“Everyone. Everywhere.” A Mural Recognizing Personhood Before the Law

Arts Etobicoke is pleased to announce Everyone. Everywhere.— a community engaged mixed media mural initiative in partnership with Amnesty International’s Project: Urban Canvas, Creative Village Studio, and with the generous support of the  City of Toronto’s StreetART program.

RED DRESS PRODUCTIONS is honoured to steward the creation of Everyone. Everywhere. through a community engaged artistic process.

Everyone. Everywhere. revolves around the idea embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 6, which states:

“Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”. 

Louise Garfield, Executive Director of Arts Etobicoke says, "Our ongoing work with neighbour Creative Village Studio and their clients, who have intellectual disabilities, brings this human rights issue into sharp focus. People who are differently able and their contributions (artistic and otherwise) are often invisible to and undervalued by the general public. Our proposed mixed media mural will bring these artists’ work into the public realm and marry their artwork with the human rights awareness of Amnesty International’s Project: Urban Canvas, which seeks to bring Toronto public attention to human rights in a series of 30 murals.

The message is a strong one: recognizing everyone as a person before the law. The connection we hope to make between this concept and the real lives of our neighbours at Creative Village will shine a light and focus others in our community and the broader GTA to become more aware of ALL the people living in our community and how art can facilitate real change in our society.”

The site for Everyone. Everywhere. is the 100 ft x 3 ft. bridge on the South East side of Islington Ave, just south of Dundas Street West, in Etobicoke. 

Please join us at a community consultation:

Monday July 29, 2013

7-9pm

at Arts Etobicoke

4893A Dundas Street West

Contact info:

Shira Spector, Arts Etobicoke Programs and Outreach Coordinator

Shira@artsetobicoke.com

Ruth Cumberbatch, Arts Etobicoke Fundraising and Communications Manager

Ruth@artsetobicoke.com

416 622 8731

RDP Selected for the Church Street Murals Public Art Project!

WE'RE HONOURED TO BE AMONGST THE 12 artist teams selected FOR THE CHURCH STREET MURALS PROJECTS, A TORONTO WORLD PRIDE 2014 LEGACY PROJECT!!!

Concept and Treatment

RDP has created 7 large-scale, socially engaged public artworks in Toronto; all mosaic/mixed media mural works incorporating mid-relief and low-relief.  Mosaic, as a medium, lends itself to homage, to tribute – historically, mosaic was used to create portraits of icons – ‘icon’ originally referred, primarily, to religious figures, but the term is more broadly understood today to mean representative of something of greater significance, a symbol – a figure that embodies certain qualities, spirit, or a movement.

sketch (ink and watercolour on vellum)

It’s our intention to celebrate change makers in our LGBTTI2QQ communities seldom recognized or visually represented. The work we are proposing is in the spirit of homage and emblematic in nature: open to multiple interpretations, and not prescriptive. Our concept is to build a figurative mosaic – one single iconic, larger than life figure that we’ve come to call “Ella” – a bold, strong, and empowered woman, sheltered by a red umbrella.  Emboldened by a will to effect change, Ella is a force to be reckoned with. The red umbrella, a symbol  for sex workers' rights and solidarity around the world, is emblematic of shelter from prohibitionist laws that sanction discrimination and violence against sex workers.

The vertically oriented artwork will be 12’ in height, and constructed on a marine plywood substrate.  We’ll use a combination of tool and grinder cut, and manually shaped pieces in order to produce rich pattern, line work, and movement. Materials will include frost resistant glazed ceramic, porcelain, glass, and stone. We’ll build in the direct method, working offsite. The two to three panels will then be installed directly onto the installation site, where we’ll spend one week doing finishing bridge and grout work across sections to produce a seamless piece. The (painted) monochromatic wall will background the low-relief mosaic mural. Use of negative space will support and extend Ella’s iconic nature.

Our artistic team will include lead visual Anna Camilleri (artistic director, designer, and lead builder), co-lead artist Tristan R. Whiston (production director and builder), Katie Yealland (installation director and builder) and Chantelle Gobeil (builder). 

