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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

Vass Bednar

Lisa Tziona Switkin

Karen Carter

Susan Blight

Katerina Cizek

MUTEK AUDIOVISUAL PROGRAM

Guest presented by MUTEK Montreal

Performers:

Herman Kolgen

Maotik + Metametric

Martin Messier

Nicolas Bernier

ORIGINAL IMAX FILMS

Titles from the Ontario Place archive from the 70s and 80s

North of Superior -  directed by Graeme Ferguson

Man Belongs to Earth  - directed by Graeme Ferguson

Labyrinth (IV) - directed by Roman Kroitor + Colin Low + Hugh O'Connor

Journey of Discovery  - directed by John Sebert

Silent Sky - directed by David Mackay + Laszlo George

OPD Newspaper

Onsite newspaper created by OCADU Publication Department 

led by Shannon Gerard

Artists: Ashlee Cunningham, Bethuné Grey, Francis Tomkins, Jacqueline Remo, Laura Rojas, Lucas Cantoni Jose, Michelle Luong, Reece McCrone, Tetyana Herych, Victoria Van Runt, Yasmin Emery, Zi Wang

LECTURES for the end of the world

Speaker series by Onsite Gallery at OCADU

Speakers:

Wanda Nanibush

Jordan Veira

Gabriel Allahdua

Rouzbeh Akhbari

in/store

Art, craft & design curated by Casey Hinton and Leah Cooke.

Artists: Ben Bouwman & Kira Lodder, Linda Columbus, Robin Classon

Janet Hinkle, Arounna Khounnoraj (Bookhou), Kristen Lim Tung, Corey Moranis, Daniel Rotsztain, Marta Ryezko, Keiley Stewart, Xenia Taler

Kira Varvanina, Meta4 Gallery (with artists Audrey Morgan, Heather Snit and more), Sagan Editions (with artists Danielle Suppa, Alicia Nauta, Layne Hinton, Heather Goodchild, Mani Mazinani, and Art Metropole with various artists books and multiples.

PHOTO + VIDEO

PHOTOS + VIDEOs

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in/future VIDEO

Recap videos, art documentation, and recorded lectures

Los Poetas ft. Doctor Nativo | Pueblo Viejo | in/future - Small World Music 2016
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Los Poetas ft. Doctor Nativo | Pueblo Viejo | in/future - Small World Music 2016

in/future: a transformative art experience presented by Art Spin in partnership with Small World Music was held at the iconic Ontario Place, West Island, September 15 - 25, 2016. infuture.ca #infutureTO Artist: Los Poetas ft. Doctor Nativo Track: Pueblo Viejo Website: http://www.wearelospoetas.com/ Hailing from Toronto and Vancouver, with roots in Chile, El Salvador and Argentina, Louwop, Ché Uno and Vago are Los Poetas. Fluidly incorporating English, Spanish and “Spanglish,” the trio bridges the gaps between the Americas and beyond, addressing the struggles and injustices that persist in their homelands as well as the duty to preserve their Latin roots through beats and rhymes. Conveying the Latino experience as raised in hip hop culture, Los Poetas, immensely skilled in the trade of that Ol' Boom Bap, are true masters of this presently misconceived and ambiguous art form. Thank you to our partners and supporters: PRESENTED BY: Art Spin / Small World Music GOLD PARTNER: Air France SILVER PARTNERS: Staropramen / Exodus Travels BRONZE PARTNER: Waterfront Toronto FESTIVAL PARTNERS: Trip To The Moon / Storia PR / MOV Media Productions DESIGN PARTNER: Monnet Design DIGITAL PARTNER: Tennis MEDIA PARTNERS: Canadian Art / CBC Arts / CBC Toronto / NOW Magazine / Indie88 / C Magazine / CIUT SUPPORTED BY: Toronto Arts Council / Ontario Arts Council / Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund / Ontario Trillium Fund / Ontario Media Development Corporation / Canadian Council for the Arts

SMALL WORLD MUSIC

Live sets performed at in/future on the Small World Music Stage

SITE MAP
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SITE

MAP

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This festival was inspired by and conceived for Ontario Place. As a site-specific multidisciplinary project, everything started with the space. See the map below to see project locations across the West Island, and curatorial statements for projects curated in specific locations.

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ATOM BLASTER PAVILION

 

This pavilion was originally part of the West Village and Ontario Places’ original plan designed by Eb Zeidler. It was most recently referred to as the Atom Blaster – a popular interactive play space for kids. 

 

The group exhibition curated by Art Spin contained within responds to various ideas inspired by Ontario Place itself. Themes of childhood and play that these spaces once invited, critiques of monumentality, the erasure of time, the promise of utopian futures yet to be delivered, a questioning of the ambition at the root of expos and world fairs and the highly symbolic role of islands in our culture, these are some of the concepts that bring this eclectic, multidisciplinary collection of works together.

 

Works included: David Clark - Sixes and Sevens,  Clive Holden - INTERNET MOUNTAINS 28, Marcia Huyer - Psssttthhffff (the sound of air leaving a balloon), Luke Painter - Crystal Palace Warehouse

ARCADE PAVILION

 

This pavilion was originally part of the West Village and Ontario Places’ original plan designed by Eb Zeidler. It was most recently referred to as the Arcade, popular for its once large collection of video games, pinball machines and other games. 

 

The group exhibition curated by Art Spin contained within responds to various ideas inspired by Ontario Place itself. Themes of childhood and play that these spaces once invited, critiques of monumentality, the erasure of time, the promise of utopian futures yet to be delivered, a questioning of the ambition at the root of expos and world fairs and the highly symbolic role of islands in our culture, these are some of the concepts that bring this eclectic, multidisciplinary collection of works together.

