T.M. Glass: The Audible Language of Flowers

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - 6:00pm to Sunday, August 18, 2019 - 5:00pm

T.M. Glass: The Audible Language of Flowers
May 8 to August 18, 2019

Curated by Francisco Alvarez, Dorene & Peter Milligan Executive Director, OCAD U Galleries
Core exhibition of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

Free public reception
Wednesday, May 8 from 6 to 9 p.m.

 

T.M. Glass: The Audible Language of Flowers presents recent series of images by lens-based artist T.M. Glass that feature blooms and vessels from unique gardens across the globe. Glass' distinct photographic style is characterized by extensive digital embellishment of textures and colours to enhance the emotion and geometry of flowers. Recently, the artist’s large-scale flower images expanded into the third dimension through advanced 3-D printing technology. Inspired by 17th century European flower paintings, the artist contends that contemporary digital photographers are also painters who work with pixels instead of oils.

T.M. Glass is a digital artist based in Toronto, whose practice explores the historical, technological, and aesthetic conditions of photography to stretch it beyond its traditional definition. The works have been showcased in multiple solo exhibitions and held in private collections in the Canada, the United States, Britain, France, and Australia. Glass turned to photography as the primary mode of production after studying sculpture at the Ontario College of Art and Design and pursuing a distinguished career in writing and production for film and television. Glass uses rapidly advancing digital technology to celebrate the beauty of nature.

With writing contributions from art historian Jennifer Franks, OCAD U faculty members John Deal and Amish Morrell and University of Houston professor Lynn Voskuil.

The exhibition brochure is available online here.

Onsite Gallery, OCAD University is happy to offer a free interactive guide for families and young visitors to creatively engage with our current contemporary art exhibition. Click here to learn more.

 

T.M. Glass: The Audible Language of Flowers

Free Public Events
Public events developed by Linda Columbus, Programs & Community Coordinator, Onsite Gallery

  • Digital Photography Portfolio Review
    Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m.
    Limited availability; advance registration required
    Tickets available on Onsite Gallery’s Facebook page as of Tuesday, April 30 at noon
    An opportunity for amateur and professional photographers alike to have a selection of their digital photography work reviewed by professional lens-based artists Kotama Bouabane, April Hickox and Meera Margaret Singh. Each registered participant will be assigned a time slot with one of the three reviewers.
     
  • Arts & Crafts Garden Visit
    Co-presented with the Toronto Botanical Garden
    Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m.
    Limited availability; advance registration required
    Tickets available on Onsite Gallery’s Facebook page as of Friday, May 24 at noon
    Join T.M. Glass, Onsite Gallery and the Toronto Botanical Garden for a special visit to T.M. Glass’ traditional Arts & Crafts Garden. The artist and the Toronto Botanical Garden will lead a tour of the garden and speak about the flowers in bloom, gardening and the history of Arts & Crafts Gardens.
     
  • Artist and Curator's Exhibition Tour
    Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m.
    Join T.M. Glass and Francisco Alvarez for a tour of T.M. Glass: The Audible Language of Flowers, while they discuss the artist’s process, interest in flowers and travels to international museums and gardens.
     
  • The Language of Flowers: Workshop with Karen Azoulay
    Wednesday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m.
    Join Brooklyn-based artist Karen Azoulay for a talk and interactive experience that will explore the symbolism of flowers.
     
  • Oil Infusion Workshop with Kat Mahon
    Tuesday, July 9 at 6:30 p.m.
    Limited availability; advance registration required
    Tickets available on Onsite Gallery's Facebook page as of Tuesday, June 18 at noon
    Join us for a presentation on flowers throughout history, highlighting the specific uses of certain flowers then and now for their medicinal and therapeutic purposes. This will be followed by hands-on workshop where participants create their own oil infusion. Everyone will leave with their artistic jar of flower-infused body oil to take home.
     
  • How I Learned to Jam with a Pansy: Talk with Bob Ezrin
    Tuesday, July 30 at 6:30 p.m.
    Celebrated Canadian music producer and musician Bob Ezrin discusses the organics of making music with plants, animals and humans.
     
