fall 2020 volume 27, issue 3 - 401 richmond
TRANSCRIPT
updateFall 2020 Volume 27, Issue 3
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The 401 Richmond Update is a community-building
initiative of Urbanspace Property Group. The newsletter
began in June 1994 and over the years has documented
the eclectic activities and fascinating people who make
a home in our historic factory in downtown Toronto.
If you would like to be added to the 401 Update
mailing list, please email: [email protected]
Printed on Rolland Enviro 100.
401 Richmond Ltd. Staff
Ingrid Araya, Janitorial Services
Jennifer Bhogal, Communications &
Community Animator
Bob Chandler, Security
Brian Graciano, Property Manager
Pamela Lampkin, Janitorial Services
Redentor Paragas, Maintenance
Jon Price, Security
Elise Rodgers, Administrative Assistant
Vicki Rodgers, Chief Executive Officer
Yenislen Rodriguez, Janitorial Services
Ronel Ruiz, Maintenance
Daniel Scofano, Maintenance
Luisa Scofano, General Manager
Greg Spooner, Parking Attendant & Security
Saskia Vegter, Urban Agriculture Coordinator
Renato Villanueva, Maintenance
Margaret Zeidler, Founder
Newsletter
Jennifer Bhogal, Editor
Lisa Kiss Design (Studio 408)
Warren’s Waterless Printing
Published by:
Urbanspace Property Group
401 Richmond St. W., Studio 111
Toronto, ON Canada M5V 3A8
tel 416-595-5900 fax 416-595-5904
www.40 1richmond.com
COVER IMAGE Installation shot of Constructive
Interference by Ludovic Boney
Photo by Tomasz Adamski
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NEWS
ON THE COVER
TENANT PROFILE
SPOTTED &
APPLAUDED
LISTINGS
PRESS CHECK
THE BACK PAGE
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updateFall 2020 Volume 27, Issue 3
John Scott in his studio (see Tenant Profile on page 4).
MOVING 1NWelcome to Emily DiCarlo, joining the
401 community as the successful 401
Richmond 2020 Career Launcher Prize
recipient in Studio 260. We wish you a
wonderful year ahead in the residency!
401 is pleased to introduce Surface
Impression into Studio 228, a digital
development consultancy specializing in
the cultural and charitable sectors.
A great fit for our 401 community!
MOVING ON
The Documentary Organization
of Canada, the collective voice of
independent Canadian documentary
creators, is moving on from Studio 205
in 401.
401 says goodbye to the Playwright’s
Guild of Canada in Studio 350, a
national arts service organization
promoting and protecting playwrights.
We will miss you!
Miles Ingrassia wrapped up his year
as the 401 Richmond 2019 Career
Launcher Prize recipient at the end
of August in Studio 260. Miles had a
successful year in the residency and will
remain close to 401 with many existing
and strengthened ties to the community.
MOVING UP/DOWNKoyama Press, promoter and supporter
of a wide range of emerging and
established artists, producing diverse
projects including comics, art books and
zines, is relocating from the second floor
to the fourth, as founder Annie Koyama
focuses on becoming a patron to a
broader range of artists.
JAYU, a charitable organization leading
in the space where the arts and human
rights intersect, is relocating from Studio
354 to 205.
Sign up for monthly What’s On updates
to your inbox at www.401richmond.com.
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DYANA OUVRARD TAKES THE HELM AT LE LABO Dyana Ouvrard succeeds Barbara Gilbert and
Carolina Reis, former co-directors of the organization,
as the new Executive Director of Le Labo, Toronto’s
francophone media arts centre. With extensive experience
in the cultural sphere, Dyana will prioritize the
organization’s administration and finance, supported by
Cynthia-Laure Etom, responsible for the centre’s
programming and communications.
newsOPPO ADDRESSES COVID APP PRIVACY CONCERNSCanadaland’s OPPO podcast, a bi-weekly show about
politics in Canada, hosted by journalists Jen Gerson and
Sandy Garossino, explored Canada’s COVID-19 tracing
mobile app in episode 70: ‘Who’s Afraid of the COVID
Alert App?’. Citizen Lab’s Christopher Parsons was
invited on to the show to discuss privacy concerns and/or
irrational fears about the federal government’s new app
to contain the COVID virus.
