Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that
makes space for creativity and transforms communities.
Artscape is a not-for-profit organization that
makes space for creativity and transforms communities.
Koffler Centre of the Arts is Canada’s only multidisciplinary, contemporary Jewish cultural institution, with a broad mandate to serve all and present a wide range of artistic programs through a global lens in a specifically Canadian context. The Koffler’s mission is to explore contemporary Jewish and world culture, bringing people together to create a more civil and global society. This unique mix of programs and exhibitions examines the arts across disciplines and cultures in a way that strengthens identity while encouraging an appreciation of difference. The Koffler presents exhibitions, classes and diverse programs in music, dance, literature, film, spoken word and theatre, and engages local and visiting artists in teaching students of all ages and stages.
Koffler Centre of the Arts is relocating its headquarters to Artscape YOUNGplace for the next five years, with a focus on its flagship program – the Koffler Gallery. It will continue to offer education programs in visual arts, dance and music at satellite locations in the Prosserman JCC and the new Schwartz Reisman Centre. Over thirty years, the Koffler Gallery has earned a reputation for groundbreaking exhibitions of contemporary art, becoming a prominent voice in the Canadian art scene. Reflecting diverse cultural, material and aesthetic orientations, the Gallery explores the contemporary Jewish experience within the context of the broader community. This unique framework provides opportunities for exhibitions and programs that invite a comparative examination of narratives among people of varied heritages within a larger discussion of personal and cultural identity.
“While planning proceeds for a new Koffler Centre of the Arts on Sherman Campus, the next several years at Artscape YOUNGplace are an amazing opportunity to grow audiences and partnerships, solidifying our unique position within the constellation of arts organizations transforming Toronto as a global cultural urban centre,” said Lori Starr, Executive Director of the Koffler Centre of the Arts and Vice President, Culture of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
“Artscape YOUNGplace will showcase Koffler Gallery exhibitions, school programs and educational activities, as well as spoken word, music, literary programs and screenings reflecting our eclectic mix. The Koffler thrives on cooperation and dialogue with other cultural, academic and community organizations while fostering interdisciplinary explorations. Artscape YOUNGplace will further enhance partnership and community building capacities by providing, under one roof, an unparalleled environment of artistic and social diversity that nurtures and inspires across creative fields.”
The York Wilson Foundation for the Visual Arts is a charitable organization with mandate to further public awareness of the artistic legacy of Canadian artist York Wilson (1907-1984), and to support artistic inquiry and expression through a variety of initiatives. The space will be a base for the foundation’s administrative work, and is intended to serve as a dynamic environment engaging both artists and the public. The foundation’s activities at Artscape YOUNGplace will range from enhancing resource materials on York Wilson, to offering grants and awards to artists and hosting public and artist workshops designed to foster creative expression.
“We feel Artscape YOUNGplace will make significant contributions to the arts and broader communities on both social and arts/cultural fronts. Hopefully it will become a ‘destination’, appealing to local residents and the broader community alike. To be a part of this project will enable us to operate within a community sharing similar or complimentary objectives,” said Doug Barrett, President of the York Wilson Foundation.
Andrew Horne has been immersed in animation, painting and design for over 23 years. Originally from Australia, Andrew moved to Canada in 2002 and was Creative Director at Cuppa Coffee Studios (Toronto) for eight years, where he developed, directed and oversaw a variety of award-winning animated television and web productions that have been sold and screened worldwide, including the 2009 Gemini Award-winning animated series, Lifeʼs a Zoo.tv, for Teletoon Canada. In 2010, Andrew left Cuppa Coffee Studios to focus full time on painting, sculpture and the development of independent animation projects.
Andrew’s studio at Artscape YOUNGplace will be a multidisciplinary studio space used to create painting, animation and sculpture, with the potential to host exhibitions in a temporary gallery space. While the studio will be his principal space, Andrew will be sharing it with several artists of different artistic disciplines on a permanent and casual basis with the aim to foster artistic collaboration.
“I am excited by the opportunity to create an inviting studio and gallery space in a beautiful heritage building filled with artists focused on creative pursuits,” said Andrew Horne. “The location is amazing and I applaud Artscape for their unique model of artist focused, self-sustaining redevelopment that will serve to enrich the artistic and local community in Toronto.”
Eve Egoyan is a concert pianist who specializes in the performance of new works. She has performed the world première and North American premières of many works by Canadian and international composers. As an improvising musician, Eve has had the opportunity to perform with Fred Frith, Michael Snow, Malcolm Goldstein, Anne Bourne, Martin Arnold, and Casey Sokol. Other collaborations include dance projects, interdisciplinary performance, film work (including the Oscar-nominated Capote) and sound installations. Eve has released seven critically-acclaimed albums, acting as soloist and executive producer on all.