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Co-Curators Syrus Marcus Ware and James Fowler

City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam 

Selection Committee Members Remy Huberdeau, Elizabeth Sweeney, and Francisco Alvarez

LGBTTIQQ2S community members who shared their stories and knowledge

For more information visit:

http://churchstreetmurals.com

WRTN/SPKN: a creative writing and zine making project

WRTN/SPKN is a creative writing and zine making project at the Triangle Prgram, Canada’s only high school for LGBT (queer and trans) spectrum students. 

For several weeks, we explored creative writing (particularly memoir) through practices including free association, “cut-up,” word strings, found poetry, and collaborative writing. We experimented with voice and form, and the relationship between the written and spoken, and visually explored word. Throughout our creative process, students were encouraged to claim their place as storytellers. I provided guidance for the work being produced, but students’ areas of interest (themes and motifs) led the project. Our work together culminated in the production and presentation of individual zines. --Anna Camilleri

Here's a Vimeo link for a video featuring work produced by Triangle students during this interdisciplinary creative writing project:

https://vimeo.com/62830108

Riverdale Hub Commission, 1326 Gerrard East

Riverdale Hub Logo, commission

Anna Camilleri

October 2012

1326 Gerrard Street East

Toronto, Canada
3'6" diametre 

mahogany (3/4" marine) plywood, resin
glass, porcelain, ceramic

Add caption

RDP Shortlisted for the Church Street Murals Project!

We're honoured to be amongst the shortlisted artists for the Church Street Murals Projects, a Toronto World Pride 2014 Legacy Project. Finalists will be announced on April 8, 2013.

http://churchstreetmurals.com/?page_id=20

We'd like to thank City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, Co-Curators Syrus Marcus Ware and James Fowler, and selection committee members Remy Huberdeau, Elizabeth Sweeney, and Francisco Alvarez. 

The Church Street Murals Project will see 10-12 new murals created between May-September 2013 in the Church-Wellesley village. To learn more visit:

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Proposal_time_for_Church_Street_mural_project-13116.aspx

Gerrard Art Project Unveils on November 9, 2012 | 5pm

The Riverdale Hub is proud to announce that from November 9th to November 11th, 2012, we will be celebrating the completion of the GerrardART Project! This weekend of excitement will begin with a Press Launch Event on Friday November 9th at 5 pm and culminate in two days of revelry on Saturday and Sunday as The Hub joins the community in celebrating Diwali with lights, food and art. Be part of Friday’s exclusive guided tour of the GerrardART Project – the largest mural in Toronto – for press and VIP guests only. Contributing artists Anna Camilleri, Adrian Hayles, Javid Alibhai and Executive Director, Nuzhath Leedham will be unveiling this new gateway to Little India and will be available for questions.  Itinerary of Events Friday, Nov. 9th, 2012 - 5:00 pm 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm -  Arrival of Guests and Press 5:30 pm - 5:45 pm -  Nuzhath Leedham’s Introduction of the Artists 5:45 pm - 6:30 pm -  Tour of the Murals 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm -  Refreshments and Q & A Saturday, Nov.10th and Sunday, Nov.11th - Diwali Public Street Celebration 12 pm to 10 pm  Please RSVP early to be on the guest list.  Deadline – Wednesday November 7th, 2012

The Legacy Project: A Community Storytelling

Since 2006, Red Dress Productions has partnered with Bleecker Co-op and more than 300 co-op member contributors on the creation of three large-scale community-engaged public artworks. The most recent work, Dwelling, emerged from the Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project that celebrates and memorializes founding co-op manager and human rights activist Diane Frankling.

Dwelling represents an evolution of form into visual interdisciplinarity. Beyond the 2-dimensional mosaic mural that had been originally conceived, the 14’ x 4’ piece is an architectural mixed media work that includes wood construction; custom-colour fabricated glass, and clay fabricated tiles (using a cartoon and slab technique), paint, and mosaic.

