FORGE: Surrealist Collage Workshop with Danielle Cole

October 13 from 6:30-9:00pm at Akin Lansdowne: 87 Wade Avenue
$25 (includes materials). Limited tickets available, get yours at www.universe.com/collageworkshop

What will we cover?

• We will begin with collage based on the Surrealist activity Corpse Bizarre

• Techniques for seamlessly cutting material to be used in collage

• Going beyond the glue stick – techniques for gluing fine and large pieces of collage without causing the material to bubble or tear

• How to source and combine collage materials in order to create a unique piece of art

What’s it all about?
Michelangelo said of his art ‘every block of stone has a statue inside and it is the task of the sculpture to discover it.’ This quote holds true for the construction of the collages. Sorting through hundreds of images, from magazines and books both new and old, until the magical moment when all the pieces come together to create a perfect piece of art. Collage is the perfect medium for creative thinkers, artists and crafty people. This is a hands-on workshop where you will be shown strategies for creating collages that are seamlessly built and helped towards creating a unique piece of art to take home at the end of the evening. All materials will be provided.

Who will be teaching?
The collage workshop will be taught by Danielle Cole, a Toronto-based collage artist and teacher. Her college work has most recently been featured at the Timeraiser show at the Powerplant and can currently be found in several restaurant bathrooms in Toronto and across Canada thanks to winning a New Ad competition back in March. She believes that everyone is capable of making a truly great collage but few people are capable of spending years gathering the materials and know how to make it happen. You can view her work at: www.daniellecole.ca Danielle has her BFA from York University, a degree in Advertising and Graphic Design from George Brown, and 13 years experience teaching art to high school students in the TDSB.

anahita azrahimi // Subtle fragments // exhibition at Propeller Gallery

Congratulations to anahita azrahimi of Akin Lansdowne on your upcoming exhibition Subtle fragments with fellow artist helen liene dreifelds.

Opening reception Saturday, September 24th 2:00pm-5:00pm
September 19 - 25, 2016 at Propeller Gallery, 30 Abell St, Toronto

Textiles are coded material, a living language and archive. Subtle fragments, shared crinkles brings together the work of two emerging artists working with and referencing textiles. A mutual preoccupation with draping and folds is explored through a range of processes: assembling, collage, layering, weaving and drawing. The result is a series of meticulous records that appear to be in various states of beginning, unraveling.

About anahita:
anahita azrahimi is a Toronto based visual artist and arts manager. She divides her time between her art practice and as Executive Director of Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.
She is fascinated by essence and complexities of clothing and folds and their relationship to body and emotions. She cuts out shapes and patterns of folds and draperies found in fashion editorials and create bodily motion and drama in abstract from or imaginary landscapes without directly referencing the body. Since December 2015, she has put herself on a rigorous, year-long #collagediet and research. She has created over 200 pieces of collage on paper since. anahita’s works are held in private collections across Europe and North America.
 

Akin Projects at 1/Edition: Toronto's Art Book Fair

Akin Projects is thrilled to announce that we will be participating in the inaugural 1/Edition: Toronto's Art Book Fair. Join us on October 28 - 31 at Metro Toronto Convention Centre!

Edition Toronto is dedicated to the promotion of art book publishing in all forms, while building an appreciation for artworks produced in editions of more than one.

October 28–31, 2016 will mark the first Edition art book fair in Toronto. Running concurrently with Art Toronto, Canada’s international art fair (which had over 21,000 visitors last year) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Edition fair shares a focus on contemporary art practices. Edition will welcome book publishers, commercial galleries, artist-run centres, and independent artists, collectives, book-makers and dealers from around the world. Visitors will have their eyes and minds opened to alternative ways of looking at and collecting art as they browse a wide range of contemporary and historical editions, multiples, publications and collectible art-related ephemera.

Edition Toronto is also pleased to be collaborating with Art Metropole, an organization that has been dedicated to the promotion, distribution and conservation of artist’s books and multiples since 1974, in the development of the fair’s programming. Throughout the weekend, workshops and panel discussions by local, national and international artists, curators, collectors, critics, performers and other visionaries will educate, enlighten and engage visitors to the fair.

