Artist Faisal Karadsheh featured this Saturday at the Deep Wireless Festival of Radio & Transmission Art

This Saturday, March 4th, artist (and Akin Member) Faisal Karadsheh will be presenting his work ‘to be heard (soundwalk’in_2021)’ as part of New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA)’s annual Deep Wireless festival.

This work includes all three audio pieces from Faisal’s soundwalk project which were produced in 2021 using personal recordings of street protests in Toronto, each responding to national and/or international events. By visiting each of the three locations in the sound walk, the listener may consider how bodies connect, congregate and organize themselves together.

In the soundwalk project the process of concentrating or suppressing “voices of protest”, as suggested by Hito Steyerl, is being explored formally. The site is composed of three distinct locations within a very specific region in Toronto. The three protests transpired at varying times during 2021, yet seem to align across a section of the city. The abstracted sound works examine the process of documenting and formally articulating protests, in connection to its position within the urban fabric and sonic landscape of the city.

Image Description: The Deep Wireless logo which includes a cartoon drawing of a radio and the words ‘DEEP Wireless”

Deep Wireless Festival of Radio and Transmission Art

The 22nd annual edition of the Deep Wireless Festival of Radio & Transmission Art is presented on the theme Remote Connections with and exhibitions, performances, artist talks, an online compilation and radio programs being transmitted from and hosted at the NAISA North Media Arts Centre in South River.

Three works from the Deep Wireless 17 Radio Art Compilation Album will be included in this in-person and online hybrid event on the theme Remote Connections. Join in person for multichannel listening or connect online with your headphones.

What: Remote Connections Concert
When: Saturday March 4, 2023, 7:00 pm
Where: Online, and/or in-person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre in South River, Ontario
To register: click here the cost is $12 per person

“Radio over its history has built societal connections across multiple and remote locations. Radio Art evolved by way of artists and writers across many disciplines adding their diverse approaches to the way time, space and content could be re-imagined over the airwaves and later over digital streaming formats. The content in this year’s festival adds to that tradition with stories told through digital interactivity, round table discussions, documentaries, interactive art, poetry and sound art on the theme Remote Connections.”

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About the artist

Faisal Karadsheh is an Akin staff member and an Akin Studio member. He is an emerging Jordanian-Palestinian multidisciplinary artist, who has exhibited work in Jordan, Lebanon and Canada. Although his work does not necessarily depict a personal narrative, lived experiences emerge as thematic starting points throughout the art-making process. Once completed, these individualized fragments in time may instigate a wider dialogue within disparate communities about tradition, the body, ecologies, and how we define ourselves as moving beings. His oeuvre continually explores in-between spaces, where interior and exterior modalities can exist as one. By attempting to search for this mode of hybridized representation, different mediums unravel interrelated narratives, or imagined histories, revolving around the self and its ties to the body. As a result, these formal investigations into spatial possibilities always seem to be contingent on a somatic subject's perceptions, as the producer or constructor of reality. Choosing a medium to express these sentiments requires openness, which leads to a myriad of forms. Learn more about Faisal and his work at faisalkaradsheh.myportfolio.com

Winter Art Crawl - DesignTO Stops

Sometimes it’s all sunshine and rainbows and other times Toronto slingshots from Fall-like weather to a mid-winter blizzard overnight. This tricky weather occasionally affects Akin’s programming like today’s scheduled Winter Art Crawl. That being said, if any art crawl had to be cancelled due to weather conditions this created the perfect opportunity for folks planning to attend today’s event to create their own DesignTO Festival crawl over the next week.

DesignTO Festival is Canada’s leading (and largest) annual design festival that celebrates design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making, with over 100 exhibitions and events forming Toronto’s design week, January 17-26, 2020. Since 2011, DesignTO has been bringing communities together to celebrate design, by taking art and design out of the studio and into the urban realm.

Akin’s 2020 Winter Art Crawl consisted of 5 stops in Toronto’s Queen Street West and Ossington area, but you don’t have to stop there! The DesignTO Festival spreads across the city featuring many exhibitions, pop ups, window installations and more. Visit the festival’s website for full details and locations of all of this year’s projects.

We recommend checking out the following stops that would have been featured during today’s art crawl along with a few other notable pop ups.

Image Source: DesignTO Festival. Can’t Say Nothing (Lorem Ipsum, Moving Patterns).

