HOME – Group Exhibition

The Artists’ Network Gallery is starting the new year and warding off the post holiday blues with its HOME – Group Exhibition. Imagine walls of art emulating coziness, comfort and warm hues. Captured in the Danish word Hygge (to hug) to appreciate the small, calming pleasures of home.  The Gallery is exhibiting the work of Artists’ Network members or non-members, including Akin River member, Andrea Bailey, that cast a warm glow of quietness after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

HOME Group Exhibition: January 15 to February 2, 2020.

Opening reception: Thursday, January 23, 2020, 6-9 pm.

Quiet Vignettes, Anahita Azrahimi Presented with DesginTO

“I feel like I am trying to gently nudge these fragments to come together - a reflection of my inner world at the moment.”

— Anahita Azrahimi on 'Quiet Vignettes'

quiet vignettes
Jan 17 – Jan 26 2020

A collaboration between a collage artist and a floral designer, ‘quiet vignettes’ combines both practices to create a subtle — almost evanescent — experience of a balance and poised marriage of two art forms. Both artists have responded to the other in a mirrored reaction to their work. The first, a series of understated folds and creases that evoke a sense of quiet energy. The second, a presentation of evocative foliage. Though different, the pieces mix and meld into a balanced and graceful dance. The result is an intimate spatial installation. One that nudges you to slow down and pay attention — and to reflect the unassuming authority of a unique and unexpected bond.

Anahita Azrahimi, an Akin Lansdowne alum, is a collage artist and cultural producer. In her role as the Executive & Creative Director of Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Canada’s largest contemporary outdoor art fair since 1961, Azrahimi thrives in making joy of art and direct engagement with artists accessible to all public. Azrahimi is equally passionate about creating her own moments of art.

“The works that I have created for this show are subtle collages of folds and creases that evoke a quiet movement and energy. There is a simplicity and understated quality in these works that I find deeply gratifying and calming. Fine hand-sewn stitches have replaced my previous drawings. I feel like I am trying to gently nudge these fragments to come together - a reflection of my inner world at the moment.

I have invited Lauren Wilson of Timberlost Designs to mirror the works with evocative and poetic foliage vignettes. Lauren’s creations are soulful and deep. We will create a subtle — almost evanescent — experience of a balanced and poised marriage of our practices. With this intimate spatial installation, the vision is to create a moment that nudges you to slow down and pay attention — and to reflect the unassuming authority of a unique and unexpected bond.” - Anahita Azrahimi

"Time for Toronto to decide whether it wants to keep its artists" - Andrew Kennedy via the Toronto Star

Last week we were pleasantly surprised to read a very relevant and honest opinion piece in the Toronto Star by Akin Dupont member Andrew Kennedy. Continue reading for a brief excerpt or click the link at the bottom of this post for Kennedy’s full article.

In speaking about the modern ways of urban development and gentrification, the esteemed writer Fran Lebowitz once said “we do not like cities because they are noisy, crowded and dirty. We like them because they are interesting.”

I would wager a small sum that anyone of a certain age who’s lived in the city of Toronto for a good amount of time would agree with Lebowitz’s sentiment. And if we take her statement to be true, then this year’s Art Stats report from the Toronto Arts Foundation should provide a warning that the City of Toronto could be sliding towards a less interesting existence.

According to the report, 80 per cent of Toronto’s artists believe they cannot make a living wage and 73 per cent have thought about leaving the city. In other words, if artists in Toronto were creatures from the animal kingdom, they might be in danger of trending towards the endangered species list.

Future Retrospectives featuring work by Jessica Thalmann

‘Future Retrospectives’ is a group exhibition featuring the work of eleven local and international artists and designers, unified by a shared methodology: using the past as a lens through which we imagine the future. It asks, “what will the future look like, and how did we get there?”