Admission to the Edition fair is free.

www.editiontoronto.com

Akin at Yes in My Backyard

September 24, 2016, 12-4pm at Metro Hall / 55 John Street, Toronto

Join Akin Projects, and many other awesome Toronto Grassroots and community-based organizations who are actively working to build a better Toronto at the Yes in My Backyard Festival.

The YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) Festival is an event for people and groups involved – or looking to become involved – in grassroots, locally driven community development in Toronto. The Festival is an opportunity for people to gather, spread the word about their work, exchange ideas to effect change and strengthen their networks. It’s a chance to celebrate achievements and identify new challenges and opportunities, in an atmosphere focused on listening, learning and engaging. This one-day event invites community groups from across Toronto to turn the tables on politicians and policy makers, educating them about the issues that face our city’s communities, as experienced by the community. YIMBY provides an opportunity for neighbours to meet neighbours, residents to meet politicians and politicians to meet community groups in the spirit of people coming together for positive change.

The annual YIMBY Festival features over 100 community-based groups, free, interactive workshops and activities, and more!

This year’s theme is Massively Open – exploring how inclusivity & accessibility, and sharing connections, vulnerability, expertise, data, and more can strengthen our work. Through the festival, we will explore how various forms of openness can support us in realizing our collective hopes for a better Toronto – and what that looks like.

YIMBY is about empowering and educating ourselves and each other about the various issues facing our communities.

It is a chance to celebrate achievements and identify new challenges and opportunities in an atmosphere focused on listening, learning and engaging.

#YIMBY2016 is presented by Shape My City, in collaboration with ThinkFresh Group.

Akin Projects at Word on the Street Toronto

Sunday, September 25, 2016/ Harbourfront Centre | 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Come visit the Akin Projects booth at Word on the Street Toronto. We will be in the Fringe Beat Zone (Between The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Boxcar Social Coffee Shop) at table #FB4. We will have awesome books, zines, and other creations from the talented members of Akin Collective.

About Word on the Street:
The Word On The Street is a non-profit organization that celebrates Canadian reading, writing, and champions literacy primarily through a free, annual outdoor festival. Each September, in communities from coast-to-coast, we invite everyone to participate in hundreds of author events, presentations and workshops, and to browse a marketplace that boasts the best selection of Canadian books and magazines you’ll find anywhere. And it’s free!

Katie Sadie // Streets and Stories at Glassbox

Tiger Beer Presents: Streets & Stories.

Tiger was born on the streets of Asia and brewed using the tropical heat. Come celebrate the end of an amazing and tropical summer in Toronto with a collection of street photos from Will Jivcoff and Katie Sadie of Akin Dufferin.

Zines from Katie & Will for sale.

About Katie S

 

ARTIFACTS: Akin X Project Group Show

Opening Reception: Sat Sept 10, 6-9pm
Exhibition Dates: Sept 10 - Oct 2, 2016

Group show featuring work of Akin members:

Ghazaleh Avarzamani
Atanas Bozdarov
Jen Collins
Chris Harms
Rebecca Houston
Laura Kay Keeling
Nicole Krstin
Adria Mirabelli

Curated and presented by Project Gallery, at Project Gallery Studios (184 Munro st - back entrance)

Sights & Sounds Art Show & Silent Auction

NIXON & GOTSTYLE would like to invite you to an evening of art, music, style, and heart in support of Akin Projects for CAMH.