Can’t Say Nothing (Lorem Ipsum, Moving Patterns)

Where: Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 17-31, 2020

Using Lorem Ipsum text and the Photoshop background, ‘Can’t Say Nothing’ by Janina Anderson, turns signifiers of blankness into overlapping patterns, which are printed, mounted and stitched together. ‘Can’t say Nothing’ is a mixed media installation drawing from textile art, collage, painting, graphic design and sculpture. ‘Can’t say Nothing’ investigates the way systems of language, symbols and design affect meaning, and wonders: if even the expression of absence is so heavily coded, is it possible to express oneself without external mediation, and to what extent is it possible to truly “say nothing” at all?

Dying.exhibits

Where: Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 12 - February 1, 2020

Dying.exhibits’ is an exhibition series on end of life, inviting participants to think about their relationship with life and death as a process; encouraging heart-level conversations about difficult, often taboo topics. By holistically engaging with life, including death, ‘Dying.exhibits’ becomes a catalyst for unpacking the uncomfortable. The exhibition serves as an opportunity to engage with diverse perspectives and participate in open discussion about death and dying through engaging art and design works and participatory experiences.

During DesignTO there will be several events under the ‘Dying.’ series, featuring work by Akin MOCA artist Laura Kay Keeling and Akin Alum David Salazar, with an opportunity to visit exhibits across Toronto. ‘Dying.’ is a collaboration between the Health Design Studio at OCAD U and Taboo Health.

Daydream Under the Penny Vine

Where: gh3*, 55 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Project Type: Window Installation

Dates: January 14 - February 2, 2020

Sylvia Lee, glass designer and Creative Director of Jeff Goodman Studio is launching her first lighting product at DesignTO 2020. Titled the ‘Penny Vine’, this piece is a luminescent wall installation inspired by the humble copper penny and a silver coin vine, a favorite succulent houseplant.

The wall mounted system comes in various size is available in multiple lengths or ‘strands’ of lights which are cantilevered on delicate copper vines. Each ‘leaf’ is an illuminated opal glass circle with subtle copper edging. For the DesignTO 2020 exhibition, Lee chose a colour palette of leaves in delicate greens and pinks.

“For my inspiration, I’m always fascinated by vernacular, obsolete objects. The Silver Coin Vine plant started a thought process about coins and specifically pennies, which are not used anymore. I envisioned this copper strand light with simple, coin shaped leaves.” says Lee of her design. The theme of obsolete objects continues from her work in past exhibitions which were inspired by simple paper file folders and an abacus.

She goes on, “I wanted this to be scalable for designers and architects to be able to layer and have vines project into their space. For this DesignTO installation, I chose a subtle palette, but we could layer infinite glass colours into any configuration.”

‘Daydream Under the Penny Vine’ also includes a translucent, hand carved Temple Glass bench lit from the inside, a cast glass architectural product produced by Jeff Goodman Studio. Passersby will come upon a small glowing bench under a magically lit strands of illuminated leaves. Lee says, “I want viewers to experience a moment of departure in their urban commute.”

Image Source: DesignTO Festival. (AI) - Aesthete’s Items.

(AI) - Aesthete’s Items

Where: gravity pope, 1010 Queen Street West, Toronto

Project Type: Window Installation

Dates: January 17-26, 2020

‘(AI) – Aesthete’s Items’ is founded on the philosophy that beauty must be expressed and shared commonly. It should not be reserved for a limited circle of initiates, but rather be a part of our daily lives in the form of everyday objects.

Yaw Tony’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in use of colour and its connection to humanity. His artistic oeuvre has shifted from narrative art, into experimental research on the value of colour and its impact on human behaviour. The value determines the worth and worth determines the significance of each colour.

Yaw Tony’s approach to aesthetics and beauty is an intriguing invitation to explore an eclectic, colourful, language. His work draws viewers into a resplendent world of visual journeys where artistry and character go hand-in-hand. The majority of his artwork is on 100% silk or natural fabrics, the aesthetic and design concepts are influenced by the sophisticated details of African adages, combined with elements from western culture. It is the “gameo” – “gem” – “marriage”, the fusion of two distinct elements into one. All the patterns, motifs and details are hand drawn, painted, and then transferred into colour to give them form — this is when the stories come to life. The scarf collection is the first stage in a larger series of applications for the Life Liveth brand, whose maximalist aesthetic is then applied to furniture, wallpaper, decorative items, textiles, art prints and installation and so much more.

