Creative Space Exhibition

Inaugural Exhibition: Creative Space Residency October 5-29th

Reception Thursday Oct 5 6:30-11pm at St.Aidan's Church in The Beaches

Artists: Diana Bahr, Jade Gregory, Elizabeth Lopez and Lili Vahamaki

Creative Space Toronto is proud to present it’s inaugural exhibition featuring artists; Diana Bahr, Jade Gregory, Elizabeth Lopez and Lili Vahamaki. The Creative Space Residency program is a pilot project begun this year by St. Aidan's Church in reaction to the problem faced by many artists in Toronto ...lack of space.

While Creative Space began initially as a monthly drop-in for artists, Will Adams the Associate Pastor at St.Aidan's in the Beaches quickly realized that a longer-term commitment would do more to address the underlying issues than an evening here or there. He was particularly motivated by a statement made by participant and artist Diana Bahr who told him  “If you could offer space more frequently and you could offer storage, then I would come here more often.” The drop-ins turned into a six-month residency, and the opening reception this Thursday offers a look at the results! 

Called Creative Space Residency, the project works to revitalize the artistic heritage of the church – prominent Canadian visual artist Doris McCarthy was a member – and offers affordable and accessible studio space to artists at the beginning of their careers. The inaugural class includes Bahr, and three of her former classmates, recent graduates of OCAD. The four work out of the newly-christened Alan Dodds Studio, which for years was the residence of the late Alan Dodds, the church’s longtime caretaker and a fixture of the church community.

Join the artists for the public opening reception on Thursday, October 5th, 6:30–11pm. The exhibition runs from October 5 – October 29. After the opening the show will be accessible by appointment only staidan@eol.ca 416-691-2222Akin friend and artist Diana Bahr is pleased to

''The inaugural Creative Space Residency Exhibit challenges the way we think about space, place and time.  Each installation poses philosophical questions about the ‘nature of things.’  As we appreciate the skill and dedication of each artist and the their work, we are asked to pause for a moment in time.  We know the moment will pass.  But each piece asks us to linger, look, and see the world anew'' - Matt Adams, Creative Space Residency Founder and Associate Pastor at St.Aidan's Church.

Akin Lansdowne artist Monique Resnick at the Orillia Museum of Art and History and Riverdale Gallery

Akin Lansdowne artist Monique Resnick will be showing works in two upcoming exhibitions in September and October: The Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed at the Orillia Museum of Art & History, and A Living Mosaic at the Riverdale Gallery. More information on both shows below:

Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed
The Orillia Museum of Art & History - 30 Peter St South, Orillia, On
Exhibition dates: September 23 – November 26, 2017
Reception: September 29 | 7—9pm
www.orilliamuseum.org

The Carmichael Canadian Landscape Exhibition: Tradition Transformed was created in recognition of Group of Seven member, Franklin Carmichael, who was born in Orillia. Now in its 16th year, this juried show calls on artists from across the country to submit work that embraces, challenges, comments, critiques, echoes, re-works or strengthens images, perceptions and interpretations of Canadian landscape through the artist's chosen medium.

Monique will be showing a painting entitled 'Disparities'. 

Monique’s approach to art involves viewing the subject matter from a literal 30,000 feet. Specifically she uses Google Map imagery to assess and depict the relationship between the land and those who occupy it. By taking this approach the viewer is able to evaluate the discrepancies fuelled by conspicuous consumption. From population density to the degree of resources required to manicure lawns, Monique forces the viewer to acknowledge that which they may not have otherwise been exposed to. This painting depicts the expansive grounds of an estate home, standing in contrast to smaller or ‘modest’ homes. The source comes from subdivisions and estate homes in her hometown of York Region.


A Living Mosaic: The Cartography of Origins and Settlement
Riverdale Gallery - 1326 Gerrard St E, third floor, Toronto, On
Exhibition dates: September 30 and October 1
www.riverdalegallery.ca

A Living Mosaic is a two day celebratory event and month long exhibition that offers a fresh take on Canadian identity. The exhibition aims to pay tribute to the varying stories of origin that lend vibrancy into our collective society, specifically highlighting Indigenous and immigrant histories in Canada. Featuring the work of thirteen local artists, Living Mosaic represents a broad spectrum of experience and historical perspectives that together acknowledge the past, celebrate the present, and look toward building a bright future. 

Monique will be showing a piece entitles 'The Synagogue Project'.

The Synagogue Project sets out to capture all the synagogues in the city of Toronto and York Region. Monique's interest lies in the way religious and cultural groups morph and mobilize to suit the needs of their communities. Her own Synagogue Beth Tikvah had a day school in it, where she once attended Hebrew School. Due to the decline of the Jewish population in the Willowdale area the school had to close its doors but the sanctuary has remained open.

Many of the structures documented in this piece are situated along Bathurst Street- knows for its historical and contemporary ties to the Jewish community. The architectural details captured tend to denote the different groups within the Jewish religion; Sephardic shuls have Mediterranean influence whereas the Askhenazi structures borrow from North American architecture. The piece is not set in time but forever evolving. Synagogues are demolished, transformed, erected and converted thus this piece is really only a starting point. One of the synagogues captured here (Shaar Shalom) has shuttered within the past year due to population change, it will become the site of a Catholic school.
 