PARK PEOPLE RELEASES 2020 CANADIAN CITY PARKS REPORTThe Canadian City Parks Report is an annual report on
the trends and challenges facing city parks. As COVID-19
has thrown into sharp relief, parks form a critical
backbone of community infrastructure, strengthening our
resilience during times of crisis. Parks are places where
we grow our own food, where we let anxieties melt away
on a nature walk, where we create social support
networks, and even where we may find shelter during a
trying time. The 2020 report was built on feedback
received from 25,000 people who visited the website
and downloaded the 2019 report. This year the report
dives deep into urban biodiversity as pressures on our
natural environment from urbanization and climate
change threaten the ecosystems that sustain us.
401 COMMUNITY ANNIVERSARIESCongratulations to an inspiring group of 401 tenants
reaching major milestones in this historical year of 2020!
50 years: Open Studio
40 years: TAPA, Vtape
35 years: Hilditch Architects
30 years: ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability,
Q Music, Red Head Gallery, Saman Design
25 years: Consulting Matrix, DECODE, VIBE Arts
20 years: ICA Associates, imagineNATIVE,
Lisa Kiss Design, Red Sky Performance
Dyana Ouvrard
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Logging Scars
WILDLANDS LEAGUE REVEALS WIDESPREAD DEFORESTATIONAn updated image catalogue shows over 290 sites in
Ontario deforested due to roads and landings imposed
by forest operations. The satellite images provide
additional evidence to support the finding that far from
being the exception or limited, deforestation from
logging scars is widespread and systemic. These
productive forest losses have profound implications for
climate, renewal of boreal caribou habitat (a threatened
species) and long-term sustainable timber supply.
Wildlands League is also showcasing the imagery in a
new public friendly GoogleMyMaps viewer, encouraging
more exploration of these public forests.
www.loggingscars.ca
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Looking back to Nuit Blanche 2019 with Constructive Interference by Wendat artist Ludovic Boney and
curated by DAPHNE for A Space Gallery (Studio 110) as part of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts
Festival. Ludovic brought together multiple repeating elements to create a transformative space that amplified
one’s relationship to and within the world, whether real or manufactured.
on the cover
Celebrating the Career Launcher Prize this past July,
401 hosted a Studio Tour + Panel Discussion event on
Zoom. Awarded annually by jury, the residency provides
a pivotal opportunity to occupy a coveted 500 sq/ft
studio for a full year in 401 Richmond.
The event began in Studio 260 for a studio tour and
talk with the 2019 recipient Miles Ingrassia. 401’s close
friend and partner, Beanfield, the largest independent
fibre-optic network in Toronto and Montreal, wired the
Career Launcher Prize studio with high speed internet
for the event. 401 Richmond is grateful to Beanfield for
their crucial support of emerging artists and the
communities they work in. Thank you, Beanfield!
William Huffman then moderated a panel discussion
with Miles, Anahita Azrahimi of the Toronto Online Art
Fair, Ellen Bleiwas, the 2017 Career Launcher
Recipient, and Anna Gaby-Trotz, Open Studio’s
Technical Director. William spoke with the panelists
about the importance of fostering emerging voices
through resource sharing and mentorship.
The hour came to a close with the exciting
announcement of the 2020 Career Launcher Prize
recipient: Emily DiCarlo! A recent graduate of the
Master of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto,
401 RICHMOND CAREER LAUNCHER PRIZEPanel Discussion, Studio Tour & 2020 Recipient Announced
Video still from Emily DiCarlo’s The Propogation of Uncertainty
Emily began working in Studio 260 in September.
The event recording is on 401’s YouTube channel:
‘401 Richmond’.
MilesIngrassia
EmilyDiCarlo
JenniferBhogal
William Huffman
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tenant profile
JOHN SCOTT
Born in Windsor in 1950, artist John Scott signed the
lease on his studio at 401 Richmond in 1994, together with
artist collaborator Deborah Waddington (see the large-
scale multi-media works by the pair in the building’s west
stairwell), and maintains the same studio on the 3rd floor
25 years later. “I knew right away that this was the place,”
John recalls when he was shown the studio for the first time.