Featuring work by:
+ Justin Broadbent
+ Jeff Blackburn
+ Mike Echlin (Spazz)
+ Lauren Hurley
+ Joel Macleod
+ Cassandra Moy
+ Oliver Pauk
+ Jacqueline Poirier “The Crazy Plate Lady”
+ Lauren Pirie
+ Callen Schaub
+ Daniel St –Amant
+ Samara Shuter
+ Tony Taylor
+ Jon Todd
+ Michael Vickers
+ Natalie Waddell

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8th 2016
6PM-9PM @ Gotstyle in the Distillery District, Toronto.
21 Trinity St, Toronto, (416) 260-9696

Proceeds from this event will support Akin Projects' artist-led workshops and activities for Youth Addiction & Concurrent Disorders Services at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

PLEASE RSVP by Tuesday September 6th to andrea.ciccone@nixon.com or to charlotte@gotstyle.ca

Nixon & Gotstyle would like to thank all the artists who have donated their time and talent to SIGHTS & SOUNDS art show and silent auction. For more information on all artists involved, please visit our event page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1643355222622166/

Thank you for your interest in the NIXON X GOTSTYLE SIGHTS & SOUNDS exhibit and silent auction, and for your help in spreading the love of art and culture in our local community. We hope to see you on Thursday September 8th

FORGE: Grant Writing 101 with the Ontario Arts Council

September 19, 6:30pm / Committee Room 2, Second Floor East Side, Toronto City Hall - 100 Queen Street West.

Free! Must reserve a ticket - please RSVP here: https://www.universe.com/grantwriting101

Join us again to learn how to get grants ($$$) from the people that give them.

Writing grants is a significant part of many artist's careers- so let's learn how to do it properly! This interactive workshop will explore the process of planning, writing and submitting grant proposals to different governing bodies. As a major funder themselves, the Ontario Arts Council provide clear examples of the grant writing process and the various the dos and don'ts of everything from creating your budget to organizing your support material and work plan. Following this, there will be an extensive Q&A period.

Bio:
Janice Lambrakos is the Information Services Coordinator with the Ontario Arts Council. Janice takes pride in having worked for the Ontario Arts Council for the past 25 years. She has provided administrative support in a number of program offices, including Community Arts, Film, Photography and Video (now Media Arts), and Literature, giving her an in-depth knowledge of many of the OAC’s granting programs.

Akin Projects - Skillshare: Documenting and Archiving your work

Tuesday September 13, 2016 / 7pm-9pm / Akin Collective Lansdowne Studios - 87 Wade Ave, Studio 203 / FREE / Open to the public / Space is limited. Please RSVP by signing up here: https://www.universe.com/skillshare3

This will be the third Akin Projects Skillshare event focusing on how and why we document and archive our creative work.

The Akin Projects Skillshare is a casual, moderated discussion for arts entrepreneurs and creative business people in a studio environment. Connect with your peers through practical experience at this collaborative event. Share your skills, resources, and ideas, and have your questions answered. Please come prepared to talk and share your thoughts and process when it comes to documenting and archiving your own creative work. A laptop and large screen will be available for digital presentations.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Scanning artwork and photographs
- Photographing your work
- Video documentation
- Websites and portfolios
- Curriculum Vitae
- Long term storage and preservation of artwork
- Documenting your process
- Titling and numberingand cataloging your work
- Digital presentation of non-digital work
- Documenting performances and installations

This event is free and open to the public. It is ideal for artists and makers of all skill levels.

Please bring any questions you have, and come prepared to talk about your relevant experiences. Attendees are encouraged to bring at least one thing to share with the group such as:
- and example of how you document your work (website, video, photograph, scanned file)
- a tool you use for archiving or documenting your work
- a resource recommendation for documenting services

BYOB / Feel free to bring snacks to share

Akin & Xpace Artist Garage Sale This Weekend!

We hope to see you at the Akin & Xpace Artist Garage Sale this Saturday at Xpace Cultural Centre! 30 artists have cleaned out their studios and will be selling art pieces and new/gently used supplies at discounted prices.

Participating artists: Akin Projects, Joshua Advincula, Lizz Aston, Tim Bettridge, Marla Buck, Seihn Cha, Caitlyn Chisamore, Victoria Day, Suzanne Dennis, Laura Elliott, Enrique Velez Gaudite, Emily Harrison, Kwentong Bayan Collective, Shelby McLeod, Adria Mirabelli, Gilda Monreal, Karen Nguyen, Sophia Oppel, PARC, Oliver Pauk, Antonio Pendones, Janet Pierre, Jen Pilles, Bryanna Reilly, jes sachse, Nyssa Sky, Tough Guy Mountain, Michael Vickers

Saturday, August 27, 12-4pm at Xpace, 2-303 Lansdowne Ave.