Yaw Tony breaks all colour rules to define all colour rules. He strongly believes that all colours complement each other, one just has to know what they are doing. Take a look at nature, it consists of many colours at a given time and they all work beautifully.

Image source: Erin Candela. Installation view of Akin MOCA artist Emmie Tsumura’s work at CUTMR20.

Come Up to My Room

Where: Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 16-19, 2020

‘Come Up To My Room’ (CUTMR) is an annual 3-day alternative design exhibition created and produced by the Gladstone Hotel. Art and design intersect, with the historic hotel becoming a platform for site-specific installations. Visitors can explore, discover and engage in conversation with the artists. Different from our 37 permanent artist-designed hotel rooms, CUTMR presents temporary projects that occupy and alter spaces in dramatic, conceptual, or experimental ways.

Artists are selected based on their body of work, not on detailed proposals, and they are invited to challenge themselves and try new things in this unconventional setting.  This model allows for the evolution of ideas, risk-taking and an element of surprise. Participants use art and design to converse, connect, collaborate and construct delight in the unexpected.

Projects are presented by individuals, collectives, and multidisciplinary teams.

Image source: MUKË

Other notable 2020 DesignTO Festival projects include:

Design Collection @ stackt (IN RESIDENCE)

Where: stackt market, #1-112, 28 Bathurst Street, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 17-26, 2020

During the festival, local design duo MUKË (Akin co-director Michael Vickers and Akin co-founder Michael Dellios) will move the contents of its studio (furniture, plants, pets, maquettes, materials and more) into a shipping container at stackt — enveloping it as a site to showcase new and recent work, but also inviting visitors to engage directly with our process, the practices of our Toronto peers, and one another through live programming.

100 Vases

Where: The Shop, 1485 Dupont Street, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 24-25, 2020

‘100 Vases’ is inspired by the possibilities presented when objects come together, and the dialogue that happens between them. Spearheaded by ceramicist Michelle Organ, and artist and designer, Dasha Valakhanovitch, the two day event is a showcase of diversity in contemporary clay design, featuring work by Akin MOCA artist Erin Candela.

Future Retrospectives

Where: Harbourfront Centre, Artport Gallery, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 17 - March 29, 2020

‘Future Retrospectives’ is a group exhibition featuring the work of eleven local and international artists and designers, including Akin Ossington artist Jessica Thalmann, 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?”

Light is Magnetic

Where: ergoCentric Showroom and Store, 37 King Street East

Project Type: Window Installation

Dates: January 17-26, 2020

Light is energy. It encompasses a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation much of which exists beyond our visible experience. This is the light that can not be seen manifest in radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma rays. “My art is inspired by the physics of light as I seek to find ways to portray energy. ‘Light is Magnetic’ is an exhibition that brings together my recent experiments in light sculpture. It will include sculptures that integrate light or reflective elements with other conceptual pieces that explore the connection between light and energy.” - Akin MOCA artist, Tonya Hart

The Sky is Falling

Where: Knife Fork Book, Mezzanine, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw Street

Project Type: Exhibition

Dates: January 17-26, 2020

Visual artist, designer and poet Jessica Hiemstra of Akin Lakeshore creates an abstracted paper sky on the ceiling of Toronto’s only all-poetry bookstore, Knife Fork Book. Using watercolour paper, thread and washes of Genzäh Handmade Watercolours paint, Hiemstra’s sky is one that is torn and sewn back together. This sky has tangled stitching, punctures, long dangling threads, and fragments of poetry sewn into it. Independent bookstores and especially those that specialize in theatre, poetry, music and art are becoming rarer and rarer. Knife Fork Book is an ephemeral place. It continues to exist because its sky continues to be held together by delicate threads.

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

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

Call for Submissions: CONTACT 2020

The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto invites participation from photographic artists for May 2020, either as a Featured Exhibition or an Open Call Exhibition.

The Featured Exhibitions program showcases exceptional photo-based projects. Featured Exhibitions are subject to a juried submission process, and are eligible for The Gattuso Prize, a $5,000 award that acknowledges an outstanding exhibition in this program.

The Open Call Exhibitions program provides a valuable opportunity to have photographic work exhibited in conjunction with other emerging and established artists. Open Call Exhibitions are non-juried and are therefore accessible to all interested participants and exhibition spaces.