Starting at what was then the Ontario College of Art
(now the Ontario College of Art and Design University,
OCADU) in 1972, John eventually became an instructor
after graduating, and taught at the school for close to
40 years before retiring last summer. The building’s
proximity to the school allowed John to continue to teach,
even during difficult periods in his life, “I’ve been through
a lot when I’ve been here. Things have changed a lot. But
this has always been a safe harbour.”
John’s art practice is rooted in social commentary on
the dark side of politics, war, and human nature. Often
repeated animal and figurative characters appear in
John’s multi-media works, such as the Dark Commander
and Terrified Bunny, representing evil and vulnerability in
the human condition. His Trans-Am Apocalypse series,
furthered this exploration with John scratching the entire
Book of Revelations onto the surface of the muscle car.
Three versions of the sculpture were created over a
12 year span, the first being compacted into a cube and
destroyed, the second purchased by the National Gallery
of Canada, and the third in the collection of the Art
Gallery of Ontario.
With a career spanning over 40 years, John has had
exhibitions at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery,
Art Gallery of Windsor, Mercer Union, YYZ Artists’ Outlet,
The Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Vancouver Art
Gallery. His work is in the collections of the Museum of
Modern Art, New York, Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa,
Museum London, Hamilton Art Gallery, University of
Toronto and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.
Shifting from his usual media of drawing and
painting, John is currently collaborating with another
artist, Joe Toole, on a photography project, working with
projection to superimpose contemporary portraits onto
historical, classical paintings.
John is represented by the Nicholas Metivier Gallery in
Toronto, with work on view at www.metiviergallery.com.
John Scott, Spectacle, 2020, mixed media on paper, 35 x 23 in.Courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery
FESTIVALS MAKE SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION ONLINE Similar to their 401 counterpart Images
Festival, three more tenant festival
organizations quickly re-grouped to
re-imagine their programming in an online
format. Still dedicated to providing a
space for the artists they work with to
present their work to the public,
imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts
Festival, SummerWorks Performance
Festival, and the Toronto Outdoor
Art Fair (TOAF), turned to technology
to continue their work. SummerWorks
postponed their 2020 season, and
instead filled the summer with free online
programming; TOAF quickly re-branded
as the Toronto Online Art Fair to blow
expectations with online sales for their
artists; and imagineNATIVE shifted to
present the work of over 100 Indigenous
artists from around the world via the
digital sphere, including live screenings,
interactive engagements, and virtual
exhibitions.
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spotted & applauded
CANADALAND TESTIFIES TO FINANCE COMMITTEE Since launching its podcast and website in 2013, Canadaland,
and its founder Jesse Brown, have been critiquing Canada’s
media industry and breaking major news stories, including the
Jian Ghomeshi scandal in 2014, with investigative reporter Kevin
Donovan and the Toronto Star. Now, Canadaland’s Jaren Kerr has
blown the lid of the inner workings of the WE Movement’s WE to ME
and WE Charity entities, releasing his first report in the fall of 2018,
focusing on WE’s corporate partners’ ties to child labour. Further
reporting by Canadaland, digging deeper into the organization’s
activities and dealings, led Jesse to be invited to testify in front of
the House of Commons’ Finance Committee this past July.
PREFIX PHOTO WINS AWARDPrefix Photo has been named ‘Best
Magazine: Art, Literary and Culture’ at
the 43rd annual National Magazine
Awards, held in June. One of the highest
honours of the night, the award is given
to the magazine that most consistently
engages, surprises and serves the needs
of its readers, based upon its publishing
activities of the past year.
CANADALAND EDITOR NOMIATED FOR AN EMMYAndréa Schmidt, Canadaland’s
Managing Editor, received an Emmy
nomination for outstanding coverage of
a breaking news story for The Weekly’s
El Chapo’s Son: The Siege of Culiacán.
RAINBOW RAILROAD ON CANADA’S DRAG RACE Helping LGBTQ+ people escape violence in their home countries,
Rainbow Railroad was featured on Canada’s Drag Race this summer.
Five individuals rescued by the organization, from Indonesia, Jamaica,
Syria, and Uganda, were paired with the show’s contestants for a
drag makeover. Their arrival changed the mood on set from a cutthroat
competition to an appreciation for the serious challenges facing queer
people around the world, as nearly 70 countries criminalize LGBTQ+
people, and six impose the death penalty.
