The Family Fun at Home Blog Series: Part One

At home with the kids all day and looking for a new activity to try? Look no further! We have compiled a list of DIY crafts and activities you can do at home this week with the family.

All activities have been created by North American creatives and organizations.

---

Activity #1: #CCMfromhome: Canoe Cut Outs!

Image source: The Canadian Canoe Museum

The Canadian Canoe Museum has created 3 free canoe cut outs for families to colour and craft their very own miniature canoe or kayak! These canoes are modeled on actual canoes and kayaks in the museum’s collection: an Ojibway Bark Canoe, Nuu-chah-nulth Dugout Canoe, and a Sanikiluarmiut Kayak.

TIP: If you use crayons, and colour your canoe or kayak very thoroughly, it will be waterproofed for its maiden voyage.

---

Activity #2: Colouring Pages by CTON

Image source: www.claytonhammer.com

Local illustrator Clayton ‘CTON’ Hammer is offering 2 free colouring pages on his website. You can download these super, fun colouring sheets to help pass the time while you and your family are hunkering down at home.

Clayton Hanmer (aka CTON) is an illustrator whose award-winning, energetic comic style has given him a surprisingly broad range of clients from The New York Times to National Geographic Kids.

---

Activity #3: Crafting in Quarantine with Arts Etobicoke

Crafting in Quarantine with Marjan Verstappen is brought to you by Arts Etobicoke. In this series, Marjan will lead you through a fun and easy craft activity using cheap everyday items that you can find in your own home. Each week crafters will create a different art project, learn new skills, and explore various crafting techniques that you can do from home.

---

Activity #4: Kids Meditation: Bulldog Finds His Treehouse

In this video by Stop, Breath & Think, Bulldog will show kids how to boost their superpower of calm to find a little bit of peace and quiet in the middle of a noisy day by taking deep, relaxed breaths. Try playing this mindful game when you feel overwhelmed or are in a noisy or hectic environment. This mindful game can also help you relax before naps or bedtime.

Stop, Breathe & Think’s mission is to help kids, teens and young adults build the emotional strength to tackle life’s ups and downs. They also have an app that can be downloaded through the Apple App and Google Play Stores. The app features many meditations and activities geared towards kids and young adults that allow users to check in with their feelings, build skills to help calm themselves, create positive daily routines and more!

---

Social Distancing with Kids

Looking for a simple way to explain social distancing to your little ones? CBC Kids in collaboration with Saara Chaudry has created a thorough yet easy to understand video for families to watch together.

Saara Chaudry is passionate about having a positive impact on the world, whether it's within her community, on the big screen or in her role as a CBC Kids News contributor. The 15-year-old from Toronto played Little Cosette in Les Miserables, Howie on Max & Shred and Dana's older sister on Dino Dana. She was also the voice of Parvana in The Breadwinner, the feature film nominated for an Oscar, along with the Golden Globe and Canadian Screen awards.

Stay tuned for our next round up of home activities!

Akin Vitrine Galleries featuring Michelle Rawlings

We are delighted to introduce our current Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery artist, Akin artist Michelle Rawlings. Michelle's work will be on exhibit in our galleries beginning at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West for the month of April and then 1485 Dupont for the month of May.

Experience is an installation made up of 3-dimensional letters displayed at different heights and depths. The word is playfully broken apart causing viewers to pause to decipher what it says as they take in the different forms and planes of the window display. The result is an unexpected visual experience reminding us to stop every once in a while and take in the world around us.

Experience
Paper
Dimensions variable
2020

To contact the artist:
Instagram: @ms.rawlings
#Akinvitrine

Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present our 2020 programming in two Vitrine Galleries located at Akin St. Clair and Akin Dupont. 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 St. Clair and second month at Dupont. For more information about our artists and our programming, join us on Instagram @akinvitrine.

Michelle’s work will be on view for the month of April in our St. Clair Avenue West Akin Vitrine Gallery, 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time.

The exhibition will then travel to the Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery where it will be on view for the month of May. 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.

two truths and a lie by Jessica Thalmann

two truths and a lie is Jessica Thalmann’s first solo exhibition in a public art gallery and exemplifies the breadth and depth of her lens-based practice. The installation meditates on the slippery nature of the photographic object in a series of folded steel and paper sculptures and wall-mounted “straight” and physically altered photographs.