All artists/organizers must have a confirmed exhibition space in order to participate in CONTACT.
A participation fee applies:

Early bird fee (available until November 11, 2019)
$275 + HST

Regular registration fee
$350 + HST

Toronto Biennial of Art Announces Inaugural Programs

Toronto Biennial of Art (the Biennial) recently announced an extensive series of free public programs during the 10-week Exhibition that will take place during its inaugural edition, from September 21 to December 1, 2019. More than 70 local and international participants will lead talks, workshops, and performances that intersect with and expand ideas emerging from the 2019 Biennial’s central question: “What does it mean to be in relation?”

Led by Deputy Director and Director of Programs Ilana Shamoon, and conceived by Curator Clare Butcher and Associate Curator Myung-Sun Kim, the Biennial’s Programs team has developed five programming streams: Co-Relations, Currents, Storytelling, Tools for Learning, and the Toronto Biennial of Art Residency.

Programs will take place at more than 15 Biennial sites across Toronto. Conceived to extend beyond the event itself to activate the Biennial between editions, Programs is responsive to conversations that emerge during the inaugural Biennial and will precipitate ongoing projects, research, events, and partnerships that create a foundation for continued exchange into 2021.

Co-Relations explores critical local issues—livability, access, interconnectivity—that extend ideas addressed in the Biennial’s first edition. The program demonstrates a deep commitment to placemaking in a series of performances and gatherings, including artist talks, participatory games, civic conversations, youth-engaged projects, workshops, and communal meals. Participants are invited into shifting and expanding dialogues that reveal our often invisible, intangible, or overlooked connections to each other and our environment. These unseen or unnoticed connections provide insights into how we can better build and sustain symbiotic relationships over time.

Currents is a platform for artist-led programming that invites visitors to engage directly with the creative and critical processes at work in the exhibition. This stream consists of talks, performances, symphonies, star-gazing, and ceremonies that trace ideas circulating within and beyond the Biennial’s main sites and connect with other exhibition locations. Be it through acts of restitution, revolutionary wearables, ways of knowing with the water, or the ethics of making, Currents asks participants to reconsider what it means to be in and out of relation in the context of artworks featured in this year’s Exhibition.

Storytelling seeks to shift the mediation of contemporary art away from conventional modes of interpreting and informing to narrating and embodying through weekly walks and conversations. An intergenerational and multilingual group of storytellers share personal insights and experiences of the city as they guide visitors through the exhibition’s site-specific installations, research, and generative proposals. Storytellers will bring submerged narratives to the surface in relation to the history and politics of Toronto’s shifting shoreline.

Tools for Learning is generated with Biennial participants and collaborators, and comprises group exercises, performative scores, proposals for collaborative thinking and making, artist interviews, and audio tours. Whether in the Biennial, the classroom, or at home, our multimedia toolbox can be put to use by educators, students, and other community members in connecting their own experiences and curricula with process-based, playful approaches to contemporary artistic practices.

The Toronto Biennial of Art Residency is an experimental platform for artists with socially engaged practices. It supports artists whose work is challenging disciplinary and aesthetic conventions to expand notions of community and enact social change at various scales. For its inaugural residency, the Biennial is proud to present Life of a Craphead, a collective whose work spans performance art, film, and curation.

Best Of Our Neighbourhood: BOON by Tune Your Ride Collective

August 13 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm & August 24 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Tune Your Ride Collective will host BOON: community open stages featuring local artists on a stage completely powered by stationary bicycles. Top performers will open the 10th Annual Toronto Bicycle Music Festival on August 24th.

Musicians, actors, authors, comedians, magicians, and dancers of all types, cultures, and ages are invited to share your talent at BOON: a family-friendly community open-stage powered completely by stationary bicycles.

Are you a performer who would like to sign up? See here: torontobicyclemusicfestival.com

Akin Projects at Zine Dream 12 - Don't miss this FREE, one-day-only event

Akin is excited to exhibit at ZINE DREAM 12 alongside over 100 creative vendors at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA). Exhibitors will be showcasing self published books, comics, music, zines, handmade crafts, prints & much more! One day only!

Date: Sunday July 21
Time: 10am-5pm
Location: MOCA - 158 Sterling Road
Cost: FREE!