Creative acts are, by their nature, future-oriented. Creativity brings to fruition that which did not previously exist and, in doing so, builds the future. What is this future-world that we are building? What does it look like and how does it work? How do we prepare for it? ‘Future Retrospectives’ proposes that in order to have a meaningful understanding of relationships in the future and our role in them as creators of material culture, we have to look at how the past, present, and future are interconnected. By considering the past, we are able to holistically imagine the future.

The exhibition features the work of Graysha Audren, Mia Cinelli, Hannah Claus, Cassandra Ferguson, Tsēmā Igharas, Andreas Krätschmer, SHATTERED MOON ALLIANCE, Studio Björn Steinar, Adhavan Sundaramurthy, Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart, and Akin Ossington member, Jessica Thalmann.

This exhibition is curated by DesignTO, and co-presented with Harbourfront Centre. It is generously supported by Lemay. Thank you to our external jurors Farah Yusuf and Melanie Egan.

Participants
Graysha Audren, Mia Cinelli, Hannah Claus, Cassandra Ferguson, Tsēmā Igharas, Andreas Krätschmer, SHATTERED MOON ALLIANCE (Christina Battle and Serena Lee), Studio Björn Steinar, Adhavan Sundaramurthy, Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart, Jessica Thalmann

Remembering Akin Lansdowne - a personal memorial by Jen Pilles

I moved to Toronto fresh out of art school. I had a degree in Illustration, a tiny bit of savings, and no knowledge whatsoever about the city or how to live in it. Navigating the art world was overwhelming - and living in Toronto was thrilling, but alien. I had trouble knowing how or where to meet new friends, not to mention colleagues and clients. I was unsure how my art fit in, which opportunities to engage with, or what resources were available. I did not feel sure of myself, and I did not feel at home.

It wasn’t until I found Akin Lansdowne that I started to thrive as an artist and feel like I was part of a real arts community. From when I joined Akin Lansdowne in 2013 until I left in 2018 I found myself connected to a group of artists and peers in ways I never expected. I not only made new friends but I also developed professional relationships - finding mentors, clients, and professional development opportunities.

Tucked away at the quiet intersection of Wade Ave and Paton Road right beside the train tracks ,I fell in love with 87 Wade Ave the first day I visited. It is an unassuming building full of character. I loved the creak of the floorboards, the smell of the wood and the coffee roasting downstairs at Alternative Grounds (another tenant that had to leave the building due to an unmanageable rent increase). I found the meandering corridors and the soaring ceilings romantic and inspiring. Within the studio space itself I felt cozy, comfortable and inspired. My studio was small, but it was all I needed to create.

My first studio space at Akin Lansdowne in 2013 - it was 36sf

I expanded my studio in 2017 to 80sf

Over time I started developing a studio practice and meeting my studio mates and getting involved with Akin events and programming. We saw so many incredible events come through our space. From intimate gatherings for artists to show and share their work, to large public parties, fun creative crafting workshops and more. Some of my favorites were the Earth Day Community Cleanup where a bunch of us gathered at the studio and then cleaned up the neighborhood, and the Akin Skillshare Series of workshops where artists and creative business owners met in the studio space to share skills and resources. I also loved it when some of us got together to paint the Akin Lansdowne Art Library and fill it with donated books.

Here are some photos I have collected over the years:

Before and after: painting the Akin Lansdowne Art Library together!

The studio all decked out for a celebration

My studio mate and friend Samar Hejazi explaining her work in her studio at an Akin Show and Tell event

One of the many wonderful pot luck feasts we hosted in the studio kitchen

The first big open studio event at Akin Lansdowne

The crowd gathering outside the studio for our Earth Day Community Clean Up

Unfortunately, like so many other creative spaces in Toronto, Akin Lansdowne will be closing it’s doors in January 2020. Gentrification has set in and the rent prices in the building have sky-rocketed. Akin cannot afford to keep renting space in the building, so Akin Lansdowne will be no more. I will forever be grateful for my time spent in that space - creating, thinking, mingling, learning, eating, laughing, listening and playing.

