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A transformative 

art experience


Ontario Place

West Island

September 15-25, 2016

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Presented by Art Spin

in partnership with 

Small World Music

An immersive celebration of multidisciplinary contemporary art and world music

ABOUT

ABOUT

in/future was by far the largest and most ambitious project Art Spin has attempted to-date. The project, presented in partnership with Small World Music, involved hundreds of artists, over 30 partner organizations, and dozens of volunteers to put it together. It was the first time the West Island of Ontario Place had been animated since its closure in 2012, with artists and partners responding to the past and future of the site to create responsive programming that was deeply rooted in this unique place. Larger than we can ever imagine, it is difficult to convey the scale and magic of this project through an archive alone, however please read on to learn about the programming and to see images and video of the event. As of 2020, the future of Ontario Place remains uncertain, but in/future no doubt brought the site back into the imagination of the public and has helped many envision what creative possibilities lie in the site.

in/future by the numbers

15,000+

attendees

45

Musical 

Performances

131

Artists

50

Videos in the Cinesphere

14

acres

12

speakers

11

days

1

SWAN

BOAT

5

original IMAX films

A NOTE FROM THE CURATORS

What do we learn about ourselves in the present when we look to the past to see how we imagined the future?

 

This is the question in/future invites you, as it did its participating artists and creative partners, to think about as you explore the the various art projects scattered throughout the magical West Island of Ontario Place. 

 

in/future is the culmination of 100 art projects, site-specific installations, film, video and performances, 40 musical acts from around the globe along with 32 partnering arts organizations all coming together to animate an iconic venue that was once home to amusement park rides, arcades, educational silos and pavilions.

 

Reflecting on Ontario Place’s genesis as a cultural hub that both looked backward to Montreal’s Expo 67 for inspiration and dreamed of future innovations, in/future examines the overlapping layers of time at play in Ontario Place’s present. The festival has invited artists to transform this once-futuristic site in order to envision the future anew and to explore the complex interpretations of time by which we open up new ways of thinking about the current moment; to investigate various aspects of Ontario Place’s character and history— from notions of play and the carnivalesque, to tensions between the natural and the manufactured; from utopian visions for technology, culture, and society, to histories of Toronto’s relationship to Ontario’s North.

 

in/future is well-positioned to engage in a meaningful way with an ongoing and significant shift in Toronto’s creative ecology manifesting along the waterfront. This one time event serves as an opportunity to engage this iconic space through creative thinking and productive dreaming about our future. 

 

Co-Artistic Directors

Layne Hinton & Rui Pimenta

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The site map for the West Island of Ontario Place in/future, designed by Monnet Design.

Photo by Andrew Williamson

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Artworks in 'Temple Bell Plaza' with the iconic Cinesphere in the background.

Photo by Vuk Dragojevic

Festival programs

site-specific ​Art Projects

Presented by Art Spin & Creative Partners

Audience members were invited to wander the West Island to explore over 50 multidisciplinary art projects created and curated specially for in/future. Visitors entered the majestic and haunting silos where they encountered immersive artworks, they could explore the South Shore, the Temple Bell Plaza and the winding picturesque paths to find a wide array of outdoor installations. The Arcade and Atom Blaster Pavilions each held group exhibitions from an impressive range of artists from various disciplines.

workshops / talks / tours

 

Partnership organizations programmed engaging lecture series, presented by Waterfront Toronto and Onsite Gallery at OCADU, plus interactive and educational programming for kids & school groups presented by George Brown College Institute Without Boundaries, The Power Plant's Power Kids and Blank Canvases, as well as guided tours and artist talks.

Cinesphere

Presented by Air France


Opened in 1971 as the first permanent IMAX theatre in the world, the iconic Cinesphere came to life once again to showcase a daily changing schedule of 44 contemporary film & video works, and live audiovisual performances. These contemporary works were paired with the rare opportunity to see six original IMAX films from the 70s and 80's - such as the renowned North of Superior - most of which hadn't been screened for the public in over 30 years.

PERFORMANCES

 

Scattered across the West Island there were a wide variety of special performances scheduled daily, inclusive of contemporary dance, performance art, roving musicians, and live audiovisual experiences. Viewers could also keep one eye out for the Swan Boat Residency, with a changing roster of artists and performers in residence.

Small world music stage 

presented by Exodus travels

 

For its 15th edition, the Small World Music Festival was proud to be part of in/future, with musical programming by Alan Davis. Showcasing the best sounds from around the world and around the corner, Small World celebrated the cultural diversity of Ontario with artists who combine tradition with a view to the future. And they brought the party to a venue with a rich musical history!

in/fo & in/store pavilion

 

The in/fo Pavilion held daily schedules and information for visitors. Audiences could learn about the history of the site with our Ontario Place timeline. The in/store and the Art Metropole pop-up were home to many art objects and publications, inviting folks to take home a little piece of the festival with limited edition items made by local artists inspired by in/future, curated by Casey Hinton and Leah Cooke.