Works included: Caroline Doherty - As above, so below, William Eakin - From the series 24Hours, Nicholas Hooper and Lauren Schaffer - Shohola Nights, daniel griffin hunt - Keystoning (A Foundation Laid), Kristiina Lahde - A Sequence of Lines and Links, Hazel Meyer - Dingdong Wall (...s to the Ball), Noel Middleton - Untitled, Sam Noseworthy presented by Ed Video - Island of Misfit Toys

ATOM BLASTER PERFORMANCE SPACE

 

The performance space in the Atom Blaster Pavilion is a flexible area that takes advantage of the interesting catwalks and vantage points from above to create an arena for contemporary dance and performance art.

Performances Included: Amanda Acorn presented by Dancemakers - Leisure Palace, Gearshifting Performance Works - Hybrid Human, Erin Poole and Walter Kaheróton Scott - take my scepter/take my blade

THE SILOS

 

Originally built in 1980 as the ‘Ontario North Now Pavilion’ the silos were a sight and sound experience capturing the excitement and beauty of Northern Ontario at the time. Each silo depicted a different aspect of life in Northern Ontario including industry, sports and recreation, natural resources, indigenous culture and wildlife. Following this, the silos were converted into the interactive and playful ‘Mega Maze’, and more recently took form as the ‘Wild World of Weather’, a series of elemental-themed educational displays where each silo housed a different form of weather, from fog, to ice, snow, and tornado.

 

These nine silos with their unique architectural features and spectacular acoustic properties serve as a counterpoint to the more high-energy aspects of the festival by offering dark, still, immersive environments that aim to elicit a sense of reflection and inward contemplation. 

 

The silos are an ideal environment in which to take up Ontario Place’s legacy of  cultural collaboration. While each of the silos, evocative of grain storage units, is a single self-contained structure, they are also interconnected by pathways, tunnels, and bridges— designed for visitors to move through in sequence and serve as their own agents of cross-pollination between the multidisciplinary range of programming curated by Art Spin.

 

In order of appearance:

 

Max Dean - Still  - Co-Presented by Art Spin and Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Oliver Husain - Isla Santa Maria - Presented by Images Festival, Peggy Baker Dance Projects (Sept. 15 - 18) - The Perfect Word,  New Adventures in Sound Art (Sept. 19-25) - Silo Solos, Heather Nicol - Tornado Pod, Lyla Rye - Overshadow, Simone Jones & Laura Millard - Recursive Traces, Markus Heckmann - transduktor, Ed Pien - Revel, Greg Staats - transformer - Presented by the TOM Thomson Art Gallery, Gareth Lichty -Warp (Ontario Place).

PRESS
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PRESS

CBC Arts

"in/future lets you explore an abandoned amusement park, and here are some tips for doing it right"
September 21st, 2016
by Leah Collins

Blog TO

"This is What Ontario Place Looks Like Now"
September 15th, 2016
by Phil Villneuve
Magenta Magazine
"Exhibition Reviews: in/future"
October, 2016
by Marissa Neave
Canadian Art Magazine
"When a Contemporary Ruin Becomes an Art Festival"
September 15th, 2016
by Bryne McLaughlin
Toronto Life
"A sneak peek at the giant immersive art installation that has taken over Ontario Place"
September 15th, 2016
by Samantha Edwards
CITY NEWS
"Ontario Place to host arts and world music festival this September"
May 31st, 2016
by Canadian Press

TEAM

TEAM 

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in/future team

Co-Artistic Directors

Layne Hinton

Rui Pimenta

Small World Music

Alan Davis - Programming Director

Kayla McGee - General Manager

Jeff Van Harmelen - Production Manager

Reza Moghaddas - Technical Coordinator

Adam Moffatt - Social Marketing

Strategic Advisor

Angie Camara

Marketing

Matt Ryan - Director

Aimee Ross

Karen Nussbaum

Arianne Tong

Dawn Laing

Stephanie Niro

Jen Polyzotis

Samantha Eng

Andrew Williamson

Amara Nwogu

Rodrigo Castro

Partnerships

Jen Foster - Director

Production

Kelly Schnurr - PM

Scott Malloch

Project Managers

Casey Hinton - in/fo Centre & Shop

Leah Cooke - in/fo Centre & Shop

Marko Djurdic - Cinesphere

Ilene Sova - Education

Technical

John Santos

Writers

Alison Cooley

Justin Carreiro

Box Office Manager

Sedina Fiati

Interns

Vivienne Song

Megan Toye

Jordyn Stewart

Graphic Design, Branding & Illustration

Monnet Design

Website Design

for infuture.ca

Tennis.

F&B

Everything But The Band

THANK YOU

This project was truly a labour of love, often Art Spin describes it as a sort of barn raising, only possible through a community coming together to support one another to build something ambitious. Art Spin is incredibly grateful to all of the staff, artists, and partners listed above and below, who worked onsite in a hands on capacity, installing projects themselves and building a festival from the ground up. We would especially like to acknowledge the labour of our many many volunteers who believed. in the vision of the project and worked tirelessly to make it happen. We are also so thankful to the team at the Ontario Place Corporation who collaborated with us and so generously shared their space and resources to make this pilot project come to life, thanks especially those who we worked with closely on the project - Valerie Holliday, Eriks Eglite, Cheme Yaklha, and Mike Hazelton.

PARTNERS

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CREATIVE PARTNERS

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