Art & Event Consulting - a new service from Akin!

 

If you are looking to connect with artists for your project or event, or are in search of artwork for your space, we can help.

Through our extensive networks of artists, designers, musicians and creators we can work with you to find the right answer to fit your needs.

Previous clients and collaborators have included The AGO, Drake Hotel Properties, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), Grolsch, Bombay Sapphire, Collective Arts Brewing, Sunday Drive Art Projects and more.

Our relationships with prominent creators, cultural institutions, organizations and innovative thinkers allows us to make connections between artists and opportunities that are beneficial for everyone. 

No question or idea is too big, small or strange.  Let's start the conversation. Email us info@akincollective.com

Colleen McCarten / Instagram Takeover Starts Today!

Introducing our next Instagram Takeover Colleen McCarten from Akin Dupont! Colleen is a visual artist working primarily in textiles, drawing inspiration from material exploration and the relationship that happens between minimalism and the handmade; embracing the techniques and textures that come through allowing mistakes. Follow her #akintakeover this week on our @akinprojects Instagram Account! Check out her work at: www.colleenmccarten.com

The Akin Takeover is an ongoing initiative from Akin Projects featuring Akin Collective studio members and friends of Akin. Using the @akinprojects Instagram account as a platform, participants are invited to share a stream of images for one week, giving followers a glimpse into their creative world.

Akin Vitrine Gallery March installation - 'Light Bath' by Adria Mirabelli of Akin Dupont

New work from Akin Dupont member, Adria Mirabelli launches on March 1 in the Akin Vitrine Gallery. Her installation seeks to be a space of visual escape and an affirmation of the importance of self-care.

'Light Bath'
Hand cut vinyl, hardware, LED lights
dimensions variable

This exhibition runs March 1-31 at the Akin Vitrine Gallery.

On view 24/7, time is an entity of interest inside a vitrine space. The vitrine offers a brief escape into another world- one whose welcome extends as long as the viewer chooses to stand in front of it. Winter can feel long and relentless and it is during these months that we often consider time with a heightened awareness. The days are shorter, and we desperately try to hold onto the light that leaves us. Cut from white vinyl, sprawling floral drawings fill the vitrine space with motifs of St. Johns wort, lavender flowers, wild roses, peonies and hemp leaves which are often regarded for their healing properties in combatting anxiety, depression and restlessness. The drawings are projected with soft beams of coloured light, which are controlled on site through Adria’s iPhone, changing in colour throughout the month.

About the Artist:
Adria Mirabelli graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2015 with a major in Drawing and Painting and minor in Fibre. Having also studied at Parsons Paris, her work is influenced by craft and design processes. Her practice is driven by an experimental approach to mark-making whereby she integrates textile manipulation processes with drawing to create large scale works on silk, felt, vinyl and paper. Adria has created site specific installations at Gallery 1313, Xpace Cultural Centre, Artscape Youngplace, the Artist Project 2017 and was a resident at The Roundtable Residency in 2015. She lives and works in Toronto.

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: adria.mirabelli@gmail.com

www.adriamirabelli.com
Instagram: @adriamirabelli
#AkinVitrine

Far Away, So Close / Azadeh Elmizadeh solo exhibition at 26 Art Space

A collection of new paintings by Azadeh Elmizadeh of Akin Lansodwne will be exhibited every Saturday in March at 26, a domestic viewing space for contemporary art.  You are invited to join artists Nicole Collins and Michael Davidson in their home-turned-gallery every Saturday in March to see the paintings and to share some tea and casual conversation.

Far Away, So Close / 2 - 6pm / March 4, 11, 18, & 25 / 26 Mackenzie Crescent, Toronto

About Far Away, So Close
"The passage of time amplified by geographical distance affects one’s response to a moment in time. On occasions, these instances can be discerned better from afar. Working from autobiographical references as a point of departure, I’m interested in the gap a painter deals with, using photographic sources; the gap in representation, between what is seen and what is felt.

While revisiting a moment might bring closer the actual event, it might also lead to a more distant and disconnected response, allowing me to project my own subjectivity. Far away, So close, represents my back and forth approach; between borrowing from the past and making in the present during the past two years. ” - Azadeh Elmizadeh

About the Artist:
Azadeh Elmizadeh is a Toronto-based Iranian-Canadian visual artist. She recently graduated from OCAD University with a BFA in Drawing & Painting. This is her first solo exhibition.

About 26:
26 is a domestic viewing space for contemporary art in the Beaconsfield neighborhood of Toronto, Canada. A curatorial collaboration between artists Nicole Collins and Michael Davidson, 26 features an open program of diverse local and international artists and seeks to engage the viewer in a critical and relaxed experience with art.

One-Of-A-Kind Show Toronto

Don't miss the amazing work by Akin Collective members in the One-Of-A-Kind show this spring!

The One-Of-A-Kind Show runs from March 29th to April 2nd.