The Akin Projects table will be featuring work by Akin artists:

Emily Woudenberg - www.strikedesignstudio.com
Enas Satir - www.instagram.com/enas.satir
Jessie Elliot-Brunning - www.stomatacollective.com
Mia Zhou
Nuff - www.designbynuff.com
Minerva Mullally
Sherlyn Choe - www.smchoe.com
Stephanie Avery - www.stephanieavery.com

Akin artists Jenn Woodall, Loretta Miauw and Wenting Li as well as Akin alumni Jenn Kitagawa and Jackie Lee will be at Zine Dream exhibiting their work independently.

Art Metropole will exhibit their back catalogue of zines, featuring work by local and international artists collected by the organization over their 45 year history. This extensive zine library will be available to browse and buy at Art Metropole's storefront space on the ground floor of the MOCA all weekend long.

As a bonus you can enjoy free admission to the Museum exhibitions from 10am-2pm while you’re at Zine Dream!

Visit zinedream.com for more information including a full exhibitor list.

Also, we hope that you can join us for the official launch party of Zine Dream co-presented by Art Metropole featuring Readings & Musical Performances!

Date: Friday July 19
Time: 8pm
Location: MOCA
Cost: $10

Call for Submissions: Myseum Intersections Festival

Myseum of Toronto is now accepting submissions for the fifth annual Myseum Intersections festival.

Myseum Intersections is an annual festival that will take place during the month of April 2020. The festival explores intersectional perspectives of Toronto through collaborative exhibits, events, and experiences. Intersections presents a wide array of programming intended to create dialogue on civic issues and inspire a deeper knowledge and appreciation of our city.

Festival Dates: April 1 - 30, 2020

Deadline: Sunday, June 30, 2019 @ 11:00PM

Project proposals can range from exhibitions to events such as walking tours, workshops, panel discussions, lectures, public programs, exhibition tours, community celebrations, interactive experiences, walking tours and performances. 

Images Festival - Full Schedule Announced!

Images Festival is excited to announce the full program schedule for its 32nd edition. Images Festival showcases artistic excellence in contemporary moving image culture through 14 gallery exhibitions, 73 on-screen works, and eight live performances happening throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The 2019 program features works that elaborate the textures of communities and embody alternative, discursive models of moving image presentation. The curated lineup calls attention to our histories, solidarities, and collaborations, providing vivid perspectives that further challenge and uproot the dialogue surrounding experimental media art.

Images festival from from April 11-18th 2019.

Images Festival’s OPENING NIGHT film on Thursday, April 11 will be the Canadian premiere of Software Garden, a music video album by Rory Pilgrim at The Royal Cinema. In contrast to a recent fascination with technology’s dystopian impact on public and private life, the film asks how we meet from both behind and beyond our screens. Software Garden is preceded by Marnie Ellen Hertzler’s, Hi I Need To Be Loved and Andrés Baron’s Printed Sunset.

On Thursday, April 18 the CLOSING NIGHT program titled Outer Worlds is curated by Janine Marchessault, featuring five new large-format digital film shorts in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX. Taking place at the historic Cinesphere Theatre at Ontario Place, Outer Worlds include works by Oliver Husain, Lisa Jackson, Kelly Richardson, Michael Snow, and Leila Sujir.

This year’s CANADIAN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT is Vancouver-based filmmaker KC Wei whose work explores the liminal space of music, video and writing, with romance, euphoria and dissolution coursing throughout her narratives. Wei’s first film Murky Colours, draws from the made-for-Hollywood spy novel first written by her father, Menjin Wei, and applies a particular collage aesthetic to account for the work’s fragmented storylines and hybridized, cinematic genre. In calling to this agglomerate execution, Wei selected Hito Steryl’s In Free Fall to accompany the Spotlight Feature.

The Images Festival was established by the Northern Visions Collective to look closely at the dynamics of accessibility. Images began as Toronto’s only alternative to the Toronto International Film Festival, integrating film and video from its inception, and later expanding to include installations, performances and new media.

Akin Members at Field Trip Music and Arts Fesitval →

Field Trip brings some of the world’s best music right to the heart of Toronto, but the festival is also about much more than that. Food, art, comedy, family, fashion and a spirit of discovery count among the many inspirations, and each year’s Field Trip is dedicated to collaborative explorations of those themes. At this year's festival you can find Akin Ossington members Leora Israel's and Jenn Kitagawa's work is on display in the Field Trip Marketplace and in one of the Art and Design areas.