Thankfully Akin has worked closely with the artists to relocate them to other Akin studios - so the community has not dissolved but just dispersed to other Akin locations. Akin has many amazing locations - each with their own charm, but Akin Lansdowne will forever be my favourite and hold a special place in my heart. It was my home away from home, my workshop, my office, my peaceful place. I want to thank everyone who made Akin Lansdowne a magic place: the Akin staff, the studio mates who came and went over the years, the studio dogs who kept us company, the neighbours in the building who shared space with us, and the residents and businesses in the neighbourhood who were a part of our larger community. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

There will be an Akin Lansdowne Farewell Party on January 31, 2020 at from 8PM until late for those who wish to honour Akin Lansdowne’s legacy by celebrating together. Stay tuned to Akin (social media, newsletter, this blog) for more information!

About the author:
Jen Pilles is a freelance illustrator, graphic designer, plein-air painter, self-publisher, and emerging comic artist. After joining Akin in 2013 as a member she began working for them in 2015. After 3 years of experience as a studio manager at 5 of Akin’s locations (Lansdowne, King, Ossington, Richmond and MOCA) she now serves the Akin community as the Studio Operations Manager. www.jenpilles.com

'Tis the season for gifting!

Still on the lookout for that perfect gift for your sibling, friend, or studio mate? Look no further! Akin has you covered this year with gift certificates that can be applied to both shared or dedicated studios spaces at any of Akin's locations (excluding studio residency programs) and at Akin's REMOTE Gallery. You choose the value and the certificate never expires, great for now or planning for the new year!

This year you can also opt to donate a gift certificate of any value to Akin's Rent Relief Fund to help a local artist in the future.

In collaboration with Rania El Mugammar the Akin Studio Rent Relief Fund has been established by Akin Projects to provide current Akin artists and creatives with anonymous, one time emergency grants of $150 - $300, in hopes of offering short term financial aid towards one month of studio rent in unexpected situations or times of financial instability.

This unique fund has been launched as part of our ongoing Equity and Inclusion work at Akin, including our recent demographics survey report - which highlighted the needs and experiences of our community. We intend for the Akin Studio Rent Relief Fund to reduce barriers for Akin studio members and create opportunities for marginalized communities. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing, as needed, basis when funds are available. The fund will officially launch once we have raised $3,000. We have currently raised almost 50% of our launch goal!

Ideas Forum: Materializing the Future

‘Ideas Forum: Materializing the Future’ features seven fast-paced and fun presentations (20 slides shown for 20 seconds each) exploring the themes and questions from DesignTO’s exhibition ‘Future Retrospectives’ with a focus on materiality.

Discover the process behind educator David Correa’s (University of Waterloo) exploration on innovative material fabrication methods and Lauren Abrahams’ (Public Work) research on terrazzo. Educator Kazmy Chi (Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico) speaks about her research into biomimicry and how biomimetics can create sustainable materials for the future.

Founding partner of gh3* Pat Hanson speaks about her work on the Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool in Edmonton, while artist and curator Jessica Thalmann of Akin Ossington shares her process of reconfiguring iconic Brutalist buildings through folded sculptural forms. Quadrangle's Richard Witt discusses heavy timber construction through case studies of built work, and Chris Pommer speaks about material memory through the work of the interdisciplinary studio PLANT.

One Tender Night by Akin Lakeshore's Jessica Hiemstra!

One Tender Night

Thursday December 5th at Super Wonder Gallery

Poetry and visual art by Jessica Hiemstra with an electrifying performance by SPECIAL GUEST singer/songwriter, Nicky Lawrence.

FREE ADMISSION. CASH BAR.
Original art, books and music for sale.