Gerard Gauci has had a varied career in the arts, encompassing painting, theatre design and art education. He regularly exhibits his work at the Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto and the Galerie de Bellefeuille in Montréal, and his paintings can be found in private, corporate and public collections. Recently, Gauci celebrated his 25th anniversary as resident designer for Opera Atelier, North America’s only period performance opera company. For Opera Atelier he designs sets, costumes and props for productions that travel the world. He also contributes to the company’s Making of an Opera program in which students of all ages learn the “behind the scenes” story of producing operas.
Gauci’s studio in Artscape YOUNGplace will be a hands-on workspace for his work as a painter and theatre designer. The studio will be the site for the construction of scale theatrical models, stage props and costume pieces, and a gathering place for directors, fellow designers and theatre technicians.
“As a long time tenant at Artscape’s 60 Atlantic Ave. location I know first hand the organization’s history of creating and maintaining inspiring and inspired work spaces for artists,” said Gerard Gauci. “In recent years artists in Toronto have witnessed the disappearance of many affordable studio spaces. I am delighted to know that I’ll be part of a thriving creative community that is owned and operated by an organization dedicated to keeping artists working in and with communities in the downtown core.”
Gillian Iles is a Toronto-based visual artist who exhibits locally and internationally in commercial and artist-run galleries. She has exhibited in cities such as New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Miami, Montreal and Toronto. She has exhibited with Katharine Mulherin Gallery and curator Mia Nielsen. Gillian is a founding member of two co-operative artist-run galleries in Toronto: Propeller and Loop. Currently she is part of Blunt Collective and Glasshouse Collective, which are groups of artists investigating the role of representation and narrative in painting. Gillian teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Sheridan College and the Toronto School of Art.
“The proposed interactive nature of Artscape YOUNGplace interests me greatly, on both a personal and community level, and will present creative possibilities and expand my current practices at a time when I am looking for this kind of challenge and evolution,” said Gillian Iles.
Matthew Schofield is a Toronto-based, Canadian-born artist who has been exhibiting his artwork in commercial galleries and artist-run centres nationally and internationally since 1996. He has exhibited in New York, Brooklyn, Chicago, Miami, Toronto and Florence. In 2001 Matthew was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and in 2006 he was nominated for a group VFX Oscar for his digital matte painting work in film.
“It is terrific that there is a place designed for artists and organizations to congregate and work downtown,” said Matthew Schofield. “I am pleased at the willingness of Artscape to convert and reuse such an interesting building for an arts centre.”
Shabnam K. Ghazi is a sculptor, ceramic artist and multimedia designer who is pursuing her artistic carrier in Canada after several solo and group exhibitions in Iran and Europe. She continued her education in Visual Arts in London (UK) and Toronto. Ghazi has exhibited in several galleries in Toronto, in the Distillery District and at Harbourfront Centre.
“In addition to being in the vicinity of some of the city’s best professional creators, a studio space in Artscape YOUNGplace would allow me to grow and experiment in a location that is specifically designed to enhance my creative impulses and to provide the space to explore new avenues of creativity. It will allow me to mount more ambitious projects and collaborations with other members of the city’s thriving creative community and to maintain a permanent, stable space for my work.”
Over the past fifteen years, Shani Khoo Parsons has built a multidisciplinary practice focused on public projects for cultural and educational institutions and organizations. Blurring the boundaries between art, exhibition and design, she has produced an eclectic body of work ranging from intimate book works and small publications to immersive installations and large-scale exhibitions for venues including the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Museum of Chinese in America New York, and Mixed Greens, a contemporary art gallery in Chelsea.
After nearly a decade of living and working in New York, Shani moved to Toronto with her family and has been busy making connections and re-establishing her practice in her new home city. She looks forward to joining the Toronto arts community with the opening of TYPOLOGY Projects, an experimental venue for curatorial research and thematic exhibitions on all forms of local and international contemporary culture.
“It is with great excitement and anticipation that I will be opening TYPOLOGY Projects at Artscape YOUNGplace,” said Shani Parsons. “With its ideal location and supportive programming for the arts and local community, Artscape YOUNGplace has created a unique environment for curatorial and artistic experimentation which would not otherwise have been available in downtown Toronto.”