Dwelling, detail.  2012. 

The artistic and community accomplishments of Bleecker Co-op members reflects a community of practice that has been cultivated over time. While Bleecker Co-op is attuned to “basic” needs (safe and affordable housing), it also recognizes that people need beauty and art; a sense of place and belonging that is about more than our dwellings.  We need bread and roses – equity and beauty; safe places to explore our (sometimes) dangerous realities; and opportunities to pursue our creative and aesthetic capacities.

Dwelling, detail.  2012. 

Dwelling, detail.  2012. 

Some important articulations and questions emerged during the conceptual development 
phase of the Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project:

How can we reflect our legacy of artistic and community collaboration beyond the Bleecker 
Street Co-operative neighbourhood?

What is the impact of community engaged artistic collaboration at Bleecker Co-op?

What does it mean to be reflected in the Bleecker Street Co-operative neighbourhood when the neighbourhood is rapidly changing?

Who do we create for (past, present, future)? Who do we remember? How do we want to be remembered?

Beyond materiality (the “product” that is made), what are ephemeral ripples of collaborative art? What does it mean to contribute (at the time of contribution), and what does it mean afterward?

Do we come to know ourselves and our communities differently through collaborative artistic practices, and if so, how?

What stories would we like to tell about artistic and community collaboration? Why does they matter?

How can we make room for more voices?

What are we cultivating beyond shared artistic experience?

The Legacy Project: A Community Storytelling is the creative exploration of these questions and articulations through a series of 12 art workshops, and oral history research (interviews) with 20 to 30 contributors. It’s our hope that this work will lead us to a vision (form and content)  for the production phase of The Legacy Project: A Community Storytelling. 

Riverdale Hub

commission, Riverdale Hub logo-in-progress
made by Anna Camilleri
1326 Gerrard Street East, Toronto

Over the past couple months, I've had the pleasure of building a ceramic and glass mosaic for the Riverdale Hub, as part of  a community revitalization strategy for the Gerrard Bazaar/Little India neighbourhood.

As a point of interest, the materials I work with begin as standard tiles. I cut individual tiles down into "strips" using a wet saw. Each piece of ceramic or glass is then shaped with manual cutters and files. I prefer working with commercial tile because the variation in tile depth and materials -- from porcelain to glass, and stone to glazed ceramic -- enables me to incorporate high relief, and blend texture and finishes. 

The Riverdale Hub is an innovative model for community revitalization that integrates environmental sustainability and social enterprise in order to provide training for new Canadian women and create opportunities for local economic growth and investment. 

mural artists work

 ERA has been consulting the Riverdale Hub on how to achieve community revitalization objectives through strategic analysis, administration, communication, and design, and local artists JAH and Adrian Hayles have created a series of large murals for the block. 

Stop by the Riverdale Hub at 1326 Gerrard Street East to watch the art making unfold and transform this culturally significant neighbourhood . . . and stay tuned for the unveiling party!

Thanks to the StreetARToronto (StART) program, which has made this project possible.

--Anna Camilleri

trace opens August 24, 2012

MIDDLE C by TRISTAN R. WHISTON

Middle C was produced by Carma Jolly and Tristan R. Whiston for CBC Radio's Outfront in 2007. It won the Premios Ondas award for International Radio and a silver medal at the New York Festivals.

Tristan R. Whiston first performed as a solo soprano at the age of six. With that raw talent, years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But Tristan has decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has — the voice. You see, something was never quite right. Tristan always wanted to be a man. Now that dream is about to come true as Tristan embarks upon the process of gender reassignment. In a year’s worth of intimate audio diaries, we hear milestones like Tristan’s first shave. But the most striking thing is the transformation of Tristan’s singing voice. Tristan starts out as a soprano whose voice soars on the high notes. As the testosterone takes effect in Tristan’s body, that sublime voice is ripped to shreds and has to be completely recast - just like his identity.

Follow the link to listen to Middle C:

http://theunobserved.com/culture/middle_c/