All are welcome.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

JESSICA HIEMSTRA of Akin Lakeshore is an award winning multi-disciplinary artist whose work has appeared in galleries all over the world, among them Australia, Sierra Leone, Edmonton and Vancouver. She is also an accomplished showroom artist and set designer with experience creating everything from tidal waves using shims to giant iridescent octopuses. She likes using reclaimed house paint, discarded objects and single-use plastic. Since 1998 Jessica has published three full-length collections of poetry and edited numerous anthologies of poetry and creative non-fiction. Jessica likes what Paul Klee once said about art – that one eye sees, the other feels. Jessica works in a variety of mediums on many kinds of surfaces - from watercolour and thread on paper to acrylic on acetate to plastic bags sewn into canvas. One of the things people often ask Jessica is “what’s the difference between all the things you do?” Jessica doesn’t distinguish much between her mediums. She chooses the best medium for exploring whichever question, concern or exaltation is most pressing to her in the moment - from delight in the body to sorrow and anger at how poorly we care for our world and each other. Sometimes she uses words, sometimes pencils, sometimes paint. In 2019 she started tearing her paintings and stitching them back together. She is delighted to be presenting her most recent work for ONE TENDER NIGHT at the Super Wonder Gallery. To visit Jessica online: www.jessicahiemstra.ca

NICKY LAWRENCE is a moody, tender, tour de force of a performer and vocal artist. Moved to sing by the black women who sang before her and who continue to sing within her, Lawrence’s voice will grab you by the throat with the force of its pain, beauty, rage and ultimately—love. Brimming with the longing, courage and despair of her jazz and blues heroes—Nina, Etta, Ella—Lawrence’s original songs are devastatingly elegant and sensual, lit by the fires of the past alongside the aching light and hope of the future. Lawrence’s vocals are redemptive; with the release of her single, The Ugly Black Woman, Toronto audiences are invited to witness an excavation of truth and history that will cut the heart open and begin to heal us all. Follow Nicky online here: thenickylawrence

Furoshiki - Opens Saturday!

SAMARA Contemporary in collaboration with Kid Icarus, are pleased to announce Furoshiki, A group exhibition that will feature the works of 20 artists working with the theme: “Gifting”. Furoshiki wrap is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional wrapping paper.

Where: Samara Contemporary, 156 Augusta Avenue, Toronto

When: Saturday, November 30th, 12-6pm

Every holiday season more than 8 million tons of gift-wrap ends up in landfills. Disposable and chemically processed, this waste is destroying our environment. Furoshiki can be re-used, passed on from one gift receiver to the next.

Cloth wrapping has been used for over 1200 years in Japan. The word Furoshiki came about during the Edo period (1603-1868) when cloths were commonly used in bathhouses to wrap clothes or as bath matts. Today, Furoshiki can be used to wrap gifts, wine bottles, books, groceries, or just about anything!

This year and onward present your special gift enveloped in beautiful art created by some of Canada’s
top illustrators and artists! An environmentally ethical and unique option to gift giving!

Participating artists:
Daniela Roessler, Dave Setrakian, Fiona Smyth, Flips, Akin Ossington alum Jenn Kitagawa, Jill Holmberg, Jimmy Chaile, Akin Sunrise artist Jieun June Kim, Justin Broadbent, Akin Ossington alum Kendra Yee, Kirsten McCrea, Luke Parnell, Happy Sleepy, Marijke Bouchier, Mariko Paterson, Mike Ellis, Orbital Arts, Rachel Joanis, Santiago Paredes, Trio Magnus

Akin Vitrine Galleries + Nicole Crozier

We are delighted to introduce our current Akin Vitrine Gallery artist, Akin Ossington artist Nicole Crozier. Nicole’s work will be on exhibit in our galleries beginning at 1485 Dupont for the month of November and then 1747 St. Clair Avenue West for the month of December.

Nicole Crozier is a Toronto-based visual artist and arts manager. Her work surrealistically explores the animate potential of accessories and decoration in relation to the female body. She aims to cultivate an aesthetic that is simultaneously seductive and unsettling as a means of investigating the overlap between desire, fantasy, identity, and self-image.