Sybil Goldstein is Toronto painter, curator and educator. She was a founding and former member of the ChromaZone, Redhead and Loop artist collectives. Her work has been exhibited and internationally and is represented in various collections including: The Canada Council Art Bank, The City of Toronto, CIBC World Markets, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery and The University of Toronto Art Centre. Formerly the Executive Director of the Images Festival, Toronto School of Art and Artist Estate Services, she has curated numerous exhibitions, published catalogues and was General Editor for The Art of Tim Jocelyn, McClelland & Stewart, 2002.
Goldstein has taught at the Toronto School of Art, Avenue Road Art School, Art Gallery of Ontario, and is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Animation Arts and Design, at Sheridan ITAL in Oakville.
View Goldstein’s Work at CCCA>
“I have lived and worked along Queen St. for many years and this project provides not only security of tenure but the opportunity to work in a thriving and diverse artistic environment,” said Sybil Goldstein.
The Centre for Indigenous Theatre embraces the spirit, energy and inspiration derived from the culture, values and traditions of Indigenous people. From these roots they seek to elaborate a contemporary Indigenous performance culture through training and professional development opportunities for emerging and established Native theatre artists.
The Centre for Indigenous Theatre will host a 3,640 square foot space at Artscape YOUNGplace. Founded in 1974, the Centre for Indigenous Theatre today offers a three-year full-time program, as well as a Summer Program in Lethbridge, Alberta. The purpose of the program is to develop contemporary performance skills from a distinctively Indigenous cultural foundation: the foundation of the movement training is Indigenous Dance with a focus on contemporary Powwow; the foundation of the voice training is Indigenous singing and song creation; and the foundation of the acting training is Storyweaving and Ensemble Building. To gain practical experience, students are given the opportunity to publicly perform through community showcase events, story creation projects, and the year-end production which features senior students.
“The Centre for Indigenous Theatre has finally found a home where, for the first time ever, all facets of our organization can be housed under one roof,” said J.L. Watson, Managing Director, Centre for Indigenous Theatre.“We are especially excited about having our long standing creative partners at Red Pepper Spectacle Arts as our neighbours in this dynamic collaborative environment.”
For almost three decades, College-Montrose Children's Place (CMCP) has been guided by an unwavering, clear vision of “Healthy Children, Healthy Families, Stronger Communities”. In partnership with diverse families and changing communities, CMCP provides flexible and free early learning and family resource programs and services for children, parents and caregivers in safe and stimulating environments. Each year CMCP welcomes over 4,000 participants for over 40,000 visits to its programs.
In its new 4,069 square foot space, College-Montrose Children's Place’s focal program, the Family Drop-in, will provide opportunities for adults to interact with their children and other adults, to gain new skills, to learn about resources, and to share their skills and knowledge with each other. Adults engage with children in play-based activities such as dramatic play, arts and crafts, songs and games, creative movement, books, reading and storytelling, math and science. Other programs arise in response to emerging community needs and with support from community partners. These include occasional childcare, parent/caregiver support groups and workshops, pre- and post-natal groups, pre-school speech and language, information and referral, family literacy, school readiness, food security/ nutrition and outreach and community development.
“After years of begging and borrowing space for these vital activities, Children’s Place is thrilled to learn that it will have a home of its own in the Artscape Shaw Street Centre for its head office and the Trinity-Spadina Ontario Early Years Centre,” said Angela Ottolino, Executive Director, College-Montrose Children's Place. “We intend to take full advantage of opportunities to build relationships with our fellow tenants that will enrich our programs and as a consequence strengthen families and our community. We look forward to contributing and benefiting from the potential for innovation and creativity in this vibrant environment.”
The Inter-Galactic Arts Co-op (I-GAC) is a group of interdisciplinary performing artists that focuses on the research and presentation of new performance work, as well as widening audience perception and understanding of contemporary performance forms. This group started in 1993 in order to secure affordable space for their independent creative projects. All I-GAC members are engaged in creating new work and researching performance development processes with collaborators and other interdisciplinary artists –dancers, musicians, theatre professionals, visual artists, sound artists, filmmakers, writers, and curators.
I-GAC’s 1,028 square foot new studio at the Artscape Shaw Street Centre will be a hub for innovation in performance. As a centre for artistic research and performance, it will be the location for new work development, solo and ensemble rehearsals, experimental interdisciplinary and interactive events, open studio performances, teaching and coaching of artists and local community members of all ages, art projects involving community co-creation, collaborative think-tank events, artist residencies, and artist discussions.
“The Artscape Shaw Street Centre and the surrounding vibrant neighbourhood is an ideal environment for I-GAC to establish a home for creation and experimentation in the performing arts,” said Susan Lee, I-GAC member. “Resultant creative exploits will be far-reaching and resonate through our community of arts professionals as well as our audiences, students and clients. As members of the Inter-Galactic Arts Co-op we are eager to bring our work to a new space and look forward to contributing to this strong, creative community.”