Akin Visits the Textile Museum of Canada - October 7

Saturday, October 7 / 1pm / Textile Museum of Canada - 55 Centre Avenue, Toronto / $10 per person (includes admission to the museum and guided tour) - attendance is limited, please register at www.universe.com/textiles

Akin invites you to join us for a special visit to the Textile Museum of Canada (TMC). Participants will go on a guided tour of current exhibitions: ‘Diligence and Elegance: The Nature of Japanese Textiles’ and ‘Tied, Dyed and Woven: Ikat Textiles from Latin America’, both from TMC’s permanent collection. These two exhibitions demonstrate the strength of the Textile Museum of Canada’s exhibition programming with a focus on both traditional techniques and contemporary practice. 

The Textile Museum of Canada is the only museum in Canada that explores ideas and builds cultural understanding through the universally relevant media of textiles. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the Museum’s permanent collection spans nearly 2,000 years and consists of more than 13,000 artifacts. The TMC presents rotating exhibitions, changed throughout the year including the work of local, national and international contemporary artists. The TMC also hosts touring exhibitions and guest curators through various partnerships and collaborations. While objects from the TMC’s permanent collection are often featured, our full permanent collection is not always on display. www.textilemuseum.ca

The Textile Museum of Canada is a fully accessible facility.
 

Calls For Submission: Residencies Ontario & Canada

CAETANI CENTRE: Ceramics Residency – Deadline September 30th

BANFF DIGITAL ARTS PROGRAM (x4) – Deadlines September 27th - October 4th

SPARKBOX STUDIO: Emerging Artist Residency Award – Deadline October 1st

ARTSCAPE GIBRALTER POINT: Winter Art Residency – Deadline October 10th

CENTRE 3 : Print & Media Arts – Deadline November 15th

Calls For Submission: Residencies Ontario & Canada

Caetani Centre Ceramics Residency – Deadline September 30th 

Based in Vernon BC, the program provides ceramic artists the ability to work in a supportive community environment of like-minded individuals, to share their expertise and vision, to inspire excellence and create work at the highest level in a nurturing and creative environment. The artist is provided with accommodations at the Caetani Centre, and is also provided with use of a shared studio workspace and equipment at the Vernon Community Arts Centre (VCAC) operated by the Arts Council of the North Okanagan (ACNO).

The residency is a multi-faceted experience that will include opportunities for teaching, community outreach, interaction with other artists, and studio care, and will culminate in an exhibition of new work.

·  Deadline to Apply for 2018: September 30th, 2017

·  Successful applicants will be notified October 15th 2017

·  Residency: January 4th – March 31st (dates are flexible) 2018

·  Solo exhibition: resident will have a show during the last two weeks of their stay.

Please visit www.caetani.org to apply. 

Banff Digital Arts Program Residencies (x4) – Deadlines September 27th to October 4th

Arts Writer in Residence 2018
January 15 – June 29, 2018
Application deadline: September 27, 2017
This six-month residency will provide time, space, and access to resources for mid-career arts writers to further develop their curatorial and critical writing, conduct research, while engaging with artists-in-residence and programs in Visual + Digital Arts. This residency is suited to arts writers focused on the development of a substantial project resulting in an external publication, presentation, or exhibition with a strong critical arts writing component.

Curator in Residence 2018
January 15 – June 29, 2018
Application deadline: September 27, 2017

This six-month residency will provide time, space, and access to resources for mid-career curators to develop an exhibition or project, conduct research, while engaging with artists-in-residence and programs in Visual + Digital Arts. This residency is suited to curators focused on the development of a substantial project resulting in an external public exhibition or curatorial event.

Big Bang Residency
December 11 – 15, 2017
Application deadline: October 4, 2017
Artists, designers, architects, scientists, engineers, and other creative professionals are invited to submit proposals to create an interactive public art work that references science, technology, and collective experience. The successful project will be built over the course of a year in Calgary, beginning with a planning and incubation residency hosted at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The work will premiere in September 2018 at Beakerhead in Calgary, Canada.

The Evolving Book: Contemporary Artist Book Practices
March 5 – 30, 2018
Application deadline: October 4, 2017
The Evolving Book: Contemporary Artist Book Practices is a program focused on the role of artists’ books in contemporary art practice. Artists’ books (books as art) arose in the 1900s as a format for exploring visual art and text-based practices; as a method of democratizing art distribution, and as a vehicle for sharing conceptual, critical, and political ideas.

ABOUT US
Visual + Digital Arts programs at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity offer opportunities for artists to engage with world-renowned faculty and peers to gain new insights into the development of their work. Access to facilities and expertise in photography, sculpture, printmaking, papermaking, ceramics, fibre, painting, digital media, video, and sound, as well as curatorial studies are available. Be the first to know of new program announcements, sign up for our newsletter, follow Banff Centre on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

For more information:
Office of the Registrar
Email: VisualArts_Registrar@banffcentre.ca
Phone: 403.762.6180 or 1.800.565.9989
banffcentre.ca

SPARKBOX STUDIO: Emerging Artist Residency Award 2017– Deadline October 1st    

Beginning your career as an emerging artist can be tough, which is why Spark Box Studio is offering FREE RESIDENCIES to emerging artists. This residency opportunity is a unique way for emerging artists to cultivate new ideas, access a rich library of arts resources, learn about career-building opportunities, and develop an understanding of the art world.