Bordering on the baroque, “Beckon” is a painter’s experimental foray into sculptural installation. The work plays with our magpie-like attraction to bright, reflective objects, promising delights with outstretched, inviting gestures, but from incorporeal hands surreally disassociated from reality. These hands, reminiscent of mannequin models positioned in storefront windows, are slowly being consumed by ornaments once meant to decorate them in a shrine-like ode to the power of the display. “Beckon” insists on seduction while highlighting the dangers of desire, utilizing the disembodied hand as a means of creating a point of association as well as disconnect with the viewer. It simultaneously invites and threatens, beckons and repels, offers promise and yet leads nowhere.

Beckon
Mixed Media
Dimensions Variable
2019

To contact the artist:
Instagram: @nicolebcrozier
#Akinvitrine
www.nicolebcrozier.com

Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present our 2019 programming in two Vitrine Galleries located at Akin Dupont and Akin St. Clair. These miniature galleries feature the diverse talent of our members with travelling installations rotating each month. Each artist will be featured for the first month at Dupont and second month at St. Clair. For more information about our artists and our programming, join us on Instagram @akinvitrine.

‘Beckon’ will be on view for the month of November in our Dupont Akin Vitrine Gallery, located in 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 Saturday.

The exhibition will then travel to the Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery and be on view for the month of December at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time.

Don Valley Art Club Annual Fall Group Show
November 20- December 1st at Papermill Gallery.

David Johns is an Akin Sunrise member and has a silkscreen monoprint “You Make Me Happier” in the Don Valley Art Club Member group Show.
www.roadartcollection.com
instagram.com/davidopenroad

One Tender Night at Super Wonder Gallery

Thursday December 5th at Super Wonder Gallery

Poetry and visual art by Jessica Hiemstra with an electrifying performance by SPECIAL GUEST singer/songwriter, Nicky Lawrence.


FREE ADMISSION. CASH BAR.
Original art, books and music for sale.
All are welcome.

Jessica will be raffling off tickets for a beautiful piece of art called The Secret Foot, find out more here.

About Jessica Hiemstra
Jessica is an award winning multi-disciplinary artist whose work has appeared in galleries all over the world, among them Australia, Sierra Leone, Edmonton and Vancouver. She is also an accomplished showroom artist and set designer with experience creating everything from tidal waves using shims to giant iridescent octopuses. She likes using reclaimed house paint, discarded objects and single-use plastic. Since 1998 Jessica has published three full-length collections of poetry and edited numerous anthologies of poetry and creative non-fiction. Jessica likes what Paul Klee once said about art – that one eye sees, the other feels. Jessica works in a variety of mediums on many kinds of surfaces - from watercolour and thread on paper to acrylic on acetate to plastic bags sewn into canvas. One of the things people often ask Jessica is “what’s the difference between all the things you do?” Jessica doesn’t distinguish much between her mediums. She chooses the best medium for exploring whichever question, concern or exaltation is most pressing to her in the moment - from delight in the body to sorrow and anger at how poorly we care for our world and each other. Sometimes she uses words, sometimes pencils, sometimes paint. In 2019 she started tearing her paintings and stitching them back together. She is delighted to be presenting her most recent work for ONE TENDER NIGHT at the Super Wonder Gallery. To visit Jessica online: www.jessicahiemstra.ca
Jessica is an Akin Lakeshore member.
instagram.com/jessicajoyhiemstra

About Nicky Lawrence
Nicky is a moody, tender, tour de force of a performer and vocal artist. Moved to sing by the black women who sang before her and who continue to sing within her, Lawrence’s voice will grab you by the throat with the force of its pain, beauty, rage and ultimately—love. Brimming with the longing, courage and despair of her jazz and blues heroes—Nina, Etta, Ella—Lawrence’s original songs are devastatingly elegant and sensual, lit by the fires of the past alongside the aching light and hope of the future. Lawrence’s vocals are redemptive; with the release of her single, The Ugly Black Woman, Toronto audiences are invited to witness an excavation of truth and history that will cut the heart open and begin to heal us all.
instagram.com/thenickylawrence

University of Waterloo MFA Open Studios | Master of Fine Arts Program

Come check out the University of Waterloo’s MFA program and this year’s cohort at our annual MFA Open Studios on November 7th.

