It’s been some time since our last post on the project space, so we thought we’d celebrate our 70th (!) with an update on recent developments. As some of you may know, this blog has been TYPOLOGY’s virtual home while our website and physical space are under construction. Both have seen delays for various reasons, but we promise that things are continuing to move forward…
For those who don’t yet know, TYPOLOGY is a not-for-profit project space which will be housed within a historic school building currently undergoing renovation by Artscape, a local organization with an international reputation for city-building through the arts. Award-winning and multi-faceted projects at Wychwood Barns, the Distillery, and Gibraltar Point on Toronto Island have proven Artscape’s model of repurposing underutilized buildings for the benefit of the arts and the greater community.
Bounded by Trinity-Bellwoods Park to the east and the gallery districts of Dundas West, Queen West, and Ossington Avenue to the north, south, and west, Artscape’s newest project is ideally situated to become a magnet for social and artistic connection and creativity at the local, national, and international levels. Once renovations are complete, TYPOLOGY will join a dynamic mix of artists and organizations including Koffler Center for the Arts, SKETCH, Paperhouse Studio, Small World Music Society, Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Barbara Astman, Vid Inglevics, Miriam Grenville and Eve Egoyan, among many others in bringing arts production, performance, education, and exhibition together under one roof in Toronto’s West End. Plus, there will be a new mezzanine café! (Coffee + art = happiness!)
Good things take time however, and Artscape has recently notified tenants of a new completion date for the centre. Based on this information, we are anticipating a grand opening for TYPOLOGY sometime in the summer or fall of 2013 (rather than fall 2012 as previously announced). While we are of course eager to begin, the flip side to having extra time is that our exhibitions and programming will be that much more developed for it.
And that brings us to… our exhibitions and programming! We’re lining up a great first year of shows and events, and will be creating opportunities for artists, architects, designers, curators, and others to participate. Our website will launch well in advance of the project space opening, and we’ll be posting information on how you can get involved, including floor plans, open calls, submission guidelines, and other opportunities. So stay tuned, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr (or subscribe to this blog via email) to receive updates as they occur.
…
above: Lyla Rye, Subtext, architectural installation with chalk, from Art School (Dismissed)
In the meantime, we thought we’d feature a few images from a 2010 exhibition curated by Heather Nicol in our then-derelict building. Titled Art School (Dismissed) and billed as a celebration of artists who “extend their creative practices into the realm of education”, the show took full advantage of the school’s classically wide hallways and large, open classrooms as a socio-historically rich context for new site specific installation, sculpture, video, drawing, painting, performance, new media, and hybrids thereof. In her curatorial statement, Nicol writes, “As both makers and teachers, the artists in Art School (Dismissed) are uniquely situated to explore and question notions of authority, history, memory, and the dissemination of knowledge. Childhood and play have inspired many of their works.” (click images to see more views and details on the CCCA website)
…
above two images: Tara Cooper (in collaboration with Terry O’Neill), Shirts vs. Skins
above: Ian Carr-Harris and Yvonne Lammerich, Copy one of the following
above: Collette Laliberté and Sandra Rechico, 2 > 1 video installation, photo by Toni Hafkenscheid
…
A nicely designed catalogue documenting the exhibition is available from TYPE Books
(click images to enlarge)
…
Read Leah Sandals’ review of Art School (Dismissed) for Canadian Art
For more information on the exhibition visit the Art School (Dismissed) website
More information on the featured artists can be found on the linked websites:
Lyla Rye
Tara Cooper and Terry O’Neill
Ian Carr-Harris
Yvonne Lammerich
Colette Laliberté
Sandra Rechico
shown in catalogue spread:
Monica Tap
Gordon Hicks
For background on the Shaw Street School, see our Press page
…
Bonus trivia: Apparently, the Shaw Street School has tasted fame before, as a set location for Tina Fey’s 2004 movie, Mean Girls. We have a feeling its next group of inhabitants will be quite a bit friendlier. :)