The anticipation builds as The Artist Project approaches! We're thrilled to announce the participation of six current Akin members alongside numerous alumni. Join them at the Better Living Centre in Exhibition Place from April 11-14, along with over 250 independent artists. Immerse yourself in an atmosphere crafted to spark meaningful dialogues and forge intimate connections with art. Delve into a vast array of artworks and large-scale installations, partake in curator-led art tours, and discover that perfect piece that speaks to your soul.

Ashley Snook, Booth 437

Ashley Snook (Akin Dupont) is an award winning interdisciplinary artist, researcher and educator. She holds a PhD in Art and Visual Culture from Western University. Informed by biology, scientific research and socio-cultural dynamics, Snook explores the complexities of diverse living networks and the concept of animality. To Snook, exploring ones own unique position in animality has the potential to open perspective on human existence and relationships with one another, human-animal relationships, and relationality to the more-than-human world. It is a rebellious act against hegemonic forces that have enabled things like environmental degradation, capitalism, hate, overworking, and conformity. Her practice explores connections through differences, impermanence, composting, and imaginative reworlding, and therefore, animality is a constant theme of contemplation in Snooks work. Working predominantly in drawing, sculpture and installation, animality is imbued in everything she does. She is fascinated by the micro and macro relationships between human animals, nonhuman animals, bacteria, fungi, and vegetal/botanical life—this prompts her to blur distinctions as to what is human, animal, plant, living, or nonliving. Within these methods of creating, Snook looks to ways in which she can further engage her audience. This often looks like incorporating viewer participation, encouraging presentness, sensory awakening, for example, by incorporating smell, mood lighting, tactility, sound, and playfulness in her work.

View her entire Artist Project profile here

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Janne Reuss, Booth 100

Janne Reuss (Akin Yonge-St Clair) was born and raised in Mexico City and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. She has been a professional practicing artist for more than two decades, having lived, worked and exhibited her artwork in Mexico, United States, Germany, Italy and Canada. She studied Fine Arts at the Academy of Art & Design in Stuttgart, Germany. Her preferred media are photography and collage, but she also paints, often cycling fluidly between the three. A constant theme in Janne’s work is her interest in human nature and how memories and experiences are imprinted deep inside of us. Janne’s work is held in private and public collections including the Donovan Art Collection at St. Michael’s College (Canada) and the Municipal Gallery of Ostfildern (Germany).

View her entire Artist Project profile here

Jen Arron, Booth I-02

Jen Arron works with globally sourced fibers in her studio-based practice. Weaving in a freestyle approach, her large-scale pieces reveal connections about time, texture, and materials. Jen’s process of discovery often reflects an ecosystem of life.

View her entire Artist Project profile here

Lindsay Chambers, Booth 318

Lindsay Chambers (Akin Richmond-Bathurst) is a contemporary Canadian artist who currently lives and works in Toronto. Her work belongs to collections across Canada, as well as in the United States, UK, Dubai, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Japan. Her work explores the delicacies of the human condition through paintings based on crumpled paper sculptures. All reference material, including any pattern or text, is carefully executed by the hand of the Artist. Chambers’ painting objective is to explore materials, to manipulate paint and maintain the visibility of layers. At all times a viewer is reminded of the painting process through layers of paint, variation in directional brushwork, and texture. These works are not as concerned with realism, rather the fluidity of materials and the painting process.

View her entire Artist Project profile here

Loren Kaplan, Vessels & Sticks Gallery, Booth 125

Loren Kaplan (Akin Dupont). In my work I integrate symbolic, visual, tactile and spiritual values – blending form, function and meaning. My work resonates with light, sound, pattern and texture and includes pieces that are created by coiling and hand-building as well as specialized ranges of thrown work. Once built, the surface of the vessels are carved, sculpted or engraved with intricate patterns and symbols that combine the geometric and organic. There are many diversities and extremes that I try and hold and balance within my life and work. Within them all, they hold the silence and meditation of the making, the time, the process and the attention to detail. I make vessels because containers are about potential. My focus is on the space-in-between; defined spaces of emptiness making room for something to be held.