HUSTLEHARD: Art Works
A limited-run party series for Toronto creatives. Join journalist host Anupa Mistry along with special guests to swap stories on the work/life balance, and maybe even meet your next collaborator, mentor or friend. It's a think tank, but with cocktails. This month: talking about the city's vibrant visual arts scene with some of your favourite artists and designers.
PARTICIPATION ENCOURAGED. THIS IS A SUBTWEET-FREE ZONE.
Presented by The Drake Hotel and Manifesto.
Later this summer:
August: Music Works
Sandra Brewster
Sandra is a multi-media artist creating work that engages issues of race, identity, representation and memory. She is particularly interested in the generation of folk of the African descent who arrived from the Caribbean during the migration influx of the 1960's and 70's, Sandra holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from York University and is a recipient of grants from the Toronto, Ontario and Canada art councils. Recent venues where her work has been exhibited include Alice Yard, Trinidad and Tobago, in Ontario: Georgia Scherman Projects and A Space Gallery, in Toronto, Robert Langen Gallery, Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo and The Print Studio in Hamilton; SPACE, in London, England; and Five Myles Gallery, New York, NY. Sandra's practice also includes work as an arts educator/community arts facilitator and she has coordinated numerous exhibitions involving local artists. http://sandrabrewster.com
Katherine Earl
Katherine is wickedly passionate about art making and community development. She is a multi-media artist, school teacher and the current Program director of Art Starts; an award winning, not-for-profit organization that uses arts as a vehicle to encourage social change in Toronto's underserved neighbourhoods. She is a firm believer that the challenges we wish to overcome in ourselves, our communities and our city can be dug up, overturned and revolutionized using the arts as a tool. http://www.artstarts.net/
Bryan Espiritu
Bryan is a designer and the founder of The Legends League, a creative agency and clothing company based in Toronto. Founded in 2007, it began as a blog platform that outlined his life experiences spanning from struggles with a history of domestic violence to suicide and being a young father. Through interaction with an invested audience, this platform organically grew into a community of people who followed and supported his artwork and writing. Bryan continues to design outside of graphics for TheLegendsLeague with clients including: LiveStock, Frank The Butcher, Drake and Nike. His solo art exhibit in 2011, "Because The Kids Don't Play" was the biggest solo opening in Canadian history.
Maggie Flynn
Maggie Flynn is an organizer, artist, and curator. Some of the activities that keep her busy involve figuring it out together, facilitating exchange between unexpected parties, and encouraging recreational dancing. She has presented solo projects at the Rhubarb Festival and Don Blanche. From 2009-2013 she worked with Tongue & Groove collective, exhibiting at Board of Directors, XPACE, and Land Slide. She has presented curatorial projects with VSVSVS and Le Labo. She has been a Co-Director of Whippersnapper Gallery since 2012. Maggie also works at Creative Works Studio, an outpatient program of St. Michael's hospital for adults living with mental illness. Her understanding of critical pedagogy and community organizing has been shaped by her involvement with groups such as the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, the Really Really Free Market, Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad El Salvador, and the Anarchist Free University.
Vladimir Kato
Toronto based illustrator, born and raised in Southern Europe, Vlad K was involved with art since early 80s and heavily influenced by Italian graphic novel artists. Relocating to Toronto in 90s, Vlad K continued to pursue visual arts, being involved in graffiti culture and street art and enrolling in Sheridan College Illustrations. Aside from doing local exhibits, Vlad did work with street wear labels such as Fuct and Clients such as Nike and Timberland. After two successful solo exhibits in Toronto, Vlad took a sabbatical to refocus and experiment with music and of course still drawing for a therapeutic purpose with plans of a comeback.
http://instagram.com/vladimirkato
Christine Mangosing
Christine Mangosing is a Manila-born, Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist. Her work is deeply informed by her sense of personal and cultural history and a passion for visual storytelling. She is the founder & creative director of CMANGO Design visual communications, where her work in branding, print, and interactive design has found its way into the worlds of publishing, advertising, tech, music, fashion, theatre, film/tv, the non-profit sector and more. As the art director at national music publication Exclaim! Magazine, Christine has led the shift in its visual style for the past 6 years and oversees the design and production of every issue. As a founding member of the Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture, she has developed the Centres visual identity and provides arts-based career mentorship, including a design co-op program every summer for students and emerging designers. Also a professional actor and playwright, Christine has co-written and performed in two critically acclaimed ensemble productions and has performed in theatre festivals in Toronto and Montreal.
Kirsten McCrea
Kirsten McCrea is a Canadian artist known for her collaborative art endeavours and patterned drawings. Named one of the Top 30 Under 30 artists in Canada by Blouin Artinfo, her work has exhibited in Toronto's AGO, Montreal's Muse des Beaux Arts, and many other galleries, and has appeared in numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail, Juxtapoz online, and Canadian Art. When not painting on her own she collaborates with the drawing initiative En Masse and with the art publisher Paper Pusher. In 2008 she founded the affordable art subscription Papirmass, which has sent 30,000 art prints to people around the world for the low price of $5.75 each, including postage. She lives with her husband and collaborator Jp King.
Rajni Perera
A Sri-Lankan born artist whose work floats between Western and Immigrant culture, Rajni's work is an East-West dialogue of ideas, concerning immigrant identity issues being an immigrant, female sexuality being a woman, and science fiction and fantasy being someone who enjoys science fiction and the dreams behind the genres. Currently cross-translating between the visual languages of Indian miniaturist art, Blaxploitation, and the images produced by the Hubble Deep Field Telescope, the work becomes a record of impossible discoveries and mythical creations.
Curtis Santiago
Curtis Santiago is a Trinidadian-Canadian artist engaged in mixed media and performance practices. Through his work, he explores the narrative of art history, whilst inserting elements of different cultures in order to engage a larger audience and in hopes of broadening the art historical canon as a whole. A former resident of Vancouver, he apprenticed alongside Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun for three years, whose lessons and friendship alike provided invaluable growth. Relocating to Toronto, where he has been practicing now for four years, has given him the chance to enrich his inspiration and perspective as an artist. Moreover, Torontos proximity to the United States has opened the door for him to work internationally. 2012 marked his first solo exhibition in New York City, where his work continues to be extremely well received. He has recently accepted the position of Art Director for the AGO's Massive 2015 event, and confirmed the dates for his solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Missisauga.
Nep Sidhu
Nep Sidhu is an artist in continuum linking the ancient with the here and now. He is interested in the way that memory, social landscape and stylistic interpretation can give way to myth, identity, and truth. His primary reference points are sound, language, architecture, and adornment. He is a member of the Black Constellation, he is currently exhibiting at The Frye Museum of Seattle show Your Feast Has Ended and just completed the artwork for the new Shabazz Palaces album, Lese Majesty. As well he is also the founder of the non-commercial clothing line Paradise Sportif, a contemporary understanding towards adornment and garments for the protection and enhancement of modern day ceremony. Sidhu lives and works in Toronto.
