Toronto Free Gallery
Encyclopedia
Toronto Free Gallery is a not-for-profit art space dedicated to providing a forum for social justice
, cultural, urban
and environmental
issues expressed through all media. Toronto Free Gallery’s role is to be a creative laboratory that aims to provide artists with a space to experiment, explore new ideas, question norms and challenge both themselves and their audiences.
Toronto Free Gallery’s role is to present programming that highlights and offers creative responses to urgent issues such as urban development, social justice
and sustainability
. They do this by fostering collaboration between creative communities through exhibitions and events that include visual artists, activists, film-makers, performance artists, writers, architects, urban planners, ecologists, and academics, to name a few.
Maintain a space where artists, architects, and socially and environmentally conscious organizations can present meaningful projects in an artistic way
Create a venue for dialogue about the communities, cities and world we live in through exhibitions, panel discussions and other events
Offer a space that includes multiple voices and experiences
Provide a space that supports and provides dialogue and exhibition space for young and emerging artists as well as those who are established
Address urgent social and environmental issues in a positive and constructive way
Broaden Toronto's arts audience by: working with diverse communities, creating programming that includes participation from the arts and non-art communities, including youth programming, creating programming that has broad audience appeal and organizing projects with a presence outside the gallery, through past site-specific and public projects
’s East End to the Bloor/Lansdowne neighbourhood. The gallery receives funding from Canada Council for the Art, Ontario Arts Council
, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Toronto Arts Council.
Important Exhibitions Include: Project Toronto, The Corporate World, Vacant Lots, The Centre Cannot Hold, Toronto Free Library, All Power To the People: Graphics of The Black Panther Party
, Creative Activism, Toronto Free Broadcasting, Strip-mining for Creative Cities, and The Pinky Show.
and Michelle Ceballos, Mammalian Diving Reflex and Darren O'Donnell
, The Yes Men
, The Arbour Lake School, Luis Jacob
, Maiko Tanaka, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, Fuse Magazine, Spacing Magazine, National Film Board of Canada, FADO, 7a*11d, Favianna Rodriguez
, Toronto School for Creativity and Inquiry, Au Travail, Creative Class Struggle and Mayworks
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, cultural, urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
and environmental
Environmental policy
Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...
issues expressed through all media. Toronto Free Gallery’s role is to be a creative laboratory that aims to provide artists with a space to experiment, explore new ideas, question norms and challenge both themselves and their audiences.
Toronto Free Gallery’s role is to present programming that highlights and offers creative responses to urgent issues such as urban development, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. They do this by fostering collaboration between creative communities through exhibitions and events that include visual artists, activists, film-makers, performance artists, writers, architects, urban planners, ecologists, and academics, to name a few.
Goals
Provide a forum for social, cultural, environmental and urban issues expressed through all mediaMaintain a space where artists, architects, and socially and environmentally conscious organizations can present meaningful projects in an artistic way
Create a venue for dialogue about the communities, cities and world we live in through exhibitions, panel discussions and other events
Offer a space that includes multiple voices and experiences
Provide a space that supports and provides dialogue and exhibition space for young and emerging artists as well as those who are established
Address urgent social and environmental issues in a positive and constructive way
Broaden Toronto's arts audience by: working with diverse communities, creating programming that includes participation from the arts and non-art communities, including youth programming, creating programming that has broad audience appeal and organizing projects with a presence outside the gallery, through past site-specific and public projects
History
Toronto Free Gallery was established in September 2004 by Executive Director Heather Haynes. The inaugural exhibition, Project Toronto, was a group exhibition that aimed to derive new insights into the problems confronting the urban landscape of Toronto. With this exhibition the overall goals and artistic vision of Toronto Free Gallery were established. In 2008 the gallery relocated from TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
’s East End to the Bloor/Lansdowne neighbourhood. The gallery receives funding from Canada Council for the Art, Ontario Arts Council
Ontario Arts Council
The Ontario Arts Council is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to promote and assist the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of all Ontarians...
, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Toronto Arts Council.
Important Exhibitions Include: Project Toronto, The Corporate World, Vacant Lots, The Centre Cannot Hold, Toronto Free Library, All Power To the People: Graphics of The Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, Creative Activism, Toronto Free Broadcasting, Strip-mining for Creative Cities, and The Pinky Show.
Artistic Collaborations
Some of our artistic collaborators include: La Pocha Nostra, Guillermo Gómez-PeñaGuillermo Gómez-Peña
Guillermo Gómez-Peña was born in Mexico City and moved to the US in 1978, where he established himself as a performance artist, writer, activist, and educator. He has pioneered multiple media, including performance art, experimental radio, video, performance photography and installation art...
and Michelle Ceballos, Mammalian Diving Reflex and Darren O'Donnell
Darren O'Donnell
Darren O'Donnell is a Canadian novelist, essayist, performance artist, playwright, director and actor.He is the artistic director of theatre company Mammalian Diving Reflex, has written many plays including A Suicide-Site Guide to the City, White Mice, Who Shot Jacques Lacan?, Radio Rooster Says...
, The Yes Men
The Yes Men
The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through actions of tactical media, The Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about what they consider problematic social issues. To date, the duo has produced two films: The Yes Men...
, The Arbour Lake School, Luis Jacob
Luis Jacob
-Life and work:Jacob was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Canada with his family when he was ten. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1996....
, Maiko Tanaka, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, Fuse Magazine, Spacing Magazine, National Film Board of Canada, FADO, 7a*11d, Favianna Rodriguez
Favianna Rodriguez
Favianna Rodriguez is a printmaker who got her start as a political poster designer in the 1990s’ struggles for racial justice in California....
, Toronto School for Creativity and Inquiry, Au Travail, Creative Class Struggle and Mayworks