Akin Dufferin will be well represented by Allie Kroza (Your Pal Al) and Janet Hinkle (Hinkleville Handemade) So if you are going to be at the show please check out their stuff.

Kyle Yip in the Akin Vitrine Gallery - one week left!

One week left to see Kyle Yip's painting in the Akin Vitrine Gallery! 

This exhibition, running for the month of February features work by Kyle Yip, a current member of our Dupont Studios.

Multimedia artist Kyle Yip also known as Discrete, is a Toronto based artist, DJ, producer and label owner of Savvy Records. He is known not only for his first full-length album, 'The Midas Touch' which garnered him a nomination for 'Best Electronic Album of the Year' at the 2016 Canadian Juno Awards in Calgary, but also his remixes for international artists such as Brabe, Society of Silence and many more.

For his album, Kyle intertwined his love for jazz, disco and soul with a deep-house and techno tinged sensibility. This medley of inspirations were crucial to constructing a sound that is not only exuberant and enigmatic, but also nostalgic and thoughtful. A similar description could be given to his paintings which are equally as energetic yet considered through his use of colour and composition. Conceptually, his work explores the relationship between the concrete and the abstract. More specifically, the left and right hemispheres of the mind as well as physical and spiritual realm.

“Pepto-Abysmal”
48 x 36 inches
Acrylic on panel

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: kylepyip@gmail.com.

www.kyleyip.com
Instagram: @kylepyip
#AkinVitrine

Erin Candela / Instagram Takeover starts today!

The Akin Takeover is an ongoing initiative from Akin Projects featuring Akin Collective studio members and friends of Akin. Using the @akinprojects Instagram account as a platform, participants are invited to share a stream of images for one week, giving followers a glimpse into their creative world. This week's #akintakeover will feature @candles_ aka Erin Candela of Akin Dufferin.

Erin Candela is a Canadian artist originally from northern BC, living in and loving Toronto. With a background in drawing and printmaking, Erin become co-founder of Graven Feather Gallery in 2011, and is now a current member and studio manager of Akin Collective. Her arts practice is a mixed bag of visual and ceramic exploration, often informed by historical documents such as photographs, public school books, nature encyclopedias, books of poetry and newspapers. Themes of memory and identity are frequently present in her work. Ideas of North, Canadian landscape, and portentous depictions of wild creatures and characters are also common and contribute to a scattered and ambiguous narrative. Follow her this week for another Akin Takeover! 

#akintakeover

Akin Artists at The Artist Project - Feb 23-26

This year The Artist Project contemporary art fair is celebrating it's 10th year! The show runs Feb 23-26 at the Better Living Centre and will feature work by over 250 incredible artists from Canada and abroad including some Akin Collective studio members!

Laura Keeling of Akin Dupont was one of 20 artists selected from hundreds of applications to be featured as one of the UNTAPPED Emerging Artists. Find her in Booth U-9. Laura's work pulls inspiration from beautiful everyday moments shared through her photography and collage work. She is currently working on a 'HOT ROCKS' series of collages which are composed of gemstone cut outs from old field guides.

Adria Mirabelli of Akin Dupont will be in the Installation Zone, Booth I-09.  Adria's practice is driven by an experimental approach to mark-making whereby she integrates textile manipulation processes with drawing to create large-scale, site-specific works on silk, felt, vinyl and paper. Her process focuses on a cycle of collection, preservation, and distortion.

Mila Vukosavljevic of Akin Dufferin will be in Booth 509 . Mila's oil and acrylic work questions the ties between seemingly random human interactions. A flirtation between abstraction and figuration, these works portray the inherent connectivity of mankind.

Michael Vickers of Akin Lansdowne will be speaking in the Art Chats Seminar Series on a panel entitled 'The Art of The Fluid' alongside Salimah Ebrahim, and Reagan Zuzarte. The panel discussion will examine how the confluence of technology, physical space and commerce are blurring traditional divisions today. Check it out Saturday, Feb 25th, 11:30am-12:30pm at The Artist Project. Art Chats are complimentary with admission. Space is subject to availability.

Want a discount on tickets for The Artist Project?
Use this Discount Code: TAP10YRS or Click Here.

'Akin Collective buys artists space and time' - Akin Collective in The Toronto Star

We are very excited to be featured in the Visual Arts section of The Toronto Star! Thank you to Murray Whyte for a great article!

“Akin, with its 19,000 square feet across four buildings, most in the city’s traditional west-end hot zone of artistic production (a new property added just this week, at Victoria Park and Eglinton Ave. in the east, bucks the trend) counts 160 members and a longlist of pent-up demand. Small-scale artists at all stages of their careers patiently wait for their own corner to come up, which given the expanding Akin empire seems likely to be sooner than later. ”

— By Murray Whyte, Visual arts, The Star

Akin and Connected

“Just about every artist I met with was under serious pressure to find new lodging. But I kept hearing about a notable exception.