Please note: this installation is not currently on view, it will be open to the public soon.

Date: TBA

Location: Varley Art Gallery, Markham

Thalmann crosses disciplinary boundaries and uses the poetics of space to understand spatial and pictorial relationships. She ruminates on the porous boundary between object and image; exploring the ways ruins, monuments, and abandoned public squares embody the failed utopian aims of Brutalist architecture. To Thalmann, a monument, much like a photograph, is never itself; it is inextricably caught between its meaning and its being. The intention for both photographs and monuments is to embody the objects, places, or people they depict, yet they remain silent and inert. They often make visible what cannot be seen, and erase or obscure what is real.

In many ways, their mnemonic possibilities are troubled by their material limitations. Fabrications, Thalmann’s most recent investigation, further troubles the relationship between image and object—as freestanding, double-sided sculptures (using only one cut and one fold as a conceptual guideline) these photographs stand upright, with only the floor as support.

Jessica Thalmann: two truths and a lie is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Curated by Anik Glaude

Announcing the 2020-2021 Akin Collective Career Launcher Award

The Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers is excited to announce the return of the Akin Collective Career Launcher for Drawing & Painting, Indigenous Visual Culture and Material Art & Design students in their graduating term. 

Students are invited to apply for this opportunity and one successful applicant will be awarded $ 2,000 in credits to go towards a studio space at Akin’s inspiring shared workspaces in 2020-2021! In addition to the $2,000 studio credit, the recipient will receive $450 credit for use at remote Akin Gallery space at Richmond and Portland. Remote provides the opportunity to exhibit work, host workshops / artist talks, or other activities relevant to early career growth.

This is an amazing opportunity to become part of a larger creative community and gain access to the excellent multidisciplinary facilities that Akin Collective has to offer. Applications will be juried during GradEx. Candidates will be invited to meet the jury as part of their selection tours.

Deadline to apply: April 12th 2020 at 11:59pm

New COVID-19 Resource Page on www.akin.art

Akin is pleased to announce its new COVID-19 Resources web page. This list on this new page was compiled by the Akin Projects board and the Akin Team as a resource guide for artists, freelancers, and creatives who are in need of support during this challenging time.

This page will be updated regularly. Please check the top of the page to find out when the most recent updates were made.

RECAP: Squeezed out? Squeezed in? A community fishbowl conversation about Social Purpose Real Estate

On January 14, 2020, ULI Toronto and Akin Collective hosted a “fishbowl discussion” to explore the concept of social purpose real estate (SPRE), with an underlying focus on its importance and potential in Toronto – an emerging global city whose celebrated diversity and cultural identity are evolving in the face of unprecedented growth and a fiercely competitive market.

A carefully curated group of city-builders representing both public- and private-sector interests sat in two concentric circles assembled at the ground-level foyer of MOCA. These two circles constituted the fishbowl. Those in the inner circle led the discussion (pointedly facilitated with a balance of humour and interrogation by Jane Farrow), while those in the outer circle listened. Throughout the discussion, participants moved between the two circles fluidly, alternating turns to speak and reflect.

Article written by Melissa Daly-Buajitti of CBRE, reposted from ULI Toronto.

Akin Vitrine Galleries featuring Liliana Vera

We are delighted to introduce our current Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery artist, Akin Dupont artist Liliana Vera. Liliana's work will be on exhibit in our galleries beginning at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West for the month of March and then 1485 Dupont for the month of April.

I want to be defined by the things I love,
not the things I hate,
nor the things I am afraid of.

“i found it in the forest” is about the personal journeys we venture into, the idea of the sacred pilgrimage to answer our most pressing questions. It is about the places themselves, places ready to trip us if not prepared, places willing to give but that will take something from us too.

These journeys we must take alone; sometimes dubious but with heightened senses.

I invite you to reflect on the journey you are wandering on and hope you find shelter to rest and continue forward.

Ever since starting on Akin on 2017, I have been working with the theme of “hand portraits” and have found a comfortable space working on wooden panels, since the material respects the details pencil traces while adding a little of its own decisions when mixed with gouache, bleeding colour into different parts of my pieces. But I have curiosity to shift between mediums, and lately have experimented with paper and wire to create black-grey-white small sculptures. I found the Vitrine to be a good opportunity to try something I want: storytelling in maquette form.