ABOUT THE AWARD
Spark Box Studio a print studio and artist residency that is offering six emerging artists (from anywhere in Canada) a one-week residency at our studio and residency in Prince Edward County. The selected applicants will be given a semi-private studio space, access to the Spark Box Studio equipment and resources, living accommodations, as well as a one-hour consultation with owner Chrissy Poitras regarding their specific arts business questions.

Deadline: October 1, 2017.
Please be advised that the award is for 7 consecutive days.
For more details and to apply visit: http://sparkboxstudio.com/residencyaward/
Spark Box Studio
885 County Rd. 5
Picton, ON
K0K 2T0

Artscape Gibraltar Point Winter Island Artist-In-Residence Program 2018
 

Deadline: 10 October, 2017, 12pm
Program Dates: 2 January – 30 April, 2018
Exhibition: May 20 - June 2, 2018 - Artscape Youngplace
More info: ArtscapeGibraltarPoint.ca
Artscape Gibraltar Point is seeking project proposals from artists working in all media for the Winter Island Artist-In-Residence program for 2018. Now in its third year, Winter Island is a unique, juried artist-in-residence program aimed at emerging, mid-career and established artists, hosted at Artscape Gibraltar Point, an artist residency located on the picturesque Toronto Islands.

Winter Island recognizes four artists annually who have demonstrated a strong and unique artistic voice while working in Canada’s visual arts community and provide them with one month of distraction-free studio time and accommodation to create and/or develop a new and exciting work, or body of work that engages and activates the artist community at Artscape Gibraltar Point and the Toronto Islands.

Selected artists will have the opportunity to present these works/projects to the public as a part of a Winter Island Group Exhibition to take place at the conclusion of the residency series at Artscape Youngplace Hallway Galleries, vitrines and select Flex Studios, in late May/Early June 2018.

4 SELECTED ARTISTS WILL RECEIVE: A complimentary month-long stay at Artscape Gibraltar Point including a private studio and bedroom; ferry tickets (to a maximum of 8 round trips); $100/wk food or materials stipend; promotion of their residency and project via press release; promotion of their residency and project via Artscape’s social media channels; opportunity to participate in the communal life of Artscape Gibraltar Point and engage with participants in our self-directed residency and long-term studio rental programs.

October 10, 2017 – Submission Deadline
November 15, 2017 – Winter Island Artists-In-Residence Announced. All applicants notified
January 2, 2018 – First Winter Island Artist Residency begins
February 5, 2018 – Second Winter Island Artist Residency begins
March 5, 2018 – Third Winter Island Artist Residency begins
April 2, 2018 – Final Winter Island Artist Residency begins
May 20 – June 2, 2018 – Winter Island Artist Residency Exhibition at Artscape Youngplace

HOW TO APPLY
Please apply using our form on Submittable. Should you require assistance with the application process, do not hesitate to contact Andrew Lochhead, Residency & Programming Coordinator, Artscape Gibraltar Point at alochhead@artscape.ca.
For more information including submission criteria and eligibility, please visit http://artscapegibraltarpoint.ca/winter-island-artist-in-residence-program-2018/
 

CENTRE 3 : HAMILTON Print & Media Arts – Deadline November 15th

Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts is an artist-run centre dedicated to promoting print and media arts in contemporary artistic discourse. As a production, exhibition, education and animator of community arts, Centre[3] supports both traditional and experimental print media and media art practices. The centre encourages research and innovation and provides forums for discussion and examination of critical and theoretical issues. Centre[3] supports artists in the development of their professional endeavours and acts as a resource centre for the visual and media arts community.

Continuing our efforts to promote and support art-making practices, Centre[3] is proud to offer its Emerging Artist Residency Program. The program will begin in December 2017 and will conclude in February 2018. Following their residencies, the artists will be showcased in the main exhibition space at Centre[3], from February 23 to April 7, 2018.

Artists must:

• Have completed, or are enrolled in, postsecondary education.
• Be in the early stages of their career with less then 5 years of exhibition history.

Centre[3] will provide:

• Unlimited access to the studios (traditional and digital) for the duration of the residency (within hours of operation).
• 5 hours of free technical assistance.
• A $200 stipend.
• Free technical support.
• 10 images (jpeg, 1MB maximum).
• C.V. (3 pages maximum).
• Letter of intent (let us know what you are planning to do, 500 words maximum).
• Please place all text in one document (doc or PDF), with images separate.

To apply please provide the following information:

• Contact information, name, address, phone, email, website.
• 10 images. (jpeg, 1MB max)
• Artist statement. (500 words max.)
• C.V. (Three pages max)
• Letter of intent. (Let us know what you are planning to do) 500 words max.(Please place all text in one document, doc or pdf, with images separate.)

Due date is November 15, 2017

Please email or deliver the application package to:
Residency at Centre[3]
173 James Street North
Hamilton, ONL8R 2K9
programming@centre3.com


Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts
www.centre3.com
173 James St. N
Hamilton, ONL8R 2K0
905.524.5084
 

Claire Correia and the Akin Vitrine Gallery

The Akin Vitrine Gallery is excited to present new work by Akin Lansdowne studio artist, Claire Correia, on exhibit until the end of September. 

