Akin Artist Designed Fundraiser T-Shirts: Available now for pre-order!

Introducing two new limited edition t-shirts designed by artists Billy Franklin of Akin Dupont and Cierra Frances Akin Sunrise. Available in five sizes and made of high Quality 100% soft spun cotton, the sale of these shirts will go to support our not-for-profit organization Akin Projects. Available for pre-order now in our online shop at www.akinprojects.bigcartel.com
 

Akin X Billy Franklin

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.

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Akin X Cierra Frances

Cierra Frances is an interdisciplinary, Toronto-based artist and arts administrator whose work consists of various explorations of material and techniques in painting, drawing and printmaking. Her artist practice focuses on biracial identity and "Eurasian" culture found through her Filipino ancestry. Her research is deeply rooted in Filipino History dating back to Spanish Colonialism to current days and addresses subconscious colourism in Asian culture.

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These limited edition shirts will also be available for purchase or pick-up at Edition Toronto the second annual Toronto international art book fair October 27–30, 2017 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Use code EDITIONPICKUP to pick up at Edition and avoid the shipping fee.

Special requests or questions? Email michael@akincollective.com
Thank you to Peace And Cotton Inc. for their help with this special project.

Amanda Wand and the Akin Vitrine Gallery

The Akin Vitrine Gallery is excited to present new work by Dufferin studio artist, Amanda Wand! This work will be on view for the month of October.

Amanda Wand’s new work, Emotional Acceptance, is a true representation of allowing and accepting all emotions. No emotions are good nor bad, they just are. She wants to provide a space for people to feel reassured that everyone is battling their emotions in different ways and that is what creates a beautiful social human experience. She uses the gallery space to bring together people who are mindful of social justice, and who can benefit from artwork that provides healing, inspiration, and empowerment. This show is about honestly accepting how you feel and taking the time to appreciate your feelings and how they shape you as a human being.

Mando, also known as Amanda Wand, is a Toronto based abstract artist. She allows herself to be guided by what she’s feeling, creating pieces that are imbued with emotion. The process of each piece is of utmost importance to Mando, as she wants the artwork to represent the wide range of human emotions we all possess. She finds inspiration in communicating the difficulties of processing social inequality in the world. 

Using her artwork as a reminder for everyone that it is imperative that we pause, reflect, and allow ourselves to express our emotions in order to move forward. Her artwork is the most honest representation of herself and she hopes to inspire moments of introspection in others as she finds the process of creation as a form of survival.

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: mando@mandoandtheworld.com

website: www.mandoandtheworld.com
instagram: @mandoandtheworld
#AkinVitrine

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

Click here to RSVP

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


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


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!