The Toronto skyline as seen from the Toronto Islands / photo via Morguefile
The Bois de Boulogne may be far from Yonge Street, but Paris artists and Toronto scenes are a bit closer than that—at least this year.
Paris-Toronto, a multi-event project taking place through December 2013, is in the process of mounting seminars, exhibitions and symposia that create opportunities for interaction between artists, curators, scholars, critics and audiences in the two cities.
Among the highlights is “The Ecology of an Art Scene,” a symposium organized by the Canadian Art Foundation that will gather key players of the Paris and Toronto scenes on November 8 and 9 to discuss what makes for a successful art community.
Also on deck is a residency by Mohamed Bourouissa at the Art Gallery of Ontario from June to August. Known for his frank photographs of the volatile and tense aspects of life in the French suburbs, the Algerian-born Bourouissa was included in the New Museum’s 2009 exhibition “Younger than Jesus” and the 2011 Venice Biennale exhibition “Illuminations.” He has been a finalist multiple times for the Prix Pictet in photography and sustainability.
Paris-based curator and critic Ami Barak will also be curating for Nuit Blanche on October 5, organizing downtown installations that celebrate the centenary of Marcel Duchamp’s readymade.
Other activities involve a Jimmy Robert exhibition at the Power Plant from June 22 to September 2 and a group exhibition at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, opening in September, that addresses artists crossing borders between former colonies and their diasporas in Paris.
The Consulate General of France in Toronto is acting as coordinator for the events, which have already included a symposium at Ryerson Image Centre on the public life of photographs; a seminar at Art Metropole on artists’ books; an exhibition by Louidgi Beltrame at Vtape; and part of an artist residency by Julia Varga and Olivier Bosson organized by Elegoa Cultural Productions.
For further information, please visit paris-toronto.org, and watch our site for more details about the symposium “The Ecology of an Art Scene” as it becomes available.