Danielle Cole // Clipped Wings at Graven Feather Gallery

September 7th - October 3rd, 2016
Reception: September 8th, 2016 6-9pm

Clipped Wings, explores the absurdity of extreme wealth and the compulsion to secure the most au courant objects. Overstuffed chairs too delicate to sit on, decorative dishes empty of food and vases that will never find themselves filled with water, avocado green chairs, periwinkle telephones, burnt-orange blenders all come together in a world where the inhabitants are well matched but completely indifferent to their environment. The primary inhabitants of this universe are birds. Birds that have forgotten how to fly, have never learned how to fly or couldn’t be bothered to take flight. They perch on whatever surface they find, in the finest rooms and in the strangest spaces and at the cost of the comfort of others, they are confident in their belief that they belong.

Each piece in the show is a handmade collage, the result of hours spent in thrift shops, years spent salvaging the cast-offs from high school storerooms and libraries, and offerings from helpful friends, ambitious suitors and a vintage loving landlord. Sorting through hundreds of images until the magical moment when you get to say: that bird belongs on top of that chair.

More images available on Danielle's website here
Follow Danielle on instagram

Danielle will be leading a collage workshop as apart of the Akin Projects FORGE Workshop Series on October 13. To reserve a space for the workshop send us an email.

AKIN: The Power Plant + Picnic

Sunday August 28 / 3pm / The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery / 231 Queens Quay West

Do you like The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery but it's too far to go alone? Do you enjoy a summer picnic but don't like eating solo? Boy do we have the best Sunday ever planned for you.

Join Akin Projects and tour The Power Plant's two current, brilliant exhibitions followed by a waterfront picnic in the park after ( bring snacks / blankets! )

Featured Exhibitions:

Franz Eerhard Walther // Call to Action

Ulla von Brandenburg // It Has a Golden Red Sun and an Elderly Green Moon

See you there!

xo AKIN

Mindful AF - A workshop on being present

About the Workshop
Raise your middle finger to worries of the past and future. In this workshop we'll go through tactics that help you stay in the moment and reduce stressful thinking patterns. We'll also look at the science behind mindfulness and why it's proven to work.

For Tickets ($30): http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1268185
Note - tickets are limited

About Mind Matters
Mind Matters is a group dedicated to spreading the best practices and techniques of improving your mind. Whether it's helping you become more efficient, learning how to stay calm, or how to have a more productive mind.
 

How to Increase your Art Sales: A Day-long Business Building Bootcamp for Artists and Creative Professionals

An Artists' Network exclusive event:

How to Increase your Art Sales: A Day-long Business Building Bootcamp for Artists and Creative Professionals by Heather Allen, an established expert in helping creative people create business.

If you are ready to take your art business to the next level, this business-building bootcamp is for you. Learn how to increase your profits, cultivate relationships online that lead to more opportunities, and market your art authentically and effectively.

Highly recommended by artist and Artists' Network member, Nadine Prada (www.thepradagallery.com), Heather believes that there's no better time than today for artists and creative entrepreneurs to thrive. Her goal is to help you turn your passions into purposeful, profitable opportunities.

Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, Heather will be in Canada for the first time and has offered to deliver this seminar at a substantially discounted rate for the Artists' Network community. To learn more about Heather, visit her website at http://www.heatherallenonline.com/

This workshop is one of the best reasons to join Artists’ Network. We host educational events on grant writing, social media, art show preparation, and portfolio building. If you want to belong to a vibrant artists’ community, LEARN MORE ABOUT membership.