The Angel of History

She said: what is history?
And he said: history is an angel being blown backwards into the future
He said: history is a pile of debris
And the angel wants to go back and fix things
To repair the things that have been broken
But there is a storm blowing from paradise
And the storm keeps blowing the angel backwards into the future
And this storm, this storm is called progress

Laurie Anderson – excerpt from The Dream Before. 1989.

Claire Correia is a multi-media artist who works with both two and three-dimensional media including soft glass, in combination with small scale metal-working, paper engineering, and use of wood and other materials. Her installations, relief wall pieces and kinetic sculptures express ideas about energy, environment, and the Earth as a living entity. Claire also is a mother, paints, maintains a rigorous sketchbook practice, is a design educator in the School of Graphic Design at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, and is a pastry cook at the Dundas Park Kitchen in Toronto, Canada.

The Angel of History, 2017
Mixed Media
dimensions variable

The Akin Vitrine Gallery is located at the Clock Factory Building at 1485 Dupont Street (entrance on Campbell Avenue). Find Akin Studio 215 on the second floor and follow the sign into the hallway around the corner.

The building is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or to arrange a viewing outside of those hours please contact the artist: clairelcorreia@yahoo.com

website: www.clairecorreia.com
instagram: @claire.correia
#AkinVitrine

Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present the Vitrine Gallery, a valued addition to our Dupont studios. This miniature gallery will feature the diverse talent of our members with a new installation each month.

Xpace Cultural Centre annual fall programming launch and back-to-school party

Xpace Cultural Centre invites you to join them for their annual FREE fall programming launch and back-to-school party on September 8 from 7-11pm, featuring new work created this summer at Akin Lansdowne by our summer artists-in-residence Emily Norry and Kendra Lee, with accompanying essay by Sam Roberts. Emily, Kendra and Sam were winners of the Xpace Summer Residency Program for OCAD U graduates.

September 8 – October 14, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, September 8, 7-11pm

Poster by Wil Brask

Emily Norry, Queeries into History: The Love of Loring and Wyle (Project Space)

With accompanying essay by Sam Roberts.

This series by Emily Norry explores the lives of Toronto artists Frances Loring and Florence Wyle and their lifetime spent together. Through this show, Norry looks to expand upon her series Queeries into History with a more in depth exploration of these two artists. Where Queeries into History was meant to outline an entire ancestry of queer women through time, The Love of Loring and Wyle is a biography of two beloved but often forgotten artists that helped shape Toronto’s art world, while never wavering in their commitment to one another.

Using watercolour printmaking, Norry takes historical photos of Loring and Wyle’s careers and personal lives, paints them in colour and transfers them onto fabric. These leave images cracked, faded, and sometimes warped from the originals; this is reflective of the way history is often forgotten and overwritten in modern view. These images are then embellished, with embroidery, patterning and dried flowers as a way to describe intimacy, relationships and the way the past is reframed and added to in the present. The works will explore their sculptures, time as students, associations with arts societies, and their more then 50 year relationship. 

www.emilynorry.com

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Kendra Yee, Pantry Shelf (Window Space)

With accompanying essay by Sam Roberts.

The attempts to trace back family lineage are swallowed by the movements of time. Documents discarded, photographs burned, tombstones never carved and names changed to survive systems. Mimicking the setup of Kendra Yee’s Yeh-Yeh’s corner store in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, this installation honours family-run businesses. The items displayed replace the culture that has been lost, reclaiming broken narratives and forming new stories.

www.kendrayee.com

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Save the date! Akin will be visiting these exhibitions as a part of our Fall Gallery Crawl on Saturday September 16. Stay tuned for more info! 

Desire Lines, the latest exhibition curated by Art Spin opens tomorrow!

Art Spin is excited to present, in partnership with Waterfront Toronto, a free and exciting group exhibition titled Desire Lines, showcasing the work of some of our most notable regional artists presenting artwork from a wide variety of disciplines and opening this Thursday August 24th.

This exhibition responds to themes that deal with the highly nuanced dynamic of place making and what constitutes the concept of home, as well as exploring our complex and storied relationship to our waterfront. Desire Lines will transform a massive 8000 sqft. warehouse and retired condo presentation centre with many works responding to the unique features of the space itself.

ARTISTS:
Karen Miranda Abel • Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins • Kaitlyn Bourden • Hannah Busse • Paul Chartrand • Nicole Clouston • Naomi Dodds • Anna Eyler • Chris Foster • Young & Giroux • Sarah Kernohan • Alex McLeod • Daniel Rotsztain • Lauren Schaffer • Chris Hanson & Hendrika Sonnenberg • Sheldon Storey • Jessica Thalmann (of Akin Lansdowne) • Tough Guy Mountain • VSVSVS

LOCATION:
291 Lake Shore Boulevard East (just west of Parliament St.)
Look for a painted white warehouse. The exhibition is fully accessible. The space, which is just south of the Distillery District, can be accessed easily by bicycle from the Waterfront Trail, or by car via Queens Quay, there is a paid parking lot available on site.