BEYOND EXTRACTION: COUNTER-CONFERENCEEvery March, leading mineral
explorers, miners, and service
providers gather in Toronto for the
meeting of the Prospectors and
Developers Association of Canada
(PDAC), the largest such gathering
in the world. The Beyond Extraction
Collective directs critical attention
to the inner workings of the extractive
industry and its global networks.
Beyond Extraction hosted a multi-day
series of events February 27 –
March 4, concurrent to PDAC,
including a Town Hall in the
Urbanspace Gallery moderated by
Allie Rougeot, #Fridays4Future, and
including Joan Kuyek, author and form
Co-Founder of MiningWatch, Dr.
Shiri Pasternak, Research Director,
Yellowhead Institute, Nigel Henri
Robinson, Youth Engagement Lead,
Indigenous Climate Action, and
Dr. Anna Zalik, Associate Professor,
York University.
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listings September to November 2020
The Listings Board is your opportunity to communicate
with other tenants and keep them informed about what is
happening in your organization. If you are having a sale,
exhibition, or event you would like advertised, email details
to [email protected]. Listings are open to all tenants.
DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: Wednesday, October 15, 2020
GALLERY DIRECTORY
A Space Gallery (Studio 110)
416-979-9633 www.aspacegallery.org
Abbozzo Gallery (Studio 128)
416-260-2220 www.abbozzogallery.com
Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography (Studio 120)
416-979-3941 www.gallery44.org
Open Studio (Studio 104)
416-504-8238 www.openstudio.ca
Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art (Studio 124)
416-591-0357 www.prefix.ca
Red Head Gallery (Studio 115)
416-504-5654 www.redheadgallery.org
Ryerson Artspace (Studio B-106)
www.ryersonartspace.com
TAG (Tangled Art Gallery) (Studio 122)
647-725-5064 www.tangledarts.org
Trinity Square Video (Studio 121)
416-593-1332 www.trinitysquarevideo.com
Urbanspace Gallery (Studio 117)
416-595-5900 www.urbanspacegallery.ca
yumart Gallery (Studio B-20)
647-447-9274 www.yumart.ca
YYZ Artists’ Outlet (Studio 140)
416-598-4546 www.yyzartistsoutlet.org
EXHIBITIONS
continues to SEPTEMBER 26
YYZ Artist Outlet
Galia Eibenschutz: Red. Blue. Orange. Yellow. Line scapes and Landscape.
continues to OCTOBER 24
Gallery 44
OUTREACH Online: Envisionwww.gallery44.org/envision
continues to DECEMBER 19
Urbanspace Gallery
401 – 25 Years As A Hub Of Culture
SEPTEMBER 4 – OCTOBER 3
Open Studio
Main Gallery
Richard Sewell: wHerOccurenceProject Space
Andrea deBruijn: SHADEFeature Wall
Micah Lexier: The Oscilloscope Drawings
SEPTEMBER 5 – 26
yumart Gallery
Gallery Artists: Resurgence
SEPTEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 31
The Roastery Coffee House
Gloria C. Swain: A Celebration of Shapes and ColoursOpening: September 24
SEPTEMBER 11 – OCTOBER 3
Trinity Square Video
2020 Emerging Digital Artists Award Exhibition: Jawa El Khash,
Kanika Gordon, Alison Postma, Camila Salcedo, Lisa Smolkin
SEPTEMBER 11 – OCTOBER 24
Gallery 44
Main Gallery
Elisabeth Belliveau: Alone in the house (Still life with Clarice Lispector)Production Gallery
Daniel He, Richelle Forsey, Sonya Filman: Light GesturesVitrines
Jennifer Ray: In RangeMembers’ Gallery
Huw Morgan: City in Motion
SEPTEMBER 12 – OCTOBER 3
Abbozzo Gallery
Heather Horton: Love Story: Recent PaintingsOpening: September 12, 5–9 pm
OCTOBER 3 – 24
yumart Gallery
Nina Amin
OCTOBER 3 – DECEMBER 19
YYZ Artists’ Outlet
Suzanne Nacha, Meghan Price: Land Line
OCTOBER 8 – 31
Abbozzo Gallery
Ron Eady: An Exploration of Line and Form: 20 Year Retrospective
OCTOBER 31 – NOVEMBER 21
yumart Gallery
Y.M. Whelan: All Roads – new paintings
OCTOBER 31 – DECEMBER 12
Gallery 44
Silvia Kolbowski: A Few Howls Again
NOVEMBER 6 – 28
Abbozzo Gallery
Marie Rioux: Temps Suspendu / Suspended Times
Suzanne Nacha and Meghan Price at YYZ Artists’ Outlet (October 3 – December 19)
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NOVEMBER 28 – DECEMBER
yumart Gallery
Gallery Artists & Invited Guests: 8th Annual Holiday Salon