Paperhouse Studio is Toronto’s first co-op papermaking studio. The studio’s membership is composed of a group of paper artists - many of whom studied papermaking at Ontario College of Art & Design - who decided to pool their resources in order to build a new collaborative environment. With backgrounds in sculpture, photography, printmaking, books arts and jewellery, this diverse group of artists will use papermaking in innovative ways.
In their 1,028 square foot studio, Paperhouse Studio will provide a place for artists to expand their papermaking skills, also serving as a centre for outreach. They are interested in establishing a creative arts program for professional artists and the wider community, offering workshops at both beginner and advanced levels and presenting lectures and demonstrations by recognized artists.
“We are very excited to join the Artscape family. We look forward to being surrounded by artists and arts organizations. We thrive on collaboration and think that paper has huge potential for interdisciplinary play,” said Emily Cook, Director, Paperhouse Studio. “We are confident that we are creating a professional paper studio with the space and equipment needed to bring our medium into view.”
Red Pepper Spectacle Arts creates and facilitates multi-disciplinary arts engagement with and for the Native Community. They strive toward accessibility and equity in cultural production, working inter-generationally with social services, community organizations, municipalities, band councils and other arts organizations.
Red Pepper Spectacle Arts is proud to extend its operations to the Shaw Street Centre where they will expand to nearly 2,500 square feet of multi-media community-based collaborative arts practice including theatre performance, production and design, recording, photo, video, print, mask, mosaic, sculpture and textile arts. redpepperspectacle.wordpress.com
"We are honoured to have been selected by a committee of neighbourhood leaders,” said Andy Moro and Gabriella Caruso, Co-Directors, Red Pepper Spectacle Arts. “There is no better way to ensure a strong foundation in the growth of the community through the arts."
SKETCH is a Toronto-based community arts initiative for homeless, street-involved or otherwise marginalized youth. Now in its fifteenth year, SKETCH is recognized locally, provincially and nationally for its unique, capacity-focused approach to youth engagement and organizing through the arts. Voted one of Toronto’s Vital Ideas Awards and a winner of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation’s Arts for Youth Award, SKETCH engaged over 800 young people in 2010.
SKETCH will transform 7,535 square feet of the submerged ground floor into a number of separate studio areas and hot desks dedicated to interconnecting arts practices and opportunities in visual arts and crafts, music, sculpture, and digital media. The artistic vision for activities will include internships and other training opportunities for youth from across Canada in community arts.
“…SKETCH looks forward with enthusiasm to co-create its next ‘home base’ with other art makers turning Artscape’s Shaw Street Centre into a vibrant cultural initiative for emerging artists in the downtown central west area of Toronto,” said Phyllis Novak, Artistic Director, SKETCH. “Artscape’s collaborative process with the neighbours and the school board has spoken great welcome for marginalized young people in this invitation to SKETCH to join in what promises to b, an innovative place making initiative.”
Small World Music Society is a charitable organization that presented its first event in 1997. Since then, close to 400 presentations have solidified its reputation as Toronto’s most adventurous and visionary world music concert presenter. The company has presented many Canadian and Toronto debuts by international performers; has given a platform to dozens of developing Canadian artists of various backgrounds; and has presented innovative, risk- taking programming that uniquely represents Canada and Toronto.
In their new 980 square foot studio, Small World will engage with those interested in the arts generally and world music specifically, and serve youth in our educational programming with hands-on workshops and master classes by visiting artists. Amateur, emerging & professional artists who want to learn more or perfect their craft through workshops; local, provincial and international artists who desire support for and presentation of their music in the Toronto area; and Canadians who are interested in experiencing musical culture from a variety of origins will all benefit from Small World's new home at Artscape Shaw Street Centre.
“Small World is excited to be part of the Artscape Shaw Street Centre,” said Alan Davis, Executive Director, Small World Music Society. “Our new studio there will place us in the heart of a thriving arts community in the midst of the dynamic cultural mix that is Queen St. West. It will allow Small World to grow and better serve a diverse range of communities.”
Barbara Astman is one of Canada's highly-acclaimed artists whose work has received national and international recognition. Since the 1970s, she has explored a wide range of photographic and mixed-media based work. Her work is represented in many museum, corporate, and private collections in Canada, United States, and Europe.