DATES & HOURS:
Opening Night Reception & Party: Thursday, August 24th 7pm - 1am
Exhibition Runs: August 25th - September 3rd
Exhibition Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12pm - 8pm, Sundays 12pm - 6pm

SPECIAL EVENTS:
OPENING NIGHT PARTY - Thursday August 24th, 7pm - 1am

CURATOR & ARTIST TALK - Saturday August 26th, 3pm - 4pm
Join Art Spin curators Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta to walk through the exhibition and discuss some of the curatorial themes. Artists joining us to talk about their work - to be announced.

ABOUT ART SPIN:
Art Spin has been operating professionally as an arts presenter for over eight years, activating decommissioned venues and unique public spaces to produce large scale group exhibitions along with curated bicycle-led art tours to showcase a wide range of newly commissioned art programing in unusual site-specific settings. Most recently Art Spin presented in/future: a transformative art experience, a unique 11 day festival of art and music that animated the West Island of Ontario Place in 2016. Art Spin is led by Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta, artists and independent curators, who are driven by a strong sense of commitment and passion for presenting contemporary artworks in alternative, everyday spaces in order to make its audience’s experiences with art more engaging and exciting.
www.artspin.ca

'FLAT' opening reception tonight at Bunker 2

FLAT is an immersive installation that also operates as an escape room game. Participants interact with the space and work together to solve a series of challenges over the course of an hour-long game in order to escape the gallery. Based on the structure and tropes of the escape room game phenomenon, FLAT is a game conceptualized, designed, and built by artists.

Exploring the aspirations and limitations of the micro- and minimalist-living movements, FLATresponds to Bunker 2’s form as a repurposed shipping container. The game investigates histories of small-space living—from modernist design movements to the tiny home trend to the precarity of improvised living spaces built by those pushed out by gentrification.

FLAT
A collaborative project by Alison Cooley, Ivana Dizdar, Alvin Luong, and Andrew Savery-Whiteway
Bunker 2 - 346 Campbell Ave
August 18–September 10, 2017

OPENING RECEPTION
7–10pm, Friday August 18, 2017

PLAY THE GAME
By appointment, August 19–September 10, 2017
The game is suitable for 2-5 players.

Wednesday-Friday: 7:00 pm; 8:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 12 pm; 1:30 pm; 3:00 pm; 4:30 pm

Please visit liveflat.ca to book

Bookings are free—there is no cost to play the game, but we ask that participants respect their commitment to their booking. Visit our website for additional booking details.

CONTACT US
WEB: liveflat.ca or bunker2.ca

THIS SATURDAY! Akin & North York Arts: Newcomer Exhibition & Artist Talk

Artist Talk- Saturday, August 19, 1-3pm at Akin Sunrise
 100 Sunrise Ave, Studio 106A

Presented by North York Arts and Akin, 'Cursory' is an exhibition that displays new and recently created artworks by emerging artists residing in Toronto, Hussain Al Ismail, Pradeep Anurag Reddy and Victor Vazquez.

Seeking to celebrate community, 'Cursory' brings to attention an incisive look at the creative work explored by three personal narratives who fleetingly inhabit a space. Informed by their individual experiences as immigrants, the artists' multi-faceted practice is presented as an inventive quest for a thorough glance at the quotidian. Multiple art formats such as paintings, sculptures, digital art, and sketches are displayed together interpreted in the uniqueness of each artist to represent their identities.

Meet the artists and tour Akins Collective's new studio and programming space at 100 Sunrise Ave in North York. From 1-3pm August 19th.

Akin at Zine Dream 10!!

Akin is proud to be one of over 100 exhibitors featured at Zine Dream 10. Join us on August 20 to see the best of self published books, comics, music, zines, hand made crafts, prints & much more! One day only. The event is PWYC and will take place at the Polish Combatants' Hall, 206 Beverley Street.

Our table will feature zines, books and more by our amazing Akin artists including: 

Sophie Berg - www.sophiecberg.com

Erin Candela - www.erincandela.ca

Brittany Carmichael - www.brittanycarmichael.com

Emily DiCarlo - www.emilydicarlo.com

Emma Dolan (Desert Pets Press) - www.desertpetspress.com

Julianne Ess - http://cargocollective.com/julianneess

Billy Franklin - www.eaturpie.com

Enrique Gaudite - www.instagram.com/enrique_snaps

Natascha Malta - https://greetingsfromtoronto.wordpress.com

Jen Pilles - www.jenpilles.com

Kayla Polan - www.kaylapolan.com

Katie Sadie - www.katiesadie.com

and More! 

THERE WILL BE CAKE! 
COME CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF SMALL PRESS IN OUR CITY!

Obvious and Implied: Paintings by Nancy Bennett at Deer Park Public Library

A new solo exhibition of sky paintings by Nancy Bennett of Akin Sunrise are on display for the month of August at Deer Park Public Library, 40 St. Clair Avenue East. 

Nancy Bennett is a self-schooled artist. She has studied under several Toronto artists in formal and informal settings. Nancy is also co-founder of Four Corners Studio in Riverside/Leslieville. 
Her work is held in private and corporate collections in Canada and the U.S.A.

www.nancybennett.ca

Tomorrow! Grand Opening of Project Gallery's new space!

