkins green,
Pumpkins dull and those with sheen.