Time: 3:00-7:00 pm
Place: University of Waterloo, East Campus Hall
Address: 263 Phillip Street, Waterloo, Ontario

Participating Students: Jordan Blackburn, Brubey (Wanzhi) Hu, Tyler Matheson, Karice Mitchell, Akin staff member and Akin Dupont Alum Sara Pearson, Akin St. Clair Alum Carrie Perreault, Akin Dupont Alum Kayla Polan, Racquel Rowe, Maria Simmons, and Becca Wijshijer.

A unique opportunity to meet the artists on their own turf—a look at their process and what’s in production.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the University of Waterloo is an intimate program built around a solid core of studio research, practice, professional development, and pedagogical training. Each year the program admits five students, resulting in a tight knit community with plenty of access to both faculty and resources. The studio portion of the program culminates in the completion, exhibition, and defense of a coherent body of work in a solo exhibition at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG). The pedagogical component of the program includes a seminar in course development, two teaching assistantships and the opportunity to teach a foundations level course.

Akin member work for sale at Partial Gallery

Partial is an art marketplace and platform for artists and art-seekers to connect and engage in real and accessible transactions. Thanks to our smart try-before-you-buy options, original work by local artists are just around the corner – and now within reach.

Whether you are a seasoned art collector or a curious art lover, Partial is here to make it simpler to bring true, original artwork onto your walls. You can experiment and explore artwork that speaks to you. Artwork is an investment – so, our rental model allows you to try out a piece for a few months, or express all sides of yourself with rotating artwork.


Many Akin artists sell work via Partial Gallery, you can find the list below.

Adria Mirabelli - Akin St Clair: https://adriamirabelli.partial.gallery/
Anahita Azrahimi: Akin Lansdowne: https://anahitaazrahimi.partial.gallery/
Bianco Roco - Akin MOCA Year 2: https://biancaroco.partial.gallery/
Corynn Kokolakis - Akin River: https://corynnkokolakis.partial.gallery/
Eugenia Elder - Akin MOCA Year 2: https://eugeniaelder.partial.gallery/
Felicia Cirstea: Akin MOCA Year 2: https://feliciacirstea.partial.gallery/
Kyle Yip - Akin Ossington: https://kyleyip.partial.gallery/
Laura Kay Keeling - Akin MOCa Year 2: https://laurakaykeeling.partial.gallery/
Leone McComas Akin MOCA Year 1: https://leonemccomas.partial.gallery/
Linds Miyo - Akin MOCA Year 2: https://wonderandstory.partial.gallery/
Nancy Bennett - Akin alumni: https://nancy178.partial.gallery/
Nicole Crozier - Akin Ossington: https://nicolecrozier.partial.gallery/
Nicole Krstin - Akin Dupont: https://nicolekrstin.partial.gallery/
Walter Segers, Akin River: https://waltersegers.partial.gallery/

Partial Gallery will represent the emerging art scene at Daegu Art Fair in South Korea

In a volatile and evolving international art market, the renowned Daegu Art Fair has taken a forward-thinking step by inviting Canadian online art platform, Partial Gallery, to showcase at the 2019 edition of the Fair in November. Partial Gallery will be the sole Canadian representation at the art fair alongside contemporary fine art galleries from East Asia, Paris, New York and Miami.

The studio of Bianca Roco, one of the participating artists showing with Partial Gallery at Daegu Art Fair.

Partial will be presenting selected artworks by six emerging artists from Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Cheng, Jordan Clayton, Leone McComas, Laura Kay Keeling, Melissa Patel, and Bianca Roco. This will be the first time that these artists have shown work outside of North America.

