A transformative
art experience
Ontario Place
West Island
September 15-25, 2016
Presented by Art Spin
in partnership with
Small World Music
An immersive celebration of multidisciplinary contemporary art and world music
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
The site map for the West Island of Ontario Place in/future, designed by Monnet Design.
Photo by Andrew Williamson
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.
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