I found it in the forest
Sewn paper and text
Dimensions variable
2020

To contact the artist:
Instagram: @thecatintherain
#Akinvitrine

Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present our 2020 programming in two Vitrine Galleries located at Akin St. Clair and Akin Dupont. 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 St. Clair and second month at Dupont. For more information about our artists and our programming, join us on Instagram @akinvitrine.

Liliana’s work will be on view for the month of March in our St. Clair Avenue West Akin Vitrine Gallery, 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time.

The exhibition will then travel to the Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery where it will be on view for the month of April. 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.

COVID-19 Update - March 16th 2020

Dear Friends of Akin, 

Unfortunately, due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, Akin has made the decision to halt all programming for the next 3 weeks including the Akin X Collision Gallery Group Exhibition and Launch Party, the Akin Lakeshore group exhibition Driftwork at Cloverdale Common, and the Spring Art Crawl. Collision Gallery, and Remote Gallery will also be closed during this time.  Akin's spring programming is currently scheduled to resume on April 6th 2020. Our first concern is the health and safety of our community is our top priority at this time and although the risk in Canada is still relatively low, we should do whatever possible to stop it from spreading.

At this time all Akin studios will remain open to members, although we are strongly encouraging members to refrain from non-essential studio use for at least the next three weeks. We know that things are stressful at the moment, but hope that this pause from normal routines can provide an opportunity to explore new ideas, and engage with your creativity in new ways. Looking for a break? Check out the top 10 guided meditations from last year here.

We will continue to keep you informed of any other changes as this situation evolves.

Best wishes for good health,

Akin

An Update from Akin regarding COVID-19 / Coronavirus

Dear Friends of Akin,

With growing global concerns around COVID-19 (“coronavirus”) we want to provide you with an update on our response to date. The health, safety and well-being of our community is Akin’s top priority and we are following the lead of Canadian public health authorities at this important time by taking steps to protect our studio members, our employees, and our programming attendees.

We understand concerns about COVID-19 and we are taking the necessary measures to reduce risk of transmitting the virus. We’ve taken additional steps to help ensure that our studio members and our employees are protected from the risk of infection and communicable diseases and are closely monitoring the situation 

At this time, all Spring programming at Akin will continue as planned with the exception of the March 26th Akin X Collision Gallery Launch Party which is cancelled until further notice. We will continue to follow the guidance of Health Canada and local health authorities. If the situation changes, we will inform you as soon as possible.

Please reach out to info@akincollective.com should you have any questions.

Thank you,

The Akin Team

Akin is Hiring! Indigenous Space Advisor

Introduction
Akin is a Toronto-based, artist-run social enterprise located on Ancestral Wendat territory and the territory of the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee, providing affordable studio space to nearly 350 artists in its 10 locations and programs roughly 50 arts-based events per year across the city. Akin is run by artists, and is dedicated to providing a working environment that maintains a friendly and inspiring atmosphere where people can work on creative endeavours 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.

We are currently seeking an individual to assist in assessing the needs of emerging Indigenous artists in this area, in order to start a discussion around what our organization can offer this community in terms of meaningful support.

For more information about Akin, please visit: www.akin.art


The Role
In collaboration with Indigenous Elder Artist in Residence Catherine Tammaro (Taǫmęˀšreˀ), Anti-oppressive Practice Consultant, Equity & Social Justice Educator Rania El Mugammar and Akin’s team, we are looking to continue our ongoing work towards understanding our treaty obligations in Toronto by hiring a consultant to guide us in meaningful, actionable engagement with the Indigenous community while assessing needs and opportunities for the next phase of our work in better supporting Indigenous artists. This work would include researching and identifying suitable funding opportunities to support ongoing work (public etc), designing and facilitating community conversations to ensure input from diverse Indigenous communities, work collaboratively with Akin staff and advisors to complete preliminary grant applications and compiling a final report on work completed which may be shared publicly if all parties agree.

Duration: Approximately 6 weeks (Flexible, Work remotely)
Compensation: $2,000.00 (40hrs at $50/hr, 50% in advance, and 50% upon completion)


Process
Given the scope and focus of this role, we require the chosen candidate to have lived experience as an Indigenous person and involvement in the local art community as an artist or arts worker will be considered an asset.