DETAILS:
Saturday, September 17th, 2016, 9am-4pm
Ralph Thornton Centre 765 Queen Street East, Toronto, 2nd Floor

INVESTMENT: $160 CAD for Artists’ Network Members, $195 for Non-Members

Includes:

• A full day of training
• A copy of Heather Allen’s book “3 Essentials for Your Creative Business Plan”, a $24.95 US value
• PDF Workbook (for attendees to print and bring to Workshop)
• A Post workshop live webinar follow-up (approx. 1 month after workshop)
• Coffee and Lunch will be provided

LIMITED SEATING. REGISTER TODAY:
http://www.artistsnetwork.ca/member-site/education

For more information please visit our website www.artistsnetwork.ca

EXERTION / Chris Harms at Hashtag Gallery

Join Chris Harms of Akin Dupont at Hashtag Gallery on August 4 for the opening of his solo show, EXERTION.

Opening reception: August 4th from 7pm-11:30pm.
Show runs August 4th to 14th

About EXERTION
Celebrating the constant construction that shakes and shapes Toronto, Chris creates vibrant sculptures with Plexiglas that resemble earth-moving excavators. Through form and space he invites the viewer to enjoy the unique reflections, surfaces, and layering my works produce while considering the transformative time between what was and what is to become. Harnessing light and colour, Chris' work is intended to build a feeling of expansion and possibility, and functions as an exploration into our urban landscape.

Call for Submissions: Skeir Gallery ‘Salon Show’

Deadline: August 02, 2016

Skeir Gallery is hosting a summer group exhibition at our Queen West Gallery location (1537a Queen Street West) from Thursday August 11 - Sunday August 28, 2016.

Open to emerging, mid-career and established artists who would like the opportunity to gain exposure in the Queen West Arts community, artists are invited to submit up to 10 works in any media for consideration.

ELIGIBLE ARTWORKS
Submissions in all media styles are welcome and up to three (3) works by selected artists will be accepted for entry into the two (2) week long exhibition:

- Up to 10 works can be submitted for consideration
- Works can be up to 24" x 24" (60cm x 60cm) at any price point**
- All works on paper MUST be framed
- All 2D work (paintings, framed works etc.) must be wired and/or ready for hanging before drop-offs

IMPORTANT DATES
- Submission deadline: Tuesday August 02, 2016
- Artwork drop-offs: Saturday August 06 & Sunday August 07, 2016 between 1 - 6pm.
- Exhibition dates: Thursday August 11 to Sunday August 28, 2016
- Opening Reception: Thursday August 11, from 6pm - 11pm

SUBMISSIONS
Applicants are asked to include a brief biography OR artist statement, up to 150 words. Artists are also asked to title all submitted works in the the following format:

ArtistFullName_ArtworkTitle_Size_Medium_Date_Price

All artwork images and biographies / statements must be sent as attachments (no zip files or website links please!) by email to: shawnskeir@gmail.com

**Applicants accepted into the group exhibition are required to contribute a non-refundable Hanging and Administrative fee of $80.00. Skeir Gallery will transact all sales of consigned work during the exhibition period and accept a 40% commission on the sale of each work.

Request for Art Donations for Staying Power: A Celebratory Fundraiser for PIH Canada

Partners In Health (PIH) Canada, a non-profit organization relentlessly committed to high quality health care for all has issued a request for donations of art and objects for their 5 year anniversary Gala event on October 1, 2016.

Donations will be auctioned off and used as door prizes at the event. All proceeds will go to support PIH Canada's global initiatives. If you have any questions or would like to donate work, please contact Ashley Mogg at amog@pih.org

About PIH:
"Partners In Health Canada is a non-profit organization relentlessly committed to global health equity. We do whatever it takes to bring lifesaving care to the marginalized poor anywhere we work — because we take the right to universal health care seriously, and because the status quo is unsustainable for those we serve."

Akin Show & Tell #46 (Previously known as the Akin Crit)

Wednesday July 27, 7pm at Akin Lansdowne - 87 Wade Ave, studio 101
*Free for all and open to the public*

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 people and hang out.

This month we are meeting at Akin Lansdowne at 87 Wade Ave in studio 101. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch! See you there!

www.akincollective.com
www.facebook.com/groups/akincollective/