A whispered name. An organization that was creating long-term and insanely affordable studio spaces for artists – the Akin Collective. I just had to know more....What started as a side burner project in 2008 suddenly became a needed and sustainable venture over the past few years.”

— Sean Howard, Intercity Toronto at Medium.com

Akin Collective Interviewed on CBC - Video

After the tragic events of the Oakland warehouse fire, CBC News interviewed Akin's founder Oliver Pauk about art collectives, studio safety, and Akin Collective.

Michael Vickers: Monument - Opening Reception at Patrick Mikhail Gallery

Patrick Mikhail Gallery in Montréal is pleased to present “Monument” a new exhibition by Toronto artist (And Akin Lansdowne studio member) Michael Vickers

January 7 to February 25, 2017

Artist reception:
Saturday, January 7, 2017
2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Sometimes watched though too often not, those beating hearts—those ticking clocks.

PATRICK MIKHAIL GALLERY in Montréal is pleased to present MONUMENT, an exhibition of new works by PMG artist MICHAEL VICKERS. The exhibition, the artist’s first solo presentation with the gallery, marks a continued investigation of the sculptural object, while incorporating elements and influences from industrial design, assemblage, and a renewed interest in poetry.

Waterjet-cut metal panels, engraved boulders, and new large-scale installations fill the gallery space, interjected by floral arrangements and tomographic imagery based on MEG and MRI scans created in collaboration with Dr. Karen Davis’ neurology lab at Toronto Western Hospital. In MONUMENT, we find not only a curiosity towards modes of presentation, materials, and differing relationships between objects, but also introspective reflections (both minute and macro- connections) and contemplations riddled through visual decisions and gestures.
 

Akin Vitrine Gallery featuring "The Braids" by Nicole Krstin - Until Dec 31

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

Our current exhibition, The Braids, is running for the month of December. This new work from Akin member, Nicole Krstin is part of an ongoing series intended to foster dialogue, awareness and understanding about women’s health issues.

“The Braids is about navigating the seemingly otherworldly experience of trying to paint a clear picture of our medical profiles. It is about the need to be vigilant about understanding our bodies, our rights, and about asking questions in order to empower ourselves, rather than remaining in the dark about our health. Layers of paint are carefully cut by-hand to reveal imagery that represent healthy tissue, disease, information, misinformation — all of which is explored and or filtered-out in order to learn more about our bodies. The braids, which are interlaced and therefore stronger than the strands alone, represent the power of knowledge; revealing what is beneath the darkness.”

Nicole Krstin is a visual artist, currently focusing on film photography and painting. She is a “retired” graphic designer, holding a BA from the University of Toronto, with a Major in Anthropology and a Minor in English. Nicole describes herself as being known for incessant mouth breathing, an unrelenting admiration for cats, and saying weird things in-person and on social media. She is uni-coastal, splitting time between Toronto and Brooklyn.

The Braids, 2016
16 x 20 inches
Acrylic on wood, vinyl, fabric

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: info@nicolekrstin.com

www.nicolekrstin.com
Instagram: @nicolekrstin

#AkinVitrine
 

Akin Vitrine Gallery presents The Braids by Nicole Krstin

The Akin Vitrine Gallery, a recent addition to our Dupont studios presents a new exhibition, The Braids, running for the month of December. This new work from Akin member, Nicole Krstin is part of an ongoing series intended to foster dialogue, awareness and understanding about women’s health issues.

“The Braids is about navigating the seemingly otherworldly experience of trying to paint a clear picture of our medical profiles. It is about the need to be vigilant about understanding our bodies, our rights, and about asking questions in order to empower ourselves, rather than remaining in the dark about our health. Layers of paint are carefully cut by-hand to reveal imagery that represent healthy tissue, disease, information, misinformation — all of which is explored and or filtered-out in order to learn more about our bodies. The braids, which are interlaced and therefore stronger than the strands alone, represent the power of knowledge; revealing what is beneath the darkness.”

Nicole Krstin is a visual artist, currently focusing on film photography and painting. She is a “retired” graphic designer, holding a BA from the University of Toronto, with a Major in Anthropology and a Minor in English. Nicole describes herself as being known for incessant mouth breathing, an unrelenting admiration for cats, and saying weird things in-person and on social media. She is uni-coastal, splitting time between Toronto and Brooklyn.

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: info@nicolekrstin.com

#AkinVitrine

Al Aire / Short Hand-Drawn Animated Film by Coco Guzman

Short hand-drawn animation by former Akin Collective member, Coco Guzman.
Created during a residency at Toronto Animated Image Society offered by Collective Toronto with the support of Canada Council for the Arts.

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.

Beautiful paintings by former Akin Collective member Laura Krick

It is always sad to see someone leave the Akin Collective studios, but we are always thrilled to see their new work even after they have left. Here we have beautiful images from Laura Krick who left Akin to study at Emily Carr University in Vancouver. We can't wait to see more!

Congratulations Hinkleville Handmade of Akin Dufferin for this excellent feature in Globe Style Advisor magazine!