Currently, Astman is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Art Gallery of Ontario and a Professor in the Faculty of Art at the Ontario College of Art & Design. In 1995, the Art Gallery of Hamilton organized a major touring retrospective exhibition, "Barbara Astman: Personal/Persona - A 20 Year Survey. She is represented by the Corkin Gallery, Toronto.
www.barbaraastman.com
“I have purchased a studio space at the Artscape Shaw Street Centre to provide a secure workspace for myself and to be a part of an exciting new cultural studio model,” said Barbara Astman. “It felt like a great fit! I am very excited by the re-purposing of the old historical school and believe Artscape Shaw Street Centre will become a model for future projects.”
Emily Filler is a full-time professional artist who began showing her work in Toronto after graduating from the Fine Arts Program at Queen’s University in 2005. A painter who works predominantly in oils and acrylics, Emily has had two solo shows to date and has participated in several group shows. Her work has also been featured in several newspaper and magazine publications. She is currently represented by galleries in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Baie-St-Paul, QC.
“I don’t think I can fully express how excited I am about this project. The idea that I will be the owner of an amazing studio space in West Queen West right by the park, the MOCCA, other galleries, amazing shops, and cafes is unreal. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better space to paint in if I tried. I am so grateful to be a part of the Artscape Shaw Street Centre,” said Emily Filler. “As a young artist being able to purchase a studio, owning a space to work in the heart of the city, will be invaluable to my artistic practice. It gives me a sense of security that renting a space never could - knowing that I have a permanent place to do what I love to do. In addition to building equity at the beginning of my career, owning my own studio is also an investment in myself, giving me the confidence needed to continue to grow as an artist.”
Miriam Grenville is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Textile Design. She held various studio positions in the wall covering industry before beginning her own studio, Grenville Design. She creates art works that are printed using large format digital print technology, as well as works that are smaller in scale and more intimate in meaning. Often a response to her different societal roles, Miriam’s work is reflective of her position as a designer, maker, artist, mother, and art educator.
“Artscape Shaw Street Centre is responsible for solving two of the biggest issues in my artistic practice: first, the isolated workplace, and second, larger, affordable workspace,” said Miriam Grenville. “Building this space for Toronto’s creative and artistic community is a significant statement that creative workers are valuable contributors to both Canadian society and the Canadian economy.”
Vid Ingelevics has been exhibiting as a Toronto-based artist, independent curator and writer since the late 1980s. His work in a variety of media has often been concerned with questions around the relationship between photography, memory and history. His projects have been exhibited and/or published in Canada, the United States, Europe and, later this year, in Australia.
In his new studio, Ingelevics will be working on a variety of video/photography, installation and community-based art projects. Occasionally, he will be bringing undergrad and grad students from Ryerson University, where he teaches in the Image Arts program, for walking tours of the local galleries, off-site classes, participate in community-based activities and, potentially, to exhibit their work at the Centre.
“I am aware that the Artscape Shaw Street Centre project is quite unique not only in Toronto but internationally and offers a model for others in terms of seeing cultural activity, heritage preservation and city-building as integrated goals,” said Vid Ingelevics. “The care with which Artscape has worked with the local community to set up the ownership/rental situations is a key reason I applied to be here. It will save a wonderful heritage building, allowing it to continue to anchor the neighbourhood, and will form a new hub of artistic activity that will bring visitors to the Queen St. W. area. It will result in the formation of a stable community of artists in a city where artists tend to be squeezed out economically as soon as real estate prices go up in the neighbourhoods where they live and work.”
Elyssa Lefurgey-Smith moved to Toronto in 2007 after completing graduate studies in California and is quickly becoming in-demand as a violinist, chamber musician, teacher and coach. Elyssa performs frequently with the Aradia Baroque Ensemble, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Opera Atelier, Orchestra London and the Hamilton Philharmonic.
Elyssa maintains a dynamic studio of private violin students and chamber groups out of her current studio at the Artscape Triangle Lofts and has most recently become the founder of the Toronto Youth Chamber Orchestra. With 526 square feet on the second floor above the cafe, Elyssa's artist studio will be an innovative and collaborative space for performance and education. It will offer professional musicians a space for rehearsing, practicing and presenting concerts and youth of all ages to immerse themselves in music though private lessons on string instruments, small ensembles and kids concert programming.
“Having a rehearsal space and audience in the city is not something that any artist can take for granted. The Artscape Shaw Street Centre is such an important and exciting project. It is a space that will unite musicians and artists with music lovers, parents, patrons, students and the Queen West community at large,” said Elyssa Lefurgey-Smith. "My students will get to share in this momentum and grow up surrounded by all of the forms of art that the Centre has to offer. This is so much more than I could ever offer them on my own. The opportunity to invest in this space so early in my career is truly a privilege. This studio will facilitate so many long term projects, programmes and goals that would not otherwise be possible.”