Join us for the grand opening of Project Gallery's new 2,500 sq ft space at 1210 Dundas St E on Thursday August 3rd from 6-10pm. 

On display will be works by represented artists including Sara Letovsky and Sara Pearson of Akin Dupont, as well as:

Kevin Colombus
Camille Jodoin-Eng
Ness Lee
Jean-Luc Lindsay
Tessar Lo
Greg McCarthy
Callen Schaub
SoTeeOh

Akin Vitrine Gallery featuring Enrique Gaudite

Enrique Velez Gaudite is a storyteller. Using imagery and text, found and original, he aims to compare and contrast the power of media in its digital and analog forms. He works in marketing communications by day and on his practice beyond the 40 hours outside of the fluorescent box. His work questions sincerity in social media and problematics that come with economics, love, and other conventions.

Enrique is a current member of Akin’s Dupont Studios and his installation, 404 will be on exhibit for the month of August 2017.  

He's also the founder of a small press called Particular Instances of the Possible which specializes in publishing books, zines, artists' prints, and objects.

404, 2017
Mixed Media
dimensions variable

The Akin Vitrine Gallery is located at the Clock Factory Building at 1485 Dupont Street (entrance on Campbell Avenue). Find Akin Studio 215 on the second floor and follow the sign into the hallway around the corner.

The building is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or to arrange a viewing outside of those hours please contact the artist: evgaudite@gmail.com

instagram: @enrique_snaps

@AkinVitrine
#AkinVitrine

Akin Announces BIG on Bloor BIG Xplorations Mural Project!

Akin is proud to announce the launch of three new outdoor murals by our talented studio artists Althea Balmes, Atanas Bozdarov & Sarvenaz Rayati of Akin Lansdowne, and Billy Franklin of Akin Dupont. 

The murals will be created as a part of BIG on Bloor Festival’s offsite pop-up series ‘BIG Xplorations’ on July 22 and 23 and remain in place for the duration of the summer for the public to enjoy. The works will be created on-site at 1319 Bloor St W in the Value Village parking lot, and along the West Toronto Railpath. These murals will represent the diversity of Akin Collective studio artists and our neighbourhood and community.

About the murals and the artists: 

‘What’s in Your Fridge?’ by Althea Balmes & Atanas Bozdarov

What’s in your fridge? Althea and Atanas will answer the question by transforming their BIG on Bloor mural structure into a fridge—exposing its inside and revealing the yummy contents through fun and colourful illustrations.

Althea and Atanas will collaborate with the community to illustrate the food and drink ideas that they provide. They will be collecting this information prior to the event, and during the live painting, taking suggestions on site. This work is intended to create a conversation about food and culture, and also engage the community allowing them to become active participants.

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.  She teaches visual storytelling workshops throughout the city. She has won the 2012 Women in Film and Television-Toronto (WIFT-T) Award for her film, “Suman Ladies”. She received The Min Sook Lee Award for her on-going community based comic book project about the real lives of Filipino live-in Caregivers, “Kwentong Bayan: Labour of Love” in 2014. Althea is currently doing her Master of Information in User Experience Design at University of Toronto. www.altheabalmes.com

Atanas Bozdarov is an interdisciplinary artist and designer who focuses on deconstructing the ways in which we read and interpret systems and structures. From quoting fragments of architectural blueprints or game sequences, to generating musical motifs from non-musical sources, he constructs incomplete and surprising structures in order to question our understanding of the working systems around us.  www.atanasbozdarov.com

‘An Artist at Work’ by Sarvenaz Rayati

An artist at work. A woman who has done a painting in a nature setting seems restless and is still looking for something. Featuring a persian poem on love.

Sarvenaz is an Iranian visual artist now based in Toronto. She received her BA in Painting and Visual Communication from Art University in Tehran. She has exhibited her work internationally and has recently participated in group exhibitions at Urban Space and Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. Since moving to the city, she has focused on her drawing and painting practice and has immersed herself in the community arts world. She visits schools, leads painting workshops, and participates in community arts and mural projects, including the Coxwell Laneway Mosaic Mural. This summer, Sarvenaz is leading People & Trees, a community art project that will culminate with an installation in East York's Dentonia Park as part of City of Toronto Cultural Hotspot’s SPARK Projects.

“Storytelling has always been my main motivation to create art. Heritage, the self, paths, nature, the act of seeking—these are all recurrent themes in my work. I’m inspired by Persian miniatures, comics, found photographs and life around me.”
www.sarvenaz-rayati.com
Instagram: @sarvenaz_ray

‘Bloordale Freestyle’ by Billy Franklin

After many years of keeping design and graffiti separate, artist Billy Franklin has combined the better parts of both worlds by staying true to the DIY ethos. Franklin works in mostly analog techniques, but also has formal training in graphic design. He quickly developed an awareness for a brush and can using self-taught techniques. With a great respect for both methods of practice, his work is carefully thought out with keen attention to detail. Focusing on hard lines, bold colours and clean typography, Billy’s work is easily recognizable. He is influenced by late 90’s skateboard graphics and cartoons from his childhood. Franklin’s work is humorous and witty, sure to draw in his audience with his clever perspective.