Adapting the Toronto Arts Council’s Equity Priority Group Policy, applicants who self-identify as belonging to one (or more) of Toronto Arts Council’s Equity Priority Groups (Persons of Colour, Deaf Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Persons Living with Mental Illness, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIAP) will all be prioritized in addition to our preference for Indigenous candidates. We encourage applications from these communities and will endeavour to accommodate job applicants with a disability during the hiring process in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code guidelines and other applicable legislation.

This effort is part of an ongoing commitment to anti-oppressive practices, equity and inclusion at Akin and an effort to engage diverse communities and artists in our organization and across our programs- this includes Anti-Oppression training and the development of a revised Code of Conduct and needs assessment strategies.


Application Accessibility Support
Applicants who require additional resources, support or time to apply can request as such. Please request this assistance at least one week in advance of the submission deadline. To do so, or for additional information, please contact michael@akincollective.com.


To Apply:
Please email your résumé with any applicable web links (in PDF format) to laura@akincollective.com with the subject heading: ATTN: Indigenous Consultant Role. 

Akin will only be accepting applications by email at this time.

Application deadline: 11:59 pm, March 20, 2020

Driftwork: A Selection of Art by Akin Lakeshore Artists at the Cloverdale Common until March 29

We are pleased to announce that Driftwork, the Akin Lakeshore group exhibition at Cloverdale Common has been extended to March 29! We encourage you to stop by to check out the incredible work by our studio artists on display.

About the exhibition:
Stepping into an artist’s studio can be like walking along the shoreline. Always interesting, there is the sense of passing through a potential treasure trove of discarded or unfinished pieces, past efforts, current ideas and experiments. Occasionally one comes upon a brilliant, exceptional thing of beauty. Similarly, the development of an artistic practice takes place over a mysterious ebb and flow of vision and technical discoveries, something that can often only be understood over time. The work presented here reflects a selection of works by artists at Akin’s Lakeshore studio; works-in-progress, old pieces, and new explorations.

With the goal of building community relationships and highlighting the voices of artists living outside the downtown core, this group exhibition shares recent work from the artists working in our shared artist studios at 2970 Lakeshore Blvd West.

Exhibiting Artists:
Oksana Berda, Erin Candela, Suzette Castro, Katrina Elena, Jessica Hiemstra, Monika Mincewicz, Lauren Huffman Morris, Erin Panjer, Kerry Viggiani

Cloverdale Common Hours of Operation:
Thursdays: 11am - 6pm
Fridays: 11am - 5pm
Saturdays: 10am - 6pm
Sunday: 12pm - 5pm

Accessibility:
There are no steps to enter the building or throughout.
Entrance is automated. Bathrooms are gendered (male/female). There are grab bars in the bathroom, the toilets are not raised. Complimentary stroller, walker and wheelchair available upon request at the Guest Services desk.

About Cloverdale Common:
Cloverdale Common is the designated space within Cloverdale mall created to seek the community’s feedback regarding the proposed Cloverdale Mall redevelopment. It also serves as an arts and cultural hub, providing a range of programming through Arts Etobicoke and our community partners.

Musical Themed Costumed Life Drawing at Akin Lakeshore - TONIGHT!

Tonight (February 29) at Akin Lakeshore, 2970 Lakeshore Blvd West / 6:00pm - 8:30pm / $15 per person / some materials provided

Join artist Erin Panjer tonight for an evening of music and drawing. The theme is “Leap Year: Leap into action, take the initiative”. This session is meant to create the environment to capture meaningful human expression, and inspire the models and the artists in turn, creating a positive feedback loop of active emotional attention and effort - While coming off as fun and laid back! 

Getting there by TTC:
Akin Lakeshore is a 3 minute walk from the Lakeshore Blvd West at Fifth St TTC stop which services the 145 Bus and 301 / 501 Streetcars. It is a 2 minute walk from the Islington Ave at Lakeshore Blvd West stop which services the 110 Bus and 337 Bus. Plan your trip: http://www.ttc.ca/Trip_planner/index.jsp

Parking:
There is paid parking located at 2903 Lakeshore Blvd West which is approximately a 2 minute walk from the studio. There is also a Green P Parking Lot located at 120 Sixth St, south of Lakeshore Blvd West which is approximately a 3 minute walk from the studio.