DECEMBER 5 –19
Abbozzo Gallery
Katharine Burns: Sea Change
EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 9
Vtape
A Conversation: Yaniya Lee in conversation with Black curators Instagram Live Panel Discussion
@vtapevideoart
Time: 2 pm
STARTING SEPTEMBER 11
continuing Fridays through Winter 2021
Vtape
The Curatorial Incubator v.16: Living in HopeInstagram Live: Curator’s Introduction, Screening
Zoom: Curator/Artists Discussion
@vtapevideoart
OCTOBER 1 – 11
Inside Out LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Online Screenings & Programming
www.insideout.ca
OCTOBER 7 – 19
Open Studio
FUTURE PROOF: A Golden Anniversary Auction of Contemporary ArtOnline Auction
www.openstudio.ca/event/future-proof
OCTOBER 20 – 25
ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Online Screenings & Programming
www.imaginenative.org
CALLS FOR SUBMISSION
NOVEMBER 2
Myseum of Toronto
Deadline for Myseum Intersections Festival 2022
www.myseumoftoronto.com
Top to bottom: Marie Rioux at Abbozzo Gallery (November 6 – 28); Alice Burton at yumart Gallery as part of Resurgence (September 5 – 26); Elizabeth Belliveau at Gallery 44 in the Main Gallery (September 11 – October 24)
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press check
ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVANCY OF ONTARIO’s Jennifer Grainger was
quoted by CTV News in a story about London,
Ontario, renaming Dundas Street, originally
named by John Graves Simcoe, who fought
against abolishing slavery in the area.
VIBE ARTS was
captured on toronto.com,
delivering the VIBE BLOOM
online arts education program,
teaching young people how to
make art with simple supplies
from around one’s home.
KRIS KNIGHT dished his pop culture
recommendation to Toronto
Life in their Culture section,
suggesting their readers try
Philippe Besson’s book Lie
With Me.
INSIDE OUT LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL
made headlines in Variety
announcing a North American
LGBTQ film festival alliance
– with several other festivals
– committed to highlighting
the works of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and
queer filmmakers during
the pandemic.
SPACING MAGAZINE’s Shawn Micallef moderated the panel
Cities Gone Viral: Assisting Canada’s
Response to COVID-19 for Word
On The Street, as part of the City
Imagines 2020 series, with Thea Lim,
Nora Loreto, and Shree Paradkar.
BETWEEN THE LINES was noted on rabble.ca for joining
with 30 other social-justice focused
publishers in forming the Radical
Publishers Alliance.
ICLEI-LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY were
spotted in the press a number of times
over the past couple of months:– at buffalorising.com for partnering
with a number of other like-minded
organizations, to help see Buffalo
designated a ‘United States Pioneer.’
– in Environment Journal as one of
the founding members of the Cities
WithNature Group which Glasgow
joined. The group works to enhance
the value of nature in and around
cities across the world.
– at collingwoodtoday.ca for working
with Grey County to develop a
Climate Change Action Plan.
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the back page
Ben Johnston is an artist and Creative Director
specializing in art direction and custom typography for
advertising, murals, installations and events, helping
bring to life to numerous types of projects. Raised in
South Africa and currently based in Toronto, Ben has
also been involved in various conferences and mural
festivals around the world. As a multi-disciplinary artist
and designer winning numerous awards for projects with
Fortune 500 companies to working with a variety of
NGO’s, his main focus is on finding unique approaches
to each opportunity drawing on inspirations from his
encounters throughout his travels.
www.benjohnston.ca
BEN JOHNSTON JOINS 401 Studio 216
Above: Ben Johnston, It Was All A Dream, 2019. Designed and painted for the Funhouse under the creative direction of Steph Payne and Dawn Laing. Courtesy Ben Johnston.
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