This capsule collection of artists was selected by Partial Gallery co-founders Chris Kim and Tammy Yiu Coyne. “The opportunity to introduce the East Asian market to the unique talent, diversity, and perspectives of Canada’s artists was not lost on us. We believe that these artists exemplify Toronto’s incredible emerging art scene,” says Yiu Coyne. Over the course of the fair, Partial’s art offering – and modern art model – will certainly capture the attention of attendees, and signal a shift in modern art buying. Daegu Art Fair says, “We believe this platform will be a great solution to market activation in local art communities.”

Visit Partial Gallery at Booth #94 at Daegu Art Fair from Nov. 14–17, 2019.

To arrange a viewing or to access preview catalog, please contact hello@partial.gallery or chris@partial.gallery.

About Bianca Roco
Bianca Roco is an artist living in Toronto, Canada. After moving from the Philippines to study illustration, she shifted focus to painting. Her life-size figurative work of women explores themes of intimacy, isolation, displacement and sexuality. Bianca is part of the 2019-20 Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto
Website / Instagram

About Laura Kay Keeling
Laura is a collage artist and analog photographer with an interest in installation works. Themes she is exploring with her new collage works include ideas and concepts of “home”, how we form connections with our communities and nature as well as the internet / social media and its effect on our everyday lives. Laura is part of the 2019-20 Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto
Website / Instagram

About Leone McComas
Leone’s painting practice examines ideas of the self and the internalization of social ideals; observations of which are used to create conceptual relationships between figure and post-digital landscapes. Following a growing sense of artistic responsibility, Leone now creates work from her source of life to counter-act the increasing presence of anxiety, social polarization, and emotional fatigue. Metaphors of transformation sift the surface of her work, reflecting ideas of change and perspective shifts; while contrasting matte black paint magnifies the sensation of renewal despite the unknown. The desire to maintain luminosity in her paintings has lead to the development of a unique transparency-driven painting process, which produces highly detailed, saturated, and translucent oil paintings that glow from within.. Leone is Akin Alum and was part of the 2018-19 Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto
Website / Instagram

Portfolio Day 10 (PDX) at Etobicoke School of the Arts featuring Akin artist Juliet Di Carlo

Since it started 10 years ago, ESA Portfolio Day has grown to become one of the largest events of its kind in North America. ESA’s tenth Portfolio Day (PDX) will include 74 solo exhibitions of grade 12 students representing five of ESA’s six arts majors. The primary purpose of PDX is to connect students with over 100 representatives from post-secondary arts schools in North American and Europe. ESA’s Portfolio Day also serves as an art exhibit for the public, drawing over 1000 visitors each year.

More information, including a link to buy tickets for $10, is at: https://www.esainfo.ca/portfolio-day-10/

You can also see videos of the artists exhibiting at PDX at ESA's Contemporary Arts YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8r6-XBlsjXqg7iyFyJIO1g/featured

About Juliet Di Carlo
Juliet is part of the 2019-20 Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto

More information about Juliet: website / instagram / youtube

Natural Dyes - a creative workshop presented by Akin Ossington artist Meej Kaufman

Akin Ossington artist Meej Kaufman presents a natural dyeing class on the afternoon of November 9 at Romni Wools, at 208 Weston Road. You can learn to dye yarn with local plant material that Meej has been foraging and experimenting with all summer.

This class will cover the basics of dyeing, principles of respectful foraging and much more. You will dye 100 g of yarn (provided) with one or two colours, using marigold, walnut and rose of sharon flowers. There will be an opportunity to also use more advanced techniques as well.

If you are a knitter, crocheter or weaver, this is a perfect opportunity to learn to make unique yarn for your projects, with materials easily found in Toronto. If you aren't, this class would be a great gift for a friend or family member who does work with yarn, or you could take the class and give them a one of a kind ball of yarn.