Accessibility:Akin Lakeshore is located on the third floor of the building and there is no elevator. Akin regrets this barrier to access. There is a ramp entrance to the building and then 38 steps to access the studios on the third floor. There are 3 gender neutral washrooms in the studio space. One of the bathrooms has grab bars, the other two do not, and the toilets are not raised. The doorway to the kitchen is narrow, measuring approximately 24 inches across.

Wild at the Textile Museum of Canada

‘Wild’ features work by five emerging Canadian artists who make mischief of neat and tidy systems of classification. Through a range of textile processes and materials, these artists render fabulous flora and fauna that are defiantly aberrant, untamed, and uncultivated.

Please be advised: A portion of this exhibition features flashing images that may effect photosensitive visitors.

Featuring work by Akin MOCA Alum Humboldt Magnussen.
Humboldt Magnussen is an artist and curator from rural Saskatchewan. Magnussen holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies at OCAD University focusing on performance art and masculinity studies and a BFA from Concordia University from 2011 in Studio Arts. Humboldt weaves in autobiographical elements with larger political and social context to talk about the lack of safety and protection for queer people, even in designated “Safe Spaces”. He is interested in ways to visualize complicated notions of identity and gender / sexuality which can contribute to the growing conversation on these topics in Canada.

His practice is interdisciplinary in nature. Often his work is rooted in performance and includes the creation and use of elaborate masks and helmets. He utilizes elements of humour and glamour to make difficult topics more accessible and to create entry points for people to engage with the work.

Date: Oct 2, 2019 - Mar 15, 2020
Artists: Carrie Allison, Omar Badrin, Catherine Blackburn, Emily Jan and Humboldt Magnussen
Curated by: Farah Yusuf

Akin at the Artist Project

Thanks to all who came and visited us at the Artist Project. We appreciate everyone that made it possible for us to participate as well as everyone who stopped by the Akin booth to check out the artworks as well as learn more about Akin!

It was also an incredible honor to participate in a discussion on how studios and smaller arts organizations can help create a more equitable and inclusive artistic community in Toronto. This year’s chat featured panelists: Catherine Tammaro, Michael Vickers, Oliver Pauk and Talitha Tolles. 

Exhibiting artists in the Akin booth:
Antonio Pendones
Dalia Hassan
David Fredrik Moussallem
Foot-to-Face
Janet Hinkle
Jill Smith
Kim Kermode
Laura Kay Keeling

Additional Akin artists and alum who participated in this years Artist Project:
Alison Postma
Alyssa King 
Brianne Burnell 
Eugenia Elder  
Felicia Cirstea  
June Kim  
Kendra Yee 
Kristy Blackwell  
Linds Miyo 
Michael John Vickers 
Nicole Krstin
Design by Nuff 
SignBros
Strike Design Studio
Tonya Hart 

Newcomer Artists Receive Space Awards at Akin

Congratulations are in order to a wonderful group of talented artists! Last week 20 artists took the stage at MOCA Toronto during a cheerful awards evening to highlight newcomer talent in the city. Community partners from RBC, The Artists Network, and Toronto Arts Foundation, as well as Akin Co-Director Michael Vickers, were all on hand to celebrate the winners.

Administered by Toronto Arts Foundation’s Neighbourhood Arts Network and generously sponsored by RBC, the RBC Arts Access Fund provides micro-awards of up to $1500 to professional newcomer artists to support the creation of new work. The RBC Space Award, a new partnership with arts organization Akin Collective, provides six recipients (who must be a past RBC Arts Access Award recipient) with $500 cash to support their art practice and $1,000 in studio credit to be used for shared studio or exhibition space. The initiative was spearheaded by Akin, and launched in the past year. (Akin has a similar space award with OCAD University for graduating artists in the painting and drawing faculty.)

“Akin is thrilled to partner with Neighbourhood Arts Network on the creation of this unique new award, offering space to newcomer artists to make work, sustain their artistic practice and exhibit across Toronto – a city facing an affordability crisis that we are working to address in a creative way,” said Michael Vickers, Co-Director, Akin Collective.

RECIPIENTS OF THE RBC SPACE AWARDS:

Sahar Abdallah | Award-winning illustrator originally from Egypt whose work has appeared in several children’s books, four solo exhibits and several international group shows.

Andrea Vela Alarcón | Peruvian community artist and self-taught illustrator whose work centres under-represented communities and is inspired by folk culture, femininity, and nature.