  • Complexity versus Simplicity: Historic Influences on the Contemporary Work of T.M. Glass
    Thursday, August 8 at 6:30 p.m.
    Jennifer Franks will discuss the pendulum swing between complexity and simplicity throughout art history, while highlighting the historic influences in the contemporary work of T.M. Glass.
     
  • A Man Named Pearl Film Screening
    Wednesday, August 14 at 6:30 p.m.
    A Man Named Pearl tells the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar. When Pearl Fryar and his wife sought to buy a house in 1976 in an all-white neighborhood of Bishopville, South Carolina, they were dissuaded with the explanation that "Black people don't keep up their yards." Instead of fueling bitterness and anger, this comment motivated Pearl to become the first African-American to win Bishopville’s Yard of the Month award, and, eventually, to transform his ordinary suburban yard into a horticultural wonderland. The topiary garden's centerpiece emblazons both its message and Pearl's own philosophy: Love, Peace, and Goodwill.

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

Onsite Gallery acknowledges that the new gallery construction project is funded in part by the Government of Canada's Canada Cultural Spaces Fund at Canadian Heritage, the City of Toronto through a Section 37 agreement and Aspen Ridge Homes; with gallery furniture by Nienkämper. Onsite Gallery logo by Dean Martin Design.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/366882887261488/
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new me

Slow Art Day

Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 12:00pm to 4:00pm

Slow Art Day

Saturday, April 6, 2019
Noon to 4 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Onsite Gallery is pleased to participate in the annual international event, Slow Art Day.

What is Slow Art Day?
Slow Art Day is a global event with a simple mission: help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art. One day each year, people all over the world visit local museums and galleries to look at art slowly. Participants look at five works of art for 10 minutes each and then meet together to talk about their experience. That’s it. Simple by design, the goal is to focus on the art and the art of seeing. For more info, visit Slow Art Day's website here.

What is happening at Onsite Gallery for Slow Art Day
Every hour on the hour (12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.), one artwork in our current exhibition, How to Breathe Forever, will be selected for focused viewing. Visitors will take 10 minutes to view the chosen artwork, which will be immediately followed by a group discussion led by one of our gallery staff members.

All are welcome to join the conversation!

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others  ̶including the ‘natural’ world  ̶as active and reciprocal. The exhibition invites you to consider an expanded personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with living things.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

Installation view: How to Breathe Forever, Onsite Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, 2019. Photo: Yuula Benivolski.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Installation view: How to Breathe Forever, Onsite Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, 2019. Photo: Yuula Benivolski.

Storytelling Night: Stories That Connect Us

Stories of Ours
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - 6:30pm

Stories That Connect Us
Co-presented by Stories of Ours

Wednesday, April 3, 2019
6:30 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Join us for an event where storytellers will share true stories inspired by the themes in Onsite Gallery's exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. Featuring exhibiting artist Flora Weistche, who will share the story behind the creation of her work, My Grandmother's Garden.

Also featuring stories from: Sienna Jeffers, Micaela Kong, Ella Qi and Kanwal Rahim.

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others  ̶including the ‘natural’ world  ̶as active and reciprocal. The exhibition invites you to consider an expanded personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with living things.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Stories of Ours is a grassroots project based in Toronto that aims to deepen community, invite solidarity, and challenge dominant narratives through intentional acts of storytelling and creative arts. Through the power of storytelling, Stories of Ours bridges divides not only between people, but between movements. By sharing diverse, non-normative stories we challenge stereotypes and begin to eradicate the conditions for racism and oppression to exist, as well as creating spaces for people to reclaim and shape their own narratives. 