Working from his head, Billy will create a freestyle mural that will represent Bloordale and the Akin Community. Things that may be included in the final production: pineapples, cool shoes, coffee cups, bikes, fun patterns, bright colours, puppers, other cool fruits; maybe a classic Billy F portrait partying with a pupper while eating a pineapple and riding a bike in cool shoes thinking about coffee! No matter the final design, you can count on a super fun piece! 
www.eaturpie.com
Instagram: @eaturpie


About the festival:
The BIG on Bloor Festival is a car-free street festival along Bloor Street from Dufferin to Lansdowne. It attracts 100,000 visitors and this year is celebrating 10 years of community building, culturally significant events, activities, displays and exhibitions. This year, greater focus will be given to defining areas for exhibiting artists and spaces to showcase contemporary performances to the general public.

BIG Xplorations is a special pop-up series of live painting, sculpture installations, spot garden releases and events in various venues from West of Lansdowne to the Toronto Railpath. This portion of the street will not be car-free, instead locations will be promoted in a crawl style for visitors to explore. BIG Xplorations will feature over 20 local artists, showcasing works in sculpture, art exhibitions in shipping containers, live painting on mural structures, contemporary performances and other activities which can engage guests. These locations will be featured during the festival and will also survive after the festival dates allowing for guests to visit sites for months after.
www.bigonbloorfestival.com

About Akin:
Akin is a Toronto-based arts organization that provides affordable studio space as well as arts-based programming through it's sister non-profit organization, Akin Projects. Our studios provide a working environment that maintains a friendly and inspiring atmosphere where people can work on creative endeavors and entrepreneurial undertakings of all kinds. Akin builds community through monthly art critiques, workshops, open studio events, gallery tours, exhibitions, as well as various other art projects. www.akincollective.com
 

Interested in supporting Akin and our community programs? Learn more here or get in touch! Email michael@akincollective.com

Akin Vitrine Gallery featuring Verity Griscti

Introducing our July installation at the Akin Vitrine Gallery featuring new work by artist and Akin Dufferin studio member, Verity Griscti. Her piece, Rimless is on exhibition until the end of this month in the Akin Vitrine Gallery. 

A drunk staggers home, an animal forages for food, a gambler wins and loses a fortune on a dice roll, and the scientist plots their every move neatly on a graph. Eventually, a model is determined and an algorithm created and all the romance gets sucked out of nature.  We run around modeling everything: molecules, bird flight, real-estate prices. We measure everything we can't predict and take comfort in it's tamed presentation between neatly labelled x and y-axes.
 
Mathematicians, economists and biologists model randomness in the hopes of unlocking a better understanding of their subjects. I model randomness because it's messy, often plain and occasionally beautiful, even whimsical.  Chance will ultimately roll over neatly defined borders and overflow onto its surroundings. It may look plain, divine or foul but it's a force that's always there.
 
Verity Griscti is an artist and jill-of-all digital trades based in Toronto. Her studio practice explores generative systems and seriality in both analogue and digital mediums. She's built numerous websites including the award-winning Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada and has participated in various exhibitions including The Toronto Outdoor Art Show, and EyeScream II: The Visual Life of Words  and Eye Scream III: Revenge of the Glyph, the visual arts component of the Scream Literary Festival. Verity received a BFA in Printmaking from OCADu in 2004 and is currently enrolled in Ryerson University's Computer Programming Applications Certificate in a move to go 'all in' on this internet thing.

Rimless, 2017
Mixed Media
dimensions variable

The Akin Vitrine Gallery is located at the Clock Factory Building at 1485 Dupont Street (entrance on Campbell Avenue). Find Akin Studio 215 on the second floor and follow the sign into the hallway around the corner.

The building is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, or to arrange a viewing outside of those hours please contact the artist: verity.griscti@gmail.com

veritygriscti.com
www.instagram.com/veritygriscti

Akin at the 2017 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition / July 14-16

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

Akin Sunrise Exhibition Reception and Open Studio - Saturday July 8, 6-9pm

Saturday July 8 / 6-9pm / Akin Sunrise - 100 sunrise Ave, studio 106A / Free to attend, everyone welcome, BYOB! 

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Akin Sunrise with a a group exhibition of work by our talented studio artists. Enjoy a drink and some light refreshments, have a tour of the artist’s studios, and mingle with Akin artists and community members in our programming space.

Featuring work by Akin Sunrise artists:

Beverly Allen - www.nomadarttoronto.com
Nancy Bennett - www.nancybennett.ca
Kristy Blackwell - www.kristyblackwell.com
Steve Byrnes - www.saatchiart.com/stevebyrnes
Renee Castonguay - www.tsa-art.com/faculty-staff/renee-castonguay
June Clark - www.juneclark.ca
Maxwell Galley - www.maxwellgalley.com
Madelaine Lyons Cooper - www.madelainelyonscooper.com
Katie Sadie - www.katiesadie.com
and Jeff Tallon - www.jefftallon.com

The exhibition will be on display in our programming space from July 8 - August 8. If you are unable to make it to the opening night reception and would like to view the exhibition, please email jeff@akincollective.com to make arrangements.

Accessibility:
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.

Getting There:
By TTC: 
Take the Bloor-Danforth Subway Line to Coxwell Station. Proceed to city bus 70A or 70B. Exit bus at Sunrise Ave, it is a 400 meter walk to 100 Sunrise Avenue.

