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July 26th 2012

It was touch and go with the weather, but boy were we lucky to have a great group of eager participants on this Art Spin tour!

This month we collaborated with the kind folks at Dufferin Grove Park and took on a new meeting point there. Our friends from Bike Pirates provided free tune-ups to those bikes that needed a little love, and we were joined once again by Lindsay Zier-Vogel and her love-lettering project with a different bicycle theme just for Art Spinners. Participants wrote letters with what they love about biking in the city and then distributed them anonymously in strangers’ bike spokes as the night went on.

Cara Spooner performs in Dufferin Grove Park

Our first stop on the tour took place in the hockey rink of Dufferin Grove and was a movement-based performance Invitations/Into/Traces by Cara Spooner that explored the relationships between audience and performer.We then made our way to Mercer Union, an artist-run centre that has been key in Toronto since 1979, where we saw Red Sky at Night a group exhibition in which many works investigate atmospheric effects and environmental elements.

From there we headed down to MacGregor Park to see some sculpture by Derrick Piens. Derrick’s colourful amorphous plaster works were a lively and playful addition to the park setting, and participants enjoyed a Q&A with the artist afterwards.

Our fourth stop was an exciting one - leading Art Spin participants into a deserted field behind a warehouse at Dufferin and Alma Ave, we entered a magical abandoned space lit by candlelight where our emcee Michael Louis Johnson & the Red Rhythm entertained the audience while Haley Shannon hung above them on her aerial silks.

The fifth stop of the tour was another gallery visit to Goodfellas Gallery to see both the show Guillotine Dreams by emerging artist Tyler Armstrong and 36 Chambers Studios the shared artist studio spaces in the building. Tyler’s paintings were raw and vibrant, and participants enjoyed a glimpse into the spaces where a mix of visual artists, musicians and photographers all produce their work.

 

Following that the group headed to 99 Sudbury St. for our final stop and after party. This stop featured De Fabrica a new body of latex-based works by Art Spin’s own Rui Pimenta. Rui’s sculptural and wall-based pieces investigate the inner workings of the human body in a highly visceral manner. The crowd was serenaded by the music of Chrome and the Ice Queen and kept fed by the delicious goods of Per Se Mobile food truck.

We would like to thank all of the participating artists, galleries and studios mentioned above, as well as our trumpeting emcee Michael Louis Johnson, leading the front of the tour, and John Carnes keeping the rest in beat with his mobile bike sound system. Big thanks go out to all of our cycling volunteers who help keep the ride safe and guard bikes for all our participants. More thanks as well to our kind sponsors for this tour; The Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and Cyclemotive.

PHOTOS

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