Tenzin Desel | Visual artist originally from Tibet. Born into a family of political refugees, she was invited by the Dalai Lama to study religious painting in India, spending nearly 30 years studying Buddhist paintings, philosophy, architecture and language.

Banafsheh Erfanian Painter, illustrator and educator born in Tehran, Iran, whose illustrations grace 30 books and magazines. Her work has been exhibited in 45 shows around the world and won international awards.

Tarek Ghriri Musician originally from Damascus, Syria, whose music is inspired by classical and Flamenco music, which he now blends with traditional Arabic melodies for a sound all his own. Also a founding member of local trio Diar.

Melika Saeeda Illustrator from Tehran, Iran, who has illustratedmore than 30 children’s books in Turkey and Iran. Her work, inspired by the narratives in Persian miniatures, has been exhibited at book fairs around the world.

Members and friends of Akin can look forward to seeing (and hearing!) from several of the 2019 Space Award recipients in the upcoming months at Akin’s downtown space REMOTE Gallery - Remote is available for exhibition and space rental to all Akin artists and the public at large.

---

Well done! Akin also salutes all the winners of the Art Access Awards:

Volodymyr 'Volo' Bedzvin | Musician originally from Ukraine whose sound is a unique combination of cello and vocals treated with sound effects pedals. Volo has performed across Europe and North America, including at the Luminato Festival.

Banafsheh Erfanian | Painter, illustrator and educator born in Tehran, Iran, whose illustrations grace 30 books and magazines. Her work has been exhibited in 45 shows around the world and won international awards.

Tarek Ghriri | Musician originally from Damascus, Syria, whose music is inspired by classical and Flamenco music, which he now blends with traditional Arabic melodies for a sound all his own. Also a founding member of local trio Diar.

Leen Hamo | Professional singer, violinist and visual artist from Aleppo, Syria, who is a violinist and choir member with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra of Mississauga and founding member of local band Diar.

Xuefei Ji | Chinese-born painter interested in capturing body language and the human figure, inspired by the pioneering Western painters of the early 19th century.

Siavash Kavehmaryan | Iranian electronic-music composer/performer who blends computer-assisted sounds with Iranian traditional music.

Nour Kaadan | Musician from Damascus, Syria, who is a core member of local Syrian-Flamenco band Diar and the collective Music from Hope, a creative outlet where children can communicate through art to overcome trauma.

Yannis Lobaina | Cuban writer, filmmaker and storyteller who explores themes of immigration, diaspora and motherhood through storytelling. She also works at the International School of Cinema, Radio, and TV as a director, script consultant and still photographer.

Ahmed Moneka | Actor and musician from Iraq who is the co-founder of Toronto bands Moskitto Bar (a harmonious blend of Celtic, Balkan and Arabic music) and Moneka Arabic Jazz (rooted in jazz and blues as well as Afro rhythms and the Iraqi maqam style of singing).

Parisa Pajoohandeh | Filmmaker and academic from Iran interested in sociopolitical issues and the struggles of human life, such as identity, migration, war, solitude and women's stories.

Melika Saeeda | Illustrator from Tehran, Iran, who has illustrated more than 30 children’s books in Turkey and Iran. Her work, inspired by the narratives in Persian miniatures, has been exhibited at book fairs around the world.

Omid Shakib | Filmmaker originally from Iran with 20 years’ experience working in the film industry in Iran, Iraq, the UK, and now in Canada. He has directed and produced over 25 documentaries, docudramas, and experimental films.

Alice Il Shin | Korean filmmaker trained at Nihon University in Japan. Since then, she has worked in Japan, Korea, the U.S., and Canada as a director, producer, and editor.

Rouvan Silogix | Pakistani-Tanzanian director, writer, actor, producer and classical pianist. Artistic Director for Theatre ARTaud and a member of the Mammalian Diving Reflex collective, he was Writer in Residence at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2018 and a finalist for the Emerging Director Residency Award from Crow's Theatre.

Megha Subramanian | Storyteller in dance, writing and film inspired by her Indian roots who aims to modernize the traditional Bharatanatyam dance form through teaching and performance. She also draws on writing and filmmaking to support this artistic vision.