Leora Israel is a Toronto potter with a focus on functional wares with a modern twist. You can shop her line of beautiful ceramics, The Otter Potter, in the Field Trip Marketplace this weekend. The Field Trip Marketplace is an annual hub where fans can browse unique wares from some of Toronto’s most talented crafters and designers.

Jenn Kitagawa is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Toronto, Canada. Her vision is to experiment with different mediums, techniques and materials to create a diverse body of work generating excitement in the viewer. You can find her gigantic bean bag installation just south of the Fort York stage.

Last Chance To Apply: Calls for submissions!

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Get your Summer work deadlines sorted and start booking new projects and residencies before the nice weather arrives. Apply now! 

Outside The Box (City Of Toronto) - April 30 2018

World Of Threads Festival - April 30 2018

Career Launcher Prize 2018 – MAY 11 2018

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OUTSIDE THE BOX - Traffic Box Proposal City Of Toronto - APRIL 30 2018

The Outside the Box program provides an opportunity for local artists to create works of art on traffic signal boxes across Toronto. Since 2013, over 350 boxes have been hand-painted by local artists, or wrapped featuring designs by local graphic artists, and transformed into extraordinary works of art. Artists and graphic designers applying to this program are encouraged to consider the context of the local area and the city as a whole. Art calls for hand-painted boxes, and graphic designs for wrapped boxes, are issued separately.

Eligibility & How to Apply

• Applicants must reside in the City of Toronto.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
• City of Toronto employees are not eligible to apply.

Finished works will be on functioning City of Toronto equipment that will need repair or replacing at some point in time. The City therefore cannot guarantee the duration of use of each traffic signal box. Artists and graphic designers should also be aware that traffic signal boxes are often targets for vandalism. Although the City will protect the artwork with a vandal-resistant clear coat or wrap, it cannot guarantee that vandalized traffic signal boxes will be repaired and the artwork restored to its original state. Artists must accept the risk that their artwork may be damaged, altered, or removed at any time after completion.

See here for Application Form and Traffic Box Dimensions.

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WORLD OF THREADS FESTIVAL - OAKVILLE - Due APRIL 30 2018

Festival Dates: October 13, 2018 – November 25, 2018

Opening Reception: October 20, 2018

Artists from around the world are invited to submit bodies of work, installations or individual pieces to the festival. The curators will draw from the pool of submissions to create different thematic group exhibitions. We also mount dozens of solo shows.

Something that’s different about World of Threads Festival is that we let the art guide us. We don’t have predetermined curatorial ideas or impose our concepts on the artists. Each festival is a blank slate. Shows develop entirely out of the submissions received. Your work might inspire an entire exhibition! For Festivals 2016, 2014 and 2012 we curated using this process and it worked very successfully. Don’t assume what kind of exhibitions we will mount based on our past shows. Remember that they’re based on what the artists submit. So Festival 2018 could look very different. We’re also open to work that is not made of fibre materials but instead uses techniques of fibre like sewing and weaving or evokes fibre processes or aesthetics.

Festival 2018 will be focused around Queen Elisabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. In addition to the beautiful gallery, we will also be using the Display Area Gallery, the Corridor Galleries, lobby and open public spaces of the entire facility.

Your work may be for sale and we will try to sell it. There will be a 40% commission on any sales.

Fibre Artist Interviews: Some artists who are accepted will be invited to participate in our interview series.

Three Options for Submitting

Body of Work – Maximum 10 pieces + details.

Individual Pieces – Maximum 10 pieces + details.

Installations – Maximum 10 images + details and renderings.

Festival Background

The World of Threads Festival is a leading international showcase of contemporary fibre and textile art. We are a not-for-profit initiative with charitable status run by a couple of dedicated volunteers. The Festival is ambitious and constantly expanding into new territory. We believe that some of the most exciting and compelling artwork being made today is happening in the field of fibre arts. Through our initiatives we have discovered some remarkable artists and brought them to the attention of Canadian and international audiences.

We began in Oakville, Ontario in 1994 as a single exhibition, expanding to a full festival in 1998 and becoming international in 2009. Festival 2016 had 315 artworks by 134 artists from 23 countries. The festival draws visitors from across the region and internationally and has featured work submitted by hundreds of artists from around the world. Festival 2016 attracted more than 60,000 visitors. In 2015 Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate won the Oakville Arts Council 2015 Community Impact Arts Award, for bringing global attention to Oakville and elevating the fibre/textile art form around the world.

