So I toured a bunch of CONTACT openings yesterday and the one show I’m getting behind isn’t even a part of the festival. FishNet: The Great Lakes Craft and Release Project is at the York Quay Centre at Harbourfront until June 22. In what is the most beautifully displayed exhibition I have ever seen — [...]
Toronto’s annual photography festival, CONTACT, has begun and I thought I’d take a minute to recommend some shows that I’ll be checking out between now and the end of the month. This year’s incarnation is built upon the subtitle, “Between Memory & History”, which I must admit is sort of an obvious theme. I mean, [...]
Having explained why I think art education is effective, I suppose I should also note what I think art education is sorely lacking. Currenly, aspiring artists can attend a post-secondary institution and have access to studio education, history, and networking. However, one of the most critical aspects of achieving and maintaining success as an artist [...]
Art education has always been a kind of paradox in my mind. Without qualifying my own thoughts, it never made sense to me to “teach” artists–I believed artistic talent was innate (and still do, though I’ve modified my position on art education itself.) It is actually comical that I not only go to art school, [...]
401 Richmond is a century-old building in downtown Toronto whose history has allowed the building’s ownership to change hands several times before settling down as a “mixed-use building with a focus on the arts” almost 15 years ago. The building is home to artist studios, offices and galleries.
I’ll make it clear upfront that I love [...]
Throughout the year I’ve become increasingly interested in space and its relationship to culture and authoritative voice. I had been reading all kinds of works by theorists dealing with collective memory, and I was stunned by how much its definition echoed criticism of museum spaces. This essay fleshes out why and ultimately suggests a move [...]
Walter Benjamin, the icon of any good art education, and the bane of many an art student’s existence, wrote a seminal essay in 1936 entitled “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” The essay deals primarily with how authorship, authenticity and accuracy figure in a world where things can be easily mutliplied [...]
Art in public spaces is one of my areas of interest in studying critical theory. Catching people off guard with an impromptu performance is clever, immediate and impactful. In one of the best public-space/improv performaces I’ve seen in a long time, Improv Everywhere freezes Grand Central Station for five minutes. Watch the video. I could [...]
So, I handed in my essay about the arpilleras movement in Chile. This essay lays the groundwork for a topic of research that I’d like to pursue in more depth. There seems to be an openness in Latin America for women leaders and I’m curious as to what social, political or economic factors contribute to [...]
Some time ago I attended a lecture by Karim Rashid at OCAD. There’s no denying the innovation in Rashid’s work, and I was interested in hearing more about the philosophies behind his design. I found some contradictions in his beliefs and practices, and ultimately, listening to an optimist talk about the future of design when [...]