Salbhi Sumaiya |Visual artist from Dhaka, Bangladesh. As a hard of hearing (HOH) individual, she was drawn to painting due to its accessibility to her as a visual art form. Her work focuses on raising awareness of contemporary issues, including animal extinction and Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya population.

Namie Ueno | Painter from Arashiyama, Japan who began studying art as a teenager. Beyond their decorative beauty, her artworks look for a balance between fear and longing away from the materialist culture of today, a truce between the often duelling aspects of our own selves.

---

About Toronto Arts Foundation

Toronto Arts Foundation is a charitable organization that sparks creative connections, spotlights artistic excellence, and supports vibrant cultural growth throughout our diverse city through private-sector investment. To learn more or to make a donation, visit torontoartsfoundation.org.

About Neighbourhood Arts Network

Neighbourhood Arts Network, a network of over 1,900 members, is a strategic initiative of the Toronto Arts Foundation, offering accessible arts programming, awards, and partnership opportunities to local artists, arts workers, and arts organizations working throughout the City of Toronto. To learn more, visit neighbourhoodartsnetwork.org.

Akin Vitrine Galleries + Kyle Yip

We are delighted to introduce our current Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery artist, Akin Ossington artist Kyle Yip. Kyle's work will be on exhibit in our galleries beginning at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West for the month of February and then 1485 Dupont for the month of March.

“The following body of work are exact replicas of visual art conceived and produced during the rapid-eye movement dream state of the artist. While the purpose of dreams are not completely understood, psychoanalysts believe they are the manifestations of our deepest desires and fears. They are the direct expression of imagination and utilize the most efficient language of symbolism and mythological archetypes.” - Kyle Yip 

In Gestalt therapy, Fritz Perls describes dreams as projections of the parts of ourselves that have been neglected, rejected, or suppressed. Carl Jung added that every person in the dream may represent an aspect of the dreamer, which he called the existential approach to dreams. Perls went to far as to say that even inanimate objects in the dream may represent aspects of the dreamer. Through association, the dreamer would be asked to imagine being an object in the dream and describe its characteristics, bringing into awareness the more disaffected aspects of the dreamer's personality. 

Kyle Yip is an award-winning, internationally recognized, critically acclaimed visual artist based in Toronto. He is known not only for his Juno Award Nominated debut album for best 'Electronic Album of the Year’ from the 45th Annual Juno Awards in 2016, but also his international exhibitions in New York, Vancouver and South Korea.

Sewer
Mixed Media
30 x 22 1/2”
2019

Moonbeam
Mixed Media
30 x 22 1/2”
2019

Pepto-Abysmal
Mixed Media
48 x 36”
2016

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

Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present our 2020 programming in two Vitrine Galleries located at Akin St. Clair and Akin Dupont. 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 St. Clair and second month at Dupont. For more information about our artists and our programming, join us on Instagram @akinvitrine.

Kyle’s work will be on view for the month of February in our St. Clair Avenue West Akin Vitrine Gallery, 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time.

The exhibition will then travel to the Akin Dupont Vitrine Gallery where it will be on view for the month of March. 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.

Art by OCAD U Students and Grads Now Available Online

“There’s an economic insecurity that artists feel in Toronto.”

— Hana Elmasry via BlogTO

OCAD University has partnered with Partial Gallery to launch OCAD U Artist Showcase, an online market with more than 270 curated pieces by 24 students and graduates. Pieces are available for rent or purchase at affordable prices.

Partial is an online service that launched in 2016 with the aim of connecting artists with buyers at affordable rates. Consumers can rent an artwork for up to three months and if they decide to keep it, rental payments are deducted from the sale price. This allows customers to see how a piece looks in their space before making a long term commitment.

"This opportunity not only connects emerging artists with potential buyers excited by new works, but also demonstrates how affordable owning original art can be to a whole new group of prospective art collectors,” Partial Gallery’s co-founder, Tammy Yiu Coyne, said in a statement.

This benefits the artists and consumers as selling online is a way for artists to sustain themselves and for buyers is a chance to buy something more unique than a mass-produced piece from a furniture store.

ULI Toronto: Squeezed out? Squeezed in? A community fishbowl conversation about Social Purpose Real Estate

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone that attended the ULI Toronto fishbowl conversation at MOCA on January 14th. It was wonderful to be able to begin to have a conversation around Social Purpose Real Estate which is an important aspect of development in Toronto.