Our website has become a central hub for lovers of fibre art with our Fibre Artist Interviews series. We currently have a following in 95 countries. To date we have conducted over 135 interviews with Canadian and international artists. We encourage you to spend some time on our website to see what we have done in the past. For some examples of previous artists and exhibitions look under Artwork or check out our Artist Interviews and Curator Interviews.We are working on getting the albums up from the last festival.

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CAREER LAUNCHER PRIZE - 401 RICHMOND - Due MAY 11 2018 5pm

Each year, 401 Richmond Street West welcomes an emerging artist into its community through the 401 Richmond Career Launcher Prize. The Career Launcher Prize provides an exceptional opportunity to occupy a coveted 500 ft2 studio for one year at 401 Richmond Street West, one of Canada’s most dynamic arts facilities. The award recipient will become part of a unique community of artists, cultural producers, creative pioneers, passionate activists and social entrepreneurs. The recipient is chosen from a Toronto-wide competition by a panel of visual arts professionals. The Career Launcher Prize has been presented annually since 2000 as a way of providing space and support for research and experimentation at a critical time in an emerging artist’s career.

Who is eligible?

• Priority will be given to recent graduates of Toronto post-secondary fine arts programs (or equivalent), although all early career artists (less than 3 years as a professional artist) will be considered.
• Applicants must have participated in at least one formal exhibition (school-based exhibitions are acceptable).
• The juried selection process is based on the quality of the candidate’s work but will favour those who are strongly self-motivated, who show originality, and who demonstrate a strong commitment to developing their practice for the duration of the residency.
• There is no age restriction for this award.

Duration

• 12 months (September – August)

How to apply

Candidates must provide:

• Full contact details
• An artist’s statement
• A résumé or curriculum vitae
• A Letter of Intent (1-page maximum) including an overview of expected professional outcomes of the residency
• Documentation of recent work. These should be audio/visual items on a USB.(please note that all support material will be discarded after the selection process)

Applications and supporting documents should be submitted to:

Career Launcher Prize
c/o Urbanspace Property Group
Studio 111, 401 Richmond Street West
Toronto ON
M5V 3A8

Deadline for applications is 5pm May 11 2018. No applications will be accepted after this date. Prize recipient will be notified by end of June 2018.

Assessment Process

A panel of Toronto arts professionals drawn from the rich pool of expertise at 401 Richmond and beyond, including visual and media artists, arts presenters, curators and critics, will review all applications. Final decisions are made based on the quality of the applicant’s demonstrated practice and the expected value a residency at 401 Richmond would bring to the candidate’s career trajectory. Consideration is given to how effectively the candidate would integrate into the 401 Richmond community. The assessment panel will also be available as advisors and mentors for the recipient during their year-long tenure in the studio, to discuss developments in the work and to share professional insights.

Conditions and Considerations

• The prize recipient will be asked to sign a lease agreement which clarifies the rules and regulations of tenancy at 401 Richmond Street West.
• Use of the studio is intended for the recipient only, and is non-transferable. The studio will be available 24 hours a day for one year, at which point it will be turned over to the next recipient. It is expected that the recipient will occupy the space for the full year.
• Studio space is for working only; it is not to be lived in. Activities that require special ventilation or that make excessive noise are not permitted in the building. The recipient must be respectful of the building and its other occupants.
• 401 Richmond will commission or select a work from the recipient for the 401 Richmond Permanent Collection (up to $1000). Recipients are asked to host an entrance and an exit exhibition of their work in the space, as a way of connecting with the 401 Richmond community. The successful candidate will receive exposure for their work through the 401 Richmond Update Newsletter.

Past Recipients

Sarah Blagg (2000), Angie Nishikihama (2001), Sarah Lowry (2002), Emma Shankland (2003), Kristine Moran (2004), Emmy Skensved (2005), Adam Brandejs (2006), Gareth Bate (2007), Nikki Woolsey (2008), Angela Noussis (2009), Winnie Truong (2010), Chelsea Jamieson (2011), Graham Curry (2012), Kerry Zentner (2013), Erin MacKeen (2014), Kelly Uyeda (2016), and Ellen Bleiwas (2017)

About 401 Richmond

401 Richmond is an early 20th century industrial building that was transformed in 1994 into a vibrant home for artists’, galleries, film festivals, charities, not-for-profits, magazines, architects, theatre groups and design firms. The building’s renewal, over 20 years ago, was inspired by author Jane Jacobs’ observation that “new ideas need old buildings” and the importance of diversity and mixed-uses in the city.