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PROGRAMMING

PROGRAMMING

Artists, Performers, Musicians

and Creative Partners

co-Artistic Directors, co-curators

Layne Hinton & Rui Pimenta of Art Spin

CREATIVE PARTNERS

Art Metropole
Batuki Music Society
Blank Canvases
Bollywood Monster Mashup

CAFKA (Contemporary Art Forum

Kitchener and Area)

CinemaExpo67
Critical Distance Centre for Curators

Dancemakers Centre for Creation

Ed Video Media Arts Centre
FADO Performance Art Centre Gladstone Hotel
Goethe-Institut
Images Festival
Institute without Boundaries

InterAccess
Lula Music and Arts Centre

MUTEK


New Adventures in Sound Art

OCAD University

Onsite Gallery at OCAD University

Open Studio
Peggy Baker Dance Projects

Pleasure Dome

Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

Sensorium
Subtle Technologies
The Music Gallery
The Power Plant Contemporary
Art Gallery
Tom Thomson Art Gallery
Trinity Square Video
Uma Nota
Vtape
Wavelength
York University School of the Arts,
Media, Performance & Design

LeuWebb, sponsored by the Gladstone Hotel

Luke Painter

Lyla Rye

Marcia Huyer

Marco D'Andrea

Markus Heckmann

Mary Coble, presented by FADO Performance Art

Max Dean, co-presented by CONTACT Photography Festival

Michael Louis Johnson

Michael Simon

Michael Toke

Michael Trommer, presented by InterAccess

Mitchell Akiyama

New Adventures In Sound Art

Noel Middleton

Oliver Husain, presented by Images Festival

Peggy Baker Dance Projects

Peter Mettler & John Oswald

Peter Mettler & Tom Kuo

Philippe Blanchard

PVS

Rob King

Robert Hengeveld

Samantha Noseworthy

Shannon Gerrard, Danica Drago & Annyen Lam

Simone Jones

Simone Jones & Laura Millard

Studio F Minus

Tamara Gayer, presented by Critical Distance Centre for Curators

Tanya St. Pierre & Philippe-Aubert Gauthier

TH&B

Vuk Dragojevic

William Eakin

Wrik Mead

Zephyr

in/future ARTISTS​      –      Curated and presented by Art Spin with Creative Partners listed per artist

Acapulco Collective, presented by CAFKA

Adam David Brown

Alex Beriault

Alex McLeod

Andrew Hunter

Amanda Acorn, presented by Dancemakers

Bear Witness, presented by Pleasure Dome and TSV

Ben Watt-Meyer

Caroline Doherty

Carsten Nicolai, sponsored by the Goethe Institut

Christine Duncan & The Element Choir

Clive Holden

Coman Poon

Daniel Griffin Hunt

Daniel Rotsztain

Dave Dyment

David Clark

Ed Pien

Emma Healey

Erin Poole & Walter Scott

Faye Mullen

Gareth Lichty

Gearshifting Performance Works

Greg Staats, presented by the TOM

Gwen MacGregor & Lourdes

Heather Nicol

Jamie McMillan, Maikol Pinto, Kevin Chaves, Jeffrey Royiwsky,

& Mario Arnone

Jennie Suddick & Cole Swanson

Joe Hambleton

John Dickson

Konrad Kästner

Kristiina Lahde

Labspace Studio

Lauren Schaffer

Lauren Schaffer & Nick Hooper

MUSICAL PROGRAMMING

Alan Davis of Small World Music

Kobo Town, in association with Lula Music and Arts Organiko

Fresh Snow, presented in association with Batuki Music
Fantahun Shekwanachew, presented in association with Batuki Music

Wally Badarou, presented in association with Batuki Music
Bruno Capinan, presented in association with Uma Nota
Luisa Maita, presented in 
association with Uma Nota

Maracatu Mar Aberto, presented in association with Uma Nota

Eucalyptus
Amai Kuda y Josephine

The Human Rights and Ammoye

Haphazard Hinges

Shanbehzadeh Ensemble

Souljazz Orchestra

Dhol Foundation

Autorickshaw Trio
Fojeba & the Sunshine Band

Jay Danley Ethiojazz Project
The Minotaurs
M.A.K.U. Soundsystem Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra

medicinemane

DJ General Eclectic

diaspora Dub, presented by B Current

Musical performances​    –     Programmed by Small World Music with Creative Partners listed per artist

Abakos

Alysha Brilla

Vox Sambou

Kiyoshi Nagata

Mariachi Flor

Asiko Afrobeat Ensemble

Moskitto Bar

KLoX

DOOMSQUAD

Baba ZuLa

Turkwaz

Sina Bathaie

Briga
Kinnie Starr

Nano Stern

Los Poetas

los eStéreo-Tipos

Nhapitapi
Bruce Peninsula

Isla Craig, presented in association with Wavelength
Dirty Inputs, presented in association with Wavelength
Datu & Hataw, presented in association with Wavelength

7Sould, presented in association with Lula Music and Arts Organiko

Vtape - program 1: space Ages and  PROGRAM II: BODIES OF WATER

Guest curated by Sam Cotter & Fraser McCallum for Cinesphere

With works by:

Susan Britton

Nina Levitt

Gillian Dykeman

Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen

Saskia Holmkvist

Richard Fung

Shani Mootoo

Keesic Douglas

Vera Frenkel

Expanded cinema: expo 67 Reconstructions and other finds

Guest curated by Janine Marchessault for Cinesphere

With works by:

Jenn E. Norton

Vincent Vaitiekunas

Francis Thompson and Alexander Hammid

Nick and Ann Chaparos

Graeme Ferguson

Robert Cordier

Steve Palmer

George Dunning

Vid Ingelevics

John Oswald

Phil Hoffman and Eva Kolcze

David Clark

Colin Low and Roman Kroitor

Slipstreams

A video program guest curated by Shani Parsons of Critical Distance Centre for Curators for Cinesphere

With works by:

Morehshin Allahyari

Maria Flawia Litwin

Manual Saiz

Marianna Milhorat

Terence Nance

FUTURE CITIES LECTURES

Panel discussion presented by Waterfront Toronto in Cinesphere

Speakers:

William Fleissig

Eb Zeidler

Margie Zeidler