To register, or for more information, call Meej Kaufman 647-341-8388

About the artist:
Miriam Kaufman, previously a part-time goldsmith and fibre artist, has recently jumped into creating full-time. While continuing to make silver and gold jewellery, Meej (as she is known to friends and family) is focusing more on making glass beads, metalwork related to fibre (shawl pins, shawl sticks and stitch markers) and on dyeing, spinning and knitting natural fibres. She has a tiny studio in a light industrial space at Ossington and Dupont. www.meejumarts.com

Food Sport at Good Sport

Food Sport is the transformation from art gallery to grocery store. 26 artists explore themes around advertising, consumerism, the environment, health, the body, and more in this cash and carry pop-up store. With most items priced under $50, Food Sport challenges conventional notions of art collecting through re-contextualizing the experience of purchasing art.

Opening Reception: Fri Oct 4, 7-9 pm
Closing Party: Thurs Oct 31, 7-9 pm

Participating artists:
Paul Abeleira, Whymark Austen, Tamar Bresge, Nickolas Cornwall, Allison Del Vecchio, Jacqueline Demendeev, Amelia Does, Joseph Farrugia, Laura Keeling, Justin Langille, Sarah Lanteigne, Ozwel Ryann Le Clair, Danielle Longfield, Connor MacKinnon, Jennifer Martin, Sarah Moreau, Ben Morin, Zane Pate, Alyssa Pisciotto, Kayla Polan, Lydia Santia, Becca Serena, Joanna Skiba, Shannon Taylor-Jones, Rin Vanderhaeghe, Isabella Vesely

Curated by Zane Pate and Shannon Taylor-Jones.

Design Thinkers Toronto 2019 featuring Akin artist David Nuff

Akin artist David Nuff will be speaking at Design Thinkers Toronto 2019, presented by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD). The event is happening on October 24 & 25, 2019 at Meridian Hall and features a full program intended to connect design professionals from around the world to explore the ideas, trends, strategies and processes driving design communications. Nuff’s talk will be among many stimulating discussions about design’s impact on business, culture and social innovation.

Design Thinkers Toronto offers in-depth analyses of trends and best practices in branding, design thinking, design management, communications technologies and user experience with a range of opportunities to exchange ideas with colleagues, new and old. Attendees leave with a reconsidered and refined design or creative process, feeling inspired, refreshed and connected to the creative communications community. Early bird registration ends October 7, 2019.

About David Nuff
David Nuff RGD has a hard time colouring inside the lines. His work blurs the lines between commerce and culture, art and design. For clients, he works on brand identities, digital products, murals and publications. Independently and as part of a collective, he designs interactive installations like 2017’s Shard, a giant, icy light crystal that responds to sound and motion. He is exploring spatial design and interaction paradigms at Ryerson University’s Design Fabrication Zone and developing his artistic practice as part of the 2018–19 Akin Studio Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto.

How to Live Forever: Zach Atticus Tuinman & Julia Hepburn

Gallery House presents Akin MOCA artists Julia Hepburn and Zach Atticus Tuinman - two extraordinary artists each with new works.

September 28 – October 25, 2019

Gallery House, 2068 Dundas Street West, Toronto

An exhibition of the day to day, reality and the stories we knit.  It touches upon the emotion of empathy, the human spirit and positive perception.  The works are composed of oil on panel and sculptures (with some movable parts) and  includes such scenes as elevator rides, snowy days, motherhood…and much more.  The quiet moments, self-reflection, conscious, unconscious choices define who we are and how we tell ourselves stories to cling to and help carry ourselves into the next day.

Both artists works showcase light each uniquely in their own way sometimes demonstrating humor in darkness.  Deceptively melancholic, the small series of paintings and sculpture are so much and more.  Each artist background gives us different perspectives from the point of view of age, life stage and various types of mediums that capture the sad, beautiful, precious glimmers of life.

Above: Julia Hepburn, Physical Effects, 2018, Mixed Media Sculpture, 33 x 26 x 28″
*This particular work has moving parts and is 3-dimensional.

Float into these worlds and find human solidarity in how we each entwine, persevere and overcome hurdles —from the mind numbing day to day, selfless acts, disappointments, random acts in life and discover how to find hope to carry on.