For more information please contact Careerlauncherprize@urbanspace.org

Akin Announces BIG on Bloor BIG Xplorations Mural Project!

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

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

About the murals and the artists: 

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

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

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

Althea Balmes is an artist-educator rooted in community work. She uses her strong connection to her culture and her place as a diasporic Canadian woman of colour to inspire her work and as a way to connect to others.  She teaches visual storytelling workshops throughout the city. She has won the 2012 Women in Film and Television-Toronto (WIFT-T) Award for her film, “Suman Ladies”. She received The Min Sook Lee Award for her on-going community based comic book project about the real lives of Filipino live-in Caregivers, “Kwentong Bayan: Labour of Love” in 2014. Althea is currently doing her Master of Information in User Experience Design at University of Toronto. www.altheabalmes.com

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

‘An Artist at Work’ by Sarvenaz Rayati

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

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

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

‘Bloordale Freestyle’ by Billy Franklin

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

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


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

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

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

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

Akin & The Toronto Art Book Fair

Akin is thrilled to participate in the second annual Toronto Art Book Fair (TOABF) from June 15th - 18th 2017 at Artscape Youngplace and present an incredible selection of art books, zines, prints, flair, multiples and more created by a diverse range of our talented studio artists.

The Toronto Art Book Fair will feature over 80 Canadian and international exhibitors, three curated exhibitions, and community programming that includes readings, panel discussions, book launches, performances, and workshops.

Akin will be participating along with hundreds of local and international artists, publications, small presses, independent publishers, archives, contemporary art galleries, critics, designers, writers, and performers. TOABF is free to the public and suitable for all ages. For more information visit www.torontoartbookfair.com

Programming Partnership!
Akin is pleased to be hosting two events as a part of Toronto Art Book Week- a series of city-wide events that parallel the Toronto Art Book Fair. Art book week will feature book launches, performances, talks, pop-up exhibitions, and screenings throughout Toronto. The goal of art book week is to bring attention to new and exciting artist’s book projects as well as increase the visibility of Toronto’s art publishing community.

Akin Creative: Zine Jam // www.universe.com/zinejam
Wed June 14 / 6:30-9pm / $10 / Akin Lansdowne, studio 101 - 87 Wade Ave
Hands-on zine workshop with materials provided, beer sales and tunes. Bring an in-progress zine or an idea for a new zine! Beginners welcome! Limited seating, please register online.

Akin Gallery Crawl: Toronto Art Book Week // www.facebook.com/events/128383227716708/
Sat June 17 / 12:30-4:00pm / FREE / Meet at The Public - 58 Lansdowne Ave
Join us as we visit galleries and spaces that are showcasing and celebrating artists' books and print featuring highlights from Toronto Art Book Week. Free for all, everyone welcome!

We can't wait to see you at the fair, zine jam and crawl!

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Call for Volunteers!

WHAT IS IT?

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) is Canada's largest, longest running juried contemporary outdoor art fair. Founded in 1961, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition was established to nurture artistic excellence and artists’ entrepreneurial spirit, and to showcase contemporary art to the general public. This free public event showcases works by over 320 contemporary visual artists and makers, ranging in medium from painting, photography, and mixed media to jewellery and ceramics, and attracts 100,000 visitors each year to Nathan Phillips Square.This year TOAE runs from July 14-16th!
 

WHY WE NEED YOU!

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is only made possible by our amazing volunteers. We are tremendously grateful for your time and dedication to the exhibition! Each year over 100 volunteers lend their hands, time and expertise to make this event happen. We sincerely hope that you consider joining the volunteer team this summer! As a volunteer, you’ll be responsible for helping set up the exhibition on Nathan Philips Square, supporting artists, providing customer service and assisting with event logistics.
 

WHY VOLUNTEER WITH TOAE?

By volunteering for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition you will not only be supporting the arts, and meeting amazing people but you will also be creating access and helping shape the Toronto arts community. You will provide you with comprehensive training, a TOAE t-shirt and volunteer appreciation events. Without you this event would not be possible.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at volunteer@torontooutdoorart.org