Some conversation pieces included:
What’s your basic definition of Social Purpose Real Estate?
-Thinking about real estate from the perspective of mission and meaning. What are you doing with space? Ideally, create places that are more considerate and compassionate
-Push even further to mean: community homed assets, things owned by communities, clubs etc not necessarily privatized
-Non profit
-Taking the profit out of the equation so the assets can be provided for space to serve all of the needs of a thriving community

Comments on how arts organizations and not for profit organizations can begin to work with developers to take into consideration the community interest for long term development. Looking at the community and seeing what already exists, what community members want or need to make it a livable, workable community where people want to be.

More details will be shared via the ULI Toronto website

Special thanks to the folks below:

Facilitator:
Jane Farrow, Principal, Dept of Words & Deeds

Panelists:
Laura Alderson, Mount Dennis BIA
Georgia Cowan, MOCA Toronto
Diane Dyson, Director, Research & Public Policy, Central Neighbourhood House (The Neighbourhood Group)
Robert Fiorino, Vice President - Market Strategy, Lemay
Andrew Garrett, Executive Director, Real Estate Portfolio, IMCO
Ken Greenberg, Urban Designer
Lori Martin, Senior Cultural Affairs Officer, City of Toronto
Sherif Masood, VP Asset Management (Retail), Oxford Properties Group
Abigail Moriah, Senior Development Manager, New Commons Development
Michael Vickers, Co-Director, Akin
Oliver Pauk, Co-Director, Akin
Peter Venetas, Real Estate Consultant
Pru Robey, Consultant
Liza Stiff, Director, Research & Programs, TAS DesignBuild
Laura Trujillo, Vice President, Property Management, Allied REIT
Jordana Wright, Managing Director, Activate Space
And more!

Valentine's Card Making Party

Valentine's Card Making Party | February 12th, 6-8PM, Akin St. clair, 1747 St. Clair Avenue West

Akin Projects is excited to present this casual, drop-in crafting party! Join us at Akin St. Clair (1747 St. Clair Avenue West) and make a card for your best friend, neighbour, significant other, worst enemy or a complete stranger! All materials are provided. Please note this is a 19+ event.

Participants will be provided with one card per PWYC donation (donations go to Akin Projects, registered not-for-profit arts organization). The cards are made of heavy-duty hemp card stock, cut and scored to make a 4”x6” card. Each card comes with a 4”x6” envelope. You can decorate the card and envelope however you wish!

Decorating supplies will be provided including:
a variety of coloured and patterned paper
pencil crayons, markers and pens
paints and brushes
stamps and ink
stickers
stencils
scissors
glue
magazines for collage and more!
Feel free to bring additional supplies!

Accessibility Information:
This building is all on a single ground floor. Akin St. Clair Studios regrets any barrier to access. If you require more information or are concerned about accessibility barriers please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Akin at the Artist Project

Akin at the Artist Project | February 20-23, Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place

Akin Projects invites you to join us at the 2020 edition of Artist Project Toronto. Akin is excited to join this year's Artist Project as the non profit partner. In our booth, visitors are invited to view new work by a handful of our current members, learn more about our services and the many ways we offer support for artists.

Show Hours:
OPENING NIGHT - Thursday, February 20, 7-11pm

Friday, February 21, 11am - 10pm

Saturday, February 22, 11am - 8pm

Sunday, February 23, 11am-6pm

This year, the Artist Project turns 13 with its most exciting show yet and we can't wait to be a part of it! From collectors and curators, to gallerists and designers, visitors can explore and discover works of art from over 300 top contemporary artists from Canada and abroad.

This year, visitors you can view and interact with new works by members of Akin's community in Akin's non profit partner booth. Artists will be on site throughout the show to discuss their work and answer your questions.

Exhibiting Artists:
Antonio Pendones
Dalia Hassan
David Fredrik Moussallem
Foot-to-Face
Janet Hinkle
Jill Smith
Kim Kermode
Laura Kay Keeling

Accessibility Information:
The Artist Project is committed to excellence in serving all customers including persons with disabilities.The Better Living Centre is an accessible venue. It has a step free access to the building and is level throughout. A limited number of assisted devices are available onsite at the information desk for those who need them. Service animals are allowed into all areas of the event that are open to the public. Artist Project is happy to offer a complimentary admission pass for the support person of a person with a disability.