Collective City Free Documentary Screening at MOCA - May 10th

Looking for something to do this Friday, May 10th? Drop by MOCA from 7-9pm for free screenings of 3 documentaries that chronicle the rich and vibrant history of Toronto-based visual arts collectives.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
Spontaneous Combustion was a collective of contemporary visual artists, many who had graduated from the Ontario College of Art in the early-to-mid 1980’s. These artists worked in a variety of media ranging from large format printmaking to holography and almost all presented their work in installation format.

In interviews supported by archival film and photography, Spontaneous Combustion founders b.h. yael, Gwen MacGregor and Caroline Langill discuss the collective’s origins, the role of the artist as curator and how few opportunities existed for installation artists – particularly for artists who were working with kinetic work or electronics.

COLD CITY GALLERY
“The brainchild of Toronto artist Dyan Marie, Cold City was formed as a new way to exhibit and sell work. While many hybrid galleries similar to the Cold City model have flourished since, Cold City was arguably the first of its kind in Toronto.” The Cold City Years: Power Plant

Through interviews with Cold City founder Dyan Marie and artists Peter Bowyer and Eldon Garnett, as well as archival photos and videos, this film chronicles this collectives’ ties to literary and critical journals of the day - the name Cold City was adapted from the “Cold City Fiction” issue of Impulse magazine. The artists also discuss the operational philosophy of the gallery and the devastating effect that the AIDS crisis had on the gallery and Toronto’s visual arts community.

PAINTING DISORDERS
Painting Disorders launched their celebrated inaugural show in November 1994 in a rough space on King West. Eye Magazine called the show “a focused, strategic view of the place of painting in the information age” and Canadian Art magazine wrote that it was “one of those tight-as-a-drum shows where each artist carefully reins in his or her work to create an impression of unity and purpose.”

In interviews with Painting Disorders founding members Eric Glavin, Angela Leach and Mark Bell we delve into this collective’s desire to explore the diversity of expression to be found in contemporary non-representational painting. The artists also discuss their influences as well as the challenge in finding opportunities to show their work in an artist-run or commercial gallery scene that had little capacity to exhibit emerging artists.

Poisoned Earth a new Documentary by Andrew Budziak

In early 2018, documentary filmmaker and Akin King member Andrew Budziak received a tip that something bad was happening to wolves in Alberta so he went to investigate. What he found was horrifying. He discovered that the Alberta government has been using a highly lethal poison to kill wolves. The reasoning for doing this? It is said that they want to help caribou numbers which are in decline. All of the conservation experts Budziak’s team spoke to told them something similar. Budziak notes that wolves are not the biggest danger to caribou - habitat destruction from oil and logging is the real threat.  He says that “in order to keep oil and gas happy, the Alberta government has decided to quietly kill wolves instead.” 

This discovery sparked an idea to delve deeper into the issue through a new documentary, Poisoned Earth, a film that takes a serious look at Alberta’s wolf cull practices.

Grey wolves like this are the target of the poison program.

“We really needed people to see what was going on here, what was happening with this program.”

— Budziak on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

Through his Kickstarter campaign, Budziak more than doubled the amount needed to finish the film. It’s because of everyone’s generous support that Budziak and team now have the ability to do a number of things to strengthen this story. Learn more about the film and the kickstarter campaign here.

In early December 2018, Budziak was interviewed by CBC’s Wallis Snowdon and Madeleine Cummings about his new film. They discussed this issue in more detail, exploring the use of strychnine in Alberta, a nasty poison used in the wolf culling, and its drastic effects on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystem overall.

Read the full article here.

Andrew is a documentary film maker based in Toronto. He has produced stories on polar bears, wolves, moose, peregrine falcons and the people who fight to keep those animals safe.  Andrew is a former CBC television and radio producer and reporter. His storytelling has taken him around the world from Pakistan to Japan and from Hinton, Alberta to Etobicoke, Ontario.  Andrew lives in Toronto with his wife and their one and a half year old son who proudly makes over ten different animal noises. 

where now? Documentary Series on view at Sunrise Studios →

where now? is a narrative-driven documentary series about place-making in a rapidly gentrifying Toronto, brought to you by sisterhood media.

In an unprecedented moment of Torontonian fame, where now? expounds on what the city and its residents truly stand to gain — and, of course, lose — in its climb to a become an internationally-recognized cultural hub. who reaps the benefits? and who is its first casualty?

where now? is directed by Amani Bin Shikhan, a writer, editor and researcher, among other things. In her work, Shikhan aims to frame and re-frame questions of tradition and movement through the lens of black cultural expressions and their multidisciplinary histories. She loves this city more than she should and is deep-in-her-bones tired of condos. she doesn’t want to leave.

Produced by sisterhood media, a platform dedicated to creating and curating content for folks on the margins. They produce multimedia works focusing on identity and community. where now? is one of these projects.

View where now? at Akin Sunrise  (100 Sunrise Avenue) until August 12th. 11AM to 6PM daily.

Polar bears on the brink - New video by 8 String Media for TVO

TVO just released a beautiful new short film by 8 String Media of Akin Lansdowne. It was shot in Polar Bear Provincial Park on Hudson Bay.