Exhibits at the CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto
The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival returns to Toronto this May with 15 primary photography exhibits, 12 site-specific public installations and over 100 additional events at galleries and venues throughout the city. As the world’s largest photography festival takes over the 416, here are a few must-see exhibits you won’t want to miss.
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art
952 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1G8CONTACT kicks off on May 1 with a special opening night party at this creative hub on West Queen West. The gallery will also host three exhibitions throughout the duration of festival: Part Picture showcases a collection of contemporary work from emerging North American photographers; Past Picture: The Chemistry of Intention features historic vintage prints and images from some of photography’s most innovative practitioners; and Jihyun Jung’s large-scale Demolition Site mural on display in the MOCCA courtyard and alcove offers a visual commentary on the complex social issues surrounding urban development.
Gallery TPW
170 Saint Helens Ave, Toronto, ON M6H 4A1Head west to Bloor and Lansdowne and you’ll uncover a hidden art district with cool contemporary galleries housed in repurposed auto garages. The Toronto Photographers Workshop (or Gallery TPW) on St. Helens Avenue is a non-profit, artist-run centre first founded in 1977. During the CONTACT Photography Festival, the venue will be screening Episode of the Sea, a black-and-white film by Dutch duo Siebren de Haan and Lonnie van Brummelen. The 35mm film documents the daily life in the remote fishing community of Urk, a former island (now connected to the mainland) in the Netherlands.
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Pk, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6There’s no shortage of awe-inspiring artifacts on display at this renowned museum of natural history and world cultures. Photography fans won’t want to miss this poignant exhibit from contemporary artist Annu Palakunnathu Matthew. Generations brings together six bodies of work created from 1996 to 2015. The photographer explores the role of family portraits and the impact these images have on our collective memory and national identity. Try to visit the gallery on May 23 when Matthew will be taking photos of families for her new project or on May 26 for a ticketed talk with the artist.
Contact Photography Festival
80 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5V 2J4Venetian-born photographer and sculptor Lorenzo Vitturi takes over the CONTACT gallery on Spadina Avenue throughout May and June. In Dalston Anatomy, Vitturi captures an astoundingly rich and diverse series of colourful images chronicling architecture, food, textures and people photographed at Ridley Road Market in East London. Visit on May 2 for the opening reception when the artist will be on hand to discuss his work.
Edward Day Gallery
200-952 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1G8View 60 years’ worth of breathtaking images from Spain’s most established and celebrated photographers at this diverse group exhibition on display at the Edward Day Gallery from May 1-30. The Gaze in the Other: Connections and Confrontations (La Mirada en el Otro: Conexiones/Confrontaciones) is a collection of work that highlights Spain’s changing photographic history and cultural identity across three generations. Each of the award-winning artists featured in the showcase is a recipient of the Spanish National Photography Prize.
The Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto
1 Harbour Square, Toronto, ON M5J 1A6Visit this site-specific public installation from Winnipeg photographer Sarah Anne Johnson and you’ll be whisked away to an island paradise without leaving the downtown core. Best Beach, a large-scale 37 x 144-foot mural, is a photographic composite mounted on a block-long building at the bottom of Bay Street. The tranquil scene of Toronto Island’s south shore evokes a natural beauty among the grey concrete landscape that surrounds it. If you’d like to hear from Johnson herself, catch her at the Drake Hotel for an artist talk on May 3.
Drake Hotel
1150 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1J3Optimism as Cultural Rebellion — a provocative exhibit from British photographer, sculptor and performance artist Matthew Stone — will be on display across the hip hotel’s façade windows throughout the month of May. The striking images depict faceless nude bodies entangled together resembling Greco-Roman sculptures. Two of Stone’s original sculptures will also be on display in the hotel lobby as part of the group exhibition Outside the Frame, which also features work by Talia Shipman, Andrea Wolf and Lala Abaddon. Best of all, this multi-purpose cultural hotspot also offers some of the best food, drink and nightlife in the city.
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