Operating since 1979, Mercer Union has long been an leading force in Canadian artist-run culture and a must-see fixture on the Toronto gallery circuit. Recently, however, the gallery relocated from their art-scene-hub address in the Queen West area to a venue at Bloor and Lansdowne that was originally built as a cinema but most recently served as a dollar store in the perpetually downtrodden neighbourhood. Offering more square footage and an affordable rent, the new location opened with the exhibition “Maps In Doubt,” a series of collaborative installations by Toronto-based artists Gwen MacGregor and Sandra Rechico that (quite appropriately) investigates notions of relocation and orientation. In this video slideshow, the artists join curator Dan Adler and the group Partners in Art to discuss the pleasures and pitfalls of collaboration. (Running time 7 minutes 11 seconds)
In this excerpt from her new memoir, influential artist Gathie Falk describes her early childhood, her first art lessons, and why she dropped out of school.
Aruna D'Souza's forthcoming book Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts reviews three incidents in the long and troubled relationship between race and the art world.