The City of Toronto’s free outdoor public art celebration, BigArtTO, continues to offer residents with opportunities to safely explore their communities this week, while still respecting public health guidelines. And OCAD University is excited to participate as a proud partner.
This week, BigArtTO visits the neighbourhoods of Parkdale-High Park and Toronto-Danforth.
Twenty-one of the BigArtTO productions are the result of a close collaboration between the City of Toronto, OCAD University, and AVA Animation & Visual Arts Inc. Three of the BigArtTO productions are being delivered at waterfront locations and will be activated by program partner, The Bentway. These meaningful partnerships will provide opportunities for emerging Toronto-based artists and students.
November 18 to 21: daily from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Ward 4: Parkdale-High Park
(Parkdale Library, 1303 Queen St. W., M6K 1L6)
Artist: Anna Jane McIntyre (OCAD U Alumna)
Title: The Windbag & the Beginning
Here is a creation myth whose central characters include a seeing volcano, a mischievous wind and a large cat. The Windbag & the Beginning was originally performed Sunday November 21, 2010 at 2:02 pm at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Ontario. This work was curated by Libby Hague for her Free Radical project, which was part of the art and science fair inspired too cool for school curated by Sally McKay and Patrick Macaulay. too cool for school was featured as a part of Fresh Ground new works the national commissioning programme at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Other puppet plays from Libby's Free radical project are available for viewing at: www.libbyhague.com/rad.
Anna Jane McIntyre is an artist whose playful practice combines storytelling, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, performance and microactivism. Her work investigates how people perceive, create and maintain their notions of self, through behaviour and visual cues, in an ever-shifting visual mashup of British, Trinidadian and Canadian cultural traditions.
Website: www.annajmcintyre.com
Instagram: @annajanemcintyre
Ward 14: Toronto-Danforth
(Canada Post South Central Letter Processing Plant, 969 Eastern Ave., M4L 1A5)
Artist: Winnie Truong
Title: Interchanges
Artist Statement
Taking inspiration from mail distribution systems, this animation reveals the paralleled complexity in seed dispersion among local urban flora. For me this touches on two essential connections I’ve had during the pandemic: sending real tangible mail to friends and family as a way of keeping tactile connection, and seeking meditative respite among the nature of local parks, like Corktown Common and the Toronto Islands. Visiting these parks, I’ve observed the complex systems of seed pollination and distribution that are taking place at a micro and macro level all around us: dandelion spores catching the wind, bees transferring pollen or birds scavenging seeds. This animation will focus in on this process, following several seeds and pollinators as they move around the frame and interact with each other in a surreal, natural environment. The film will function as a moment to meditate on this unimaginably complex system that we often take for granted. By making a connection between seed and mail distribution this work reveals how these overlooked systems are essential to meaningful connections to nature and each other.
The BigArtTO initiative runs to December 5, 2020. A complete event schedule is available on the City of Toronto website.