By car:
Akin Sunrise is easily accesible from the Don Valley Parkway. There is onsite parking.

Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) 2018 Exhibitor Registration

The 8th annual TO DO Festival runs January 15-21, 2018. Independently-produced events, exhibitions, and window installations are integral to the Festival’s structure. TO DO welcomes all who want to present, discuss, demonstrate, or exhibit design in any field and/or related disciplines.

2018 Exhibitor Registration

Deadline: Monday, October 2, 2017 by 11:59pm EST.
Exhibitors include independent designers, design firms, local businesses, academic and cultural institutions, and students. Exhibitors are responsible for arranging their own venue in the city of Toronto, including spaces such as galleries, studios, workshops, cafés, schools, cinemas, and businesses. Window installations must run for the entire week, events must take place during the week, and exhibitions must run during some part of the week. Installations and exhibitions can start before and/or end after Festival Week.

Thematic Exhibition: Matter

Deadline: all submissions are due Friday, September 22, 2017 by 11:59pm EST.
Recycling is a daily act for the modern civic-minded citizen. Its intrinsic value instilled following the “3Rs” campaign of the late 1970s, we diligently sort our waste for processing elsewhere. But the methods, proximity, scale, inputs, and outcomes of recycling processes are massively diverse. Matter explores acts of material transformation and change. It considers the possibility of material memory in which use leaves a mark, whether visible or invisible; the history and future of recycling processes from a personal to a global scale; and the mundane and ritualistic aspects of material use and applications. Matter asks the question: what happens when we take a long-term view of material life?

Matter invites submissions from artists and designers working in all mediums and formats. TO DO are open to projects expressed in 2- or 3-dimensions, digital or analog, whether they be object- or concept-based.

TO DO Talks Symposium: Designing the Future of Work

Deadline: all submissions are due Friday, September 22, 2017 by 11:59pm EST. 
The world is increasingly digital and with it, so too is work. With a widespread shift towards greater connectivity, and robots capable of performing complex tasks, the landscape of work has changed dramatically, rendering a future that is less predictable and more complex. This new landscape offers a rousing combination of opportunities and challenges. Yet, jobs are increasingly unstable, or have disappeared altogether.

Design plays a major role in reshaping the way we work. It helps us imagine different futures, transitioning “old ways” of doing things, to new and “better” ways of doing and being. We seek designers and thinkers to give presentations that inspire. Talks may be about current research or case studies, new products or technologies, spaces or experiences, speculative design or strategies, or new processes or policies. TO DO welcome diverse perspectives and responses to the theme of designing the future of work.

Call for Host Venues

Deadline: all submissions are due Friday, July 7, 2017 by 11:59pm EST.
If you have a venue you’d like to have activated with a window installation, event, or exhibition. Potential venues include spaces in the City of Toronto such as shops, galleries, studios, cafés, schools, and cinemas. By submitting to this call for host venues, you agree to host a creative project by an artist or designer during Festival Week, January 15-21, 2018. The duration and type of participation is entirely determined by you when you make your submission. Host venues pay a registration fee, and provide the venue free of charge to the artist or designer.

Akin International: COOL – THE ARCTIC OUTSIDERS

Marius

COOL - THE ARTIC OUTSIDERS June 29th to September 1st 2017 Norway’s Museum for Outsider Art

Akin member Jordan MacLachlan's upcoming show COOL – THE ARCTIC OUTSIDERS will open June 29th Norway’s Museum. The exhibit will take place in a new gallery in the center of Harstad during The Northern Norway Festival. MacLachlan, was invited to exhibit her clay vignettes at the festival along with works from other participating Arctic countries: Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Marius (above) depicts the dispassionate response of visitors watching the matter-of-fact killing of the giraffe at the Copenhagen Zoo in 2014. Eighteen-month old Marius was a healthy, but genetically unsuitable, giraffe who was fed his favourite breakfast before he was shot, chopped up, and fed to the lions. MacLachlan’s work bears witness to humanities complex relationship with animals.

Luis Jacob 'Habitat' at Gallery TPW until June 10

Less than a week left to check out 'Habitat' by Luis Jacob, a part of CONTACT Photography Festival at Gallery TPW. Join the artist on June 10 in conversation with Jorge Ribalta, artist, researcher, editor and independent curator from 2-4pm for a reading and discussion as Jorge Ribalta reflects on his recent curatorial work on historical photography exhibitions and the construction of the poetic, epistemic, and political meanings of a public photographic sphere.

'Habitat' presents new work by artist Luis Jacob, who is known for his practice that destabilizes conventions of looking to highlight the socio-political dimensions of the visual world. Anchoring the exhibition is Album XIV, constructed of hundreds of images cut from books and magazines and displayed as an extended sequence without identifying captions or context. The work features images of city planning, abstract art, and references to forms of spectatorship, including the work of various Toronto artists and particular moments in the city’s development. 

More than a chronicle of Toronto’s visual history, Habitat queries the relationship of the city’s culture to its economic life and its forms of self-identity (both projected and submerged). The exhibition continues Jacob’s role as a renegade semiotician—an artist whose reordering of images exerts conscious and unconscious pressure on the ways that people assign, experience, and reconfigure meaning.