 

Image: Flora Weistche, My Grandmother’s Garden – Nuuhkim Unihtaauchihchikan, 2018, hide of the artist’s father’s last hunted Caribou, glass beads, thread, wood, 62.75” x 50.75” x 2” unframed. Installation view: How to Breathe Forever, Onsite Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto, 2019. Photo: Yuula Benivolski.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Image: Flora Weistche, My Grandmother’s Garden – Nuuhkim Unihtaauchihchikan, 2018, hide of the artist’s father’s last hunted Car

Curator’s Tour and Neighbourhood Walk

Saturday, April 13, 2019 - 2:00pm

Curator's Tour and Neighbourhood Walk
Saturday, April 13. 2019
2 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Guided tour of the exhibition followed by a neighbourhood walk to meet local air, animals, land, plants and water

Lisa Deanne Smith, curator of How to Breathe Forever, will guide visitors through a tour of the exhibition, followed by a 30-45 minute walk in the local vicinity, paying special attention and attempting to shift perspectives of how to observe and respect local air, animals, land, plants and water.

Tour begins and ends at Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Light refreshments will be provided

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others  ̶including the ‘natural’ world  ̶as active and reciprocal. The exhibition invites you to consider an expanded personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with living things.

 

Lisa Deanne Smith is the curator of Onsite Gallery at OCAD University. Her practice includes curating, writing, community events and art that explore issues of voice, experience and power. Recent curatorial projects include How to Breathe Forever, The Sunshine Eaters, Objects for Listening: Cheryl Pope; Ads for People: Selling Ethics in the Digital Age and I Wonder: Marian Bantjes. She has previously held positions at YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Gallery 44 and the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers. Selected exhibitions of her work include White Columns (NY), The New Museum (NY) and Mercer Union (Toronto). She earned an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1995 and an AOCA from OCAD University, 1993.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Curator’s Tour and Neighbourhood Walk

Urban Animal Ecology: Mary Anne Barkhouse in conversation with Susan Fleming

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 - 6:30pm

Urban Animal Ecology
Wednesday, March 6
6:30 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Presentations and conversation with artist Mary Anne Barkhouse and nature filmmaker Susan Fleming
Free public event as part of Onsite Gallery's exhibition, How to Breathe Forever

A new carnivore has slipped unnoticed into cities across the Eastern seaboard from Toronto to Montreal to Boston and even New York. Scientists say it is one of the most adaptable mammals on the planet but what surprises them most is how this remarkable creature manages to live right alongside us but just out of view. We share our parks, our streets even our backyards with these wild animals, that both fascinate and baffle scientists, but few of us have ever seen a coywolf.

Please join us for a public conversation between exhibiting artist Mary Anne Barkhouse and nature filmmaker Susan Fleming, on the topic of urban animal ecology.

Mary Anne Barkhouse's work examines ecological concerns and intersections of culture through the use of animal imagery. Inspired by issues surrounding empire and survival, Barkhouse creates installations that evoke considerations of the self as a response to history and environment.

Susan Fleming is an award-winning nature filmmaker with expertise on animal wildlife. Her 2014 documentary, Meet the Coywolf, addresses the coywolf: a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf which is a remarkable new hybrid carnivore that is taking over territories once roamed by wolves and slipping unnoticed into our cities. 

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others  ̶including the ‘natural’ world  ̶as active and reciprocal. The exhibition invites you to consider an expanded personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with living things.

 

Mary Anne Barkhouse was born in Vancouver, BC but has strong ties to both coasts, as her mother is from the Nimpkish band, Kwakiutl First Nation of Alert Bay, BC and her father is of German and British descent, from Nova Scotia. As a result of her personal and family experience with land and water stewardship, Barkhouse’s work examines ecological concerns and intersections of culture through the use of animal imagery. Inspired by issues surrounding empire and survival, Barkhouse creates installations that evoke consideration of the self as a response to history and environment. She currently resides in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Installation view: Mary Anne Barkhouse; Treats for Coyote; 2018; bronze, wood, velvet, glass and porcelain; 74” x 22” x 42”. Photo: Yuula Benivolski.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/2275097336036896/
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Installation view: Mary Anne Barkhouse; Treats for Coyote; 2018; bronze, wood, velvet, glass and porcelain; 74” x 22” x 42”. Pho

Exhibition Tour in Spanish

Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - 1:00pm

Exhibition Tour in Spanish
Wednesday, February 27 at 1 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Join us for a free guided tour of Onsite Gallery's exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. This tour will be conducted in Spanish, led by Karina Roman Justo, an emerging writer currently at her third year in Visual and Critical Studies at OCAD University.

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, coral, humans, insects, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others — including the 'natural' world — as active and reciprocal. The artwork invites you to consider a personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with all living things.

 

Karina Roman Justo is an emerging writer currently at her third year in Visual and Critical Studies at OCAD University. She also holds BA in Early Childhood Education. Her research focuses on the relation between pedagogy, identity and the arts. 
 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

Image: Karina Roman Justo.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. W.)
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/exhibition-tour-in-spanish-tickets-55077785138
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x265
Cost: 
Free
Karina Roman Justo

Exhibition Tour in Farsi

Friday, March 22, 2019 - 1:00pm

Exhibition Tour in Farsi
Friday, March 22 at 1 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Join us for a free guided tour of Onsite Gallery's exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. This tour will be conducted in Farsi, led by Setayesh Babaei, multidisciplinary artist and designer in her final year at OCAD University in Environmental Design.

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, coral, humans, insects, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others — including the natural world — as active and reciprocal. The artwork invites you to consider a personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with all living things.

 

Setayesh Babaei is a multidisciplinary artist and designer in her final year at OCAD University in Environmental Design. She’s previously attended the University of Art in Isfahan, Iran and Community College of Art and Design in Liverpool, England. Currently, her area of focus is on Toronto’s ravine system and its relationship with the City’s urban fabric.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

Image: Setayesh Babaei. Photo by: Khadijah Morley.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. W.)
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/exhibition-tour-in-farsi-tickets-53813853685
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Image: Setayesh Babaei. Photo by: Khadijah Morley.

Séance with Extinct Species of Birds

Wednesday, February 13, 2019 - 7:00pm

Séance with Extinct Species of Birds
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
7 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Led by exhibiting artist Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa

Limited availability; registration required
Tickets available on Onsite Gallery’s Facebook page as of Wednesday, January 23 at noon

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa is an exhibiting artist in Onsite Gallery's Winter exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. Since 2012, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa has conducted intimate spiritist sessions. He describes them as follows, “I (and participants) try to contact the spirit world, specifically contact extinct species of birds. The project is a sort of imagination exercise.”  With no images or videos taken, Ramírez-Figueroa documents the experience through audio recordings, visual sound scores and drawings. Séances With Extinct Species of Birds is an ongoing project that prioritizes the supernatural, history, voice and the effect of human activity and climate change on birds, and asks— if we find a new way to listen can we hear birds, even extinct ones?

As a participant you will:

  • Participate in a séance
  • Consent to have the event’s audio recorded, which may include your voice as a participant, which will be exhibited in Onsite Gallery’s exhibition, How to Breathe Forever

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, coral, humans, insects, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others — including the natural world — as active and reciprocal. The artwork invites you to consider a personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with all living things.

 

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa was born in Guatemala City in 1978. He received a BFA in Media Arts from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver in 2006, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008. He was also a postgraduate researcher at Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, the Netherlands in 2013. Working in drawing, performance, sculpture, and video, Ramírez-Figueroa explores the entanglement of history and form through the lens of his own displacement during and following Guatemala’s civil war of 1960–96. He has had solo exhibitions at Casa de América, Madrid (2011); Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart (2011); Gasworks, London (2015); and CAPC musée d'art contemporain, Bordeaux (2017), and The New Museum, New York (2018). He has participated in the following group exhibitions: A History of Interventions, Tate Modern, London; Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (both in 2014); Lyon Biennial; The School of Nature and Principle, EFA Project Space, New York (both in 2015); São Paulo Biennial; and the Venice Biennale (2017). Ramírez-Figueroa lives and works in Berlin and Guatemala City.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Image: Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Concrete Poem Documentation of Bird Séances, 2011 to present, series of five digital prints on Epson coldpress watercolour paper, calligraphy by Lester Mead, 20” x 29.5” each. Courtesy of the artist.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/seance-with-extinct-species-of-birds-tickets-53554718605
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Image: Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Concrete Poem Documentation of Bird Séances, 2011 to present, series of five digital prints on E

Take Care: Soundbath & Workshop on Care

Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Take Care
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
7 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Workshop on plant-care and self-care, followed by a sound bath
Featuring Darryl Cheng of House Plant Journal, curator/writer Geneviève Wallen and Kristin Weckworth of Kiko Sounds

Limited availability; registration required
Tickets available on the Facebook event as of Wednesday, January 9 at noon

The notion of care is central to Onsite Gallery's Winter exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. Taking place at Onsite Gallery, we invite you to join us for a special workshop on care, led by insightful creative thinkers who will share what care means to them:

  • Darryl Cheng of House Plant Journal will lead a presentation with tips and tricks on caring for houseplants
  • Curator and writer Geneviève Wallen will speak about healing spaces within art and share her experience developing an annual month of self-care
  • Kristin Weckworth of Kiko Sounds will speak about meditation and acts of daily compassion, and then will lead the audience in a 30 minute soundbath

As a participant you will:

  • Be asked to wear soft, comfortable clothes and bring a mat (there will also be blankets provided)
  • Receive a small houseplant to bring home
  • Leave feeling refreshed and armed with new knowledge of taking care

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, coral, humans, insects, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others — including the natural world — as active and reciprocal. The artwork invites you to consider a personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with all living things.

 

Darryl Cheng is the creator of the incredibly popular blog and Instagram account, House Plant Journal. Darryl’s commitment to excellence and his passion for plants and thirst for knowledge have turned him into the king of the internet houseplant world. What was initially a hobby Tumblr page has turned into an Instagram account with over 250,000 followers, a go-to blog for anything plant related, the beginnings of his very own houseplant care book and plant time-lapse videos that have gone viral around the world.

Geneviève Wallen is a Toronto-based curator and writer interested in the manifestation of healing spaces within the arts. Wallen's interest in diasporic narratives, intersectional feminism, intergenerational healing and  BIPOC alternative timelines, inform her practice. She has curated exhibitions in Montreal and Toronto, and is currently Programming Coordinator at Xpace Cultural Centre, a board member-curator at YTB (Younger Than Beyoncé) Gallery, and a member of the collective We Critique, We Curate. 

Kristin Weckworth of Kiko Sounds is a teacher and artist specializing in sound therapy, meditation, yoga and relational aesthetics. As the co-founder of Toronto's contemporary design shop Magic Pony, and art gallery Narwhal, she spent over a decade collaborating with artists from around the globe, curating exhibitions, publications and interactive environments. Now she combines her experiences in contemporary culture with holistic modalities to offer ephemeral, immersive experiences intended to guide you back to a state of wholeness. Kiko creates settings for deep listening that induce profound states of relaxation and meditation, inviting in opportunities for intuitive awareness, self-healing and expansive creativity.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Image (left to right): Darryl Cheng of House Plant Journal; Geneviève Wallen (photo by Roya DelSol); Kristin Weckworth of Kiko Sounds.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/take-care-soundbath-and-workshop-on-care-tickets-53442712592
https://www.facebook.com/events/2091523344257364/
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
Image (left to right): Darryl Cheng of House Plant Journal; Geneviève Wallen (photo by Roya DelSol); Kristin Weckworth of Kiko S

Panel Talk: Collaboration as Process

Saturday, January 19, 2019 - 1:00pm

Collaboration as Process
Saturday, January 19 at 1 p.m.

Free

Onsite Gallery
199 Richmond St. West

Panel talk with exhibiting artists Maryanne Casasanta, DaveandJenn and Pejvak (Rouzbeh Akhbari + Felix Kalmenson)
Moderated by Lisa Deanne Smith

Collaboration is the keystone of many of the exhibiting artists’ practices in Onsite Gallery's Winter exhibition, How to Breathe Forever. Taking place at Onsite Gallery, the artists will share their perspective on what collaboration means to them and their practice.

 

How to Breathe Forever underlines the importance and interconnectedness of air, animals, coral, humans, insects, land, plants and water. The belief that everything in the universe has a place and deserves equal respect is the core of this exhibition and positions our relations with others — including the natural world — as active and reciprocal. The artwork invites you to consider a personhood that attentively collaborates and exchanges with all living things.

 

Maryanne Casasanta (Toronto, Ontario)
Maryanne Casasanta is an artist educator working in photography, video and performance. Central to her practice is the relationship between art and home, and art and life. Often documented through photos or video, performances of light gestures and subtle interventions propose ways of transforming a routine experience, promoting an active immersion—and reconsideration of—small, ordinary events. Maryanne observes other areas of research such as, process-based learning and art making, co-creation, and movement, which she explores by working alongside artists across a number of fields. She has exhibited widely and her projects have been supported by the Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. Maryanne earned a BFA from OCAD University (Integrated Media, 2005) and holds an MFA from the University of Guelph (2014). She is currently a Master of Education candidate in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning program at the University of Toronto.

DaveandJenn (Calgary, Alberta)
DaveandJenn (David Foy and Jennifer Saleik) have collaborated since 2004. Foy was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1982; Saleik in Velbert, Germany, in 1983. They graduated with distinction from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2006, making their first appearance as DaveandJenn in the graduating exhibition. Experimenting with form and materials is an important aspect of their work, which includes painting, sculpture, installation, animation and digital video. Over the years, they have developed a method of painting dense, rich worlds in between multiple layers of resin, slowly building up their final image in a manner that is reminiscent of celluloid animation, collage and Victorian shadow boxes. They have been shortlisted for RBC’s Canadian Painting Competition (2006, 2009), awarded the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Biennial Emerging Artist Award (2010) and longlisted for the Sobey Art Award (2011). Their work can be found in both private and public collections throughout North America, including the Royal Bank of Canada, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Calgary Municipal Collection and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Pevjak — Rouzbeh Akhbari (Tehran, Iran/Toronto, Ontario) and Felix Kalmenson (St. Petersburg, Russia/Toronto, Ontario)
Pejvak (Rouzbeh Akhbari & Felix Kalmenson) is the long-term collaboration between Felix Kalmenson and Rouzbeh Akhbari. Through their multivalent, intuitive approach to research and living, they find themselves in a convergence and entanglement with like-minded collaborators, histories and various geographies.

Rouzbeh Akhbari is an artist working in video installation and film. His practice is research-driven and usually exists at the intersections of political economy, critical architecture, and planning. Through a delicate examination of the violences and intimacies that occur at the boundaries of lived experience and constructed histories, Akhbari uncovers the minutiae of power that organize and regiment the world around us.

Felix Kalmenson is an artist whose practice navigates installation, video and performance. Kalmenson’s work variably narrates the liminal space of a researcher’s and artist’s encounter with landscape and archive. By bearing witness to everyday life, and hardening the more fragile vestiges of private and collective histories through their work, Kalmenson gives themselves away to the cadence of a poem, always in flux.

 

Onsite Gallery is the flagship professional gallery of OCAD U and an experimental curatorial platform for art, design and new media. Visit our website for upcoming public events. The gallery is located at 199 Richmond St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 0H4. Telephone: 416-977-6000, ext. 265. Opening hours are: Wednesdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Free admission.

 

Image: DaveandJenn; No Horizons; 2017; polymer clay, acrylic paint, silicon carbide, fibre, wire, acetate and dichoric film; 8.5” x 11.25” x 19.75”. Courtesy of the artist. Image courtesy of Glenbow Museum, photo by Owen Melenka.

Venue & Address: 
Onsite Gallery (199 Richmond St. West)
Website: 
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/panel-talk-collaboration-as-process-tickets-53442108786
Email: 
onsite@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
416-977-6000 x456
Cost: 
Free
DaveandJenn; No Horizons; 2017; polymer clay, acrylic paint, silicon carbide, fibre, wire, acetate and dichoric film; 8.5” x 11.

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