ABOUT
This was the first tour of the 2017 season with over 300 audience members, over 20 artists and performers and the premiere of 3 amazing new works commissioned and curated by Art Spin specifically for unique sites along the tour. Read about these projects in detail below.
The tour was led by our emcee Shamez Amlani, and trumpeting musician Michael Louis Johnson. Also joining us for the ride was DJ General Eclectic and his Boom Bike. Thanks to all of our volunteers who made this event possible, including our bike repairman Geoffrey Bercarich, our front of house ticketing team and our dedicated Bike Marshalls many of whom come to us through the support of the Community Bicycle Network and Bike Pirates.
Our after party at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 344 let everyone enjoy one of the best patios in the city. We featured an amazing live performance by New Chance, and DJ G-Spot, both presented by our musical partners CDR, and of course our resident DJ on his Boom Bike, DJ General Eclectic. Delicious food was provided by Travelling Chicken.
ARTISTS
Jenn Goodwin with Sarah Doucet and performers Anita Nittoly & Elke Schroeder; Thom Sokoloski with Stacey Yerofeyeva, Stephania Woloshyn, Ewelina Ferenc and other performers; Driftnote, Francesca Chudnoff and Aria Evans; Daniel Rotsztain; New Chance; DJ G-Spot; DJ General Eclectic
PARTNERS
Myseum of Toronto, CDR, Boom Bike, Community Bicycle Network, Bike Pirates
COMMISSIONED PROJECTS
"Somewhere between human and animal, land, sky and dance floor, we find ourselves here. We listen for when to move, be still, fight, work, try, try harder, surrender and stand. A snapshot of effort, discovery, fall and recovery. Under a shared big sky, caught in a moment, in a space in between."
- Jenn Goodwin
This new performance responded to the Sunnyside Bike Park, using all of the interesting features of the site to create a unique stage for the dancers and challenge for the new choreography.
Choreography by Jenn Goodwin, in collaboration with Sarah Doucet and
performers Anita Nittoly & Elke Schroeder. Costumes & rehearsal direction by Sarah Doucet. Music by Boris and Holy Fuck. Special thanks to Neville.
"During the First World War, a growing sentiment by Canadians against
“enemy aliens" spread across the country, including Ukrainians. The British government urged Canada not to act indiscriminately against subject nationalities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, Ottawa took a hard line and "enemy aliens" were treated as social pariahs. Under the 1914 War Measures Act, over 70,000 Ukrainians suspected to be under Austro-Hungary were compelled to register with authorities. Those considered to be more dangerous were interned by the Canadian Government in 24 concentration camps across the country to be part of a forced labour force, including close to 6,000 ethnic Ukrainians inclusive of men, women and children. With this brief work I wanted to consider my family’s background and look at the spirit of the many Ukrainians who endured this time in a country they helped to grow. Creating INCANTATION for this site provided a perfect setting to call-up an ephemeral intervention of a feeling or memory, one of many which as Canadians we often ignore in its duplication and effect on other peoples from the beginning of our nation’s history."
- Thom Sokoloski
This new, site-specific musical and theatrical performance took place under the Queensway underpass on the shore of the Humber River, a haunting performance with the sound of traffic overhead blending beautifully with the traditional Ukranian vocals.
Credits: Thom Sokoloski - conception & production, Stacey Yerofeyeva - leader, vocals and accordion, Stephania Woloshyn - vocals and accordion, Ewelina Ferenc - vocals and percussion
Thank you to all of the volunteers who participated as the Human Fence Chorus, to Lamont Abramczyk as Production Coordinator, and special thanks to Anna Harasym.
This project was a unique commission, responding to the rising waters of Lake Ontario that submerged the break wall in the Humber Bay. Art Spin commissioned these artists, collaborating for the first time, to create a performance for video that took inspiration from the submerged wall and was then projected in the nearby historic Sunnyside Pavilion.
"Weaved into the river banks is a shared history. Letting query seep into the sand I always ask: what place is this? some couldn’t name it, couldn’t
remember it. There were those who walked and tended to the shore.
Ancestors of today's Huron-Wendat Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River, and Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation established communities along the Humber path. The Humber watershed was dramatically altered by colonial practices, with deforestation changing its water levels, pollution destroying its fishery, and landfill changing its river banks - including the river's mouth. It took another 205 years for the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation to reach a settlement."
- Driftnote
"For the last decade, Google cars mounted with panoramic cameras have
been plying the streets of the world, automatically taking hundreds of
thousands of 360 degree photographs that are stitched together and uploaded to its Street View database.
Analog Street View is a collaboratively produced, analogue version inspired by Google’s documentation of the world’s streets. But instead of Google’s indiscriminate and automatic cameras, Analog Street View is generated by Art Spin participants, who are invited to record the passing landscape with markers and pencil crayons on a giant roll of rotating paper, mounted on a bike cart and following the Art Spin tours throughout the city."
- Daniel Rotsztain
Daniel Rotsztain's project carried over during all three of the Art Spin bicycle tours in 2017, each documenting a new route and different part of the city. All three final, illustrated rolls of paper were displayed in panorama at the Desire Lines exhibition.
PHOTOS
Photos by Priam Thomas.
Our audience gathering in High Park
Our volunteer team at the ticket booth
Our volunteer team at the ticket booth
Volunteer Geoff Bercarich providing free bike tune-ups and safety checks
Trumpeting emcee Michael Louis Johnson starting things off
Emcee Shamez Amlani with some remarks before the tour
Co-Curator Layne Hinton showing off the new Merch and Info bike trailer
The Merch and Info Bike Trailer
Daniel Rotsztain's 'Analog Street View', a part of our summer-long Roving Residency
People participating in Daniel Rotsztain's Analog Street View
People participating in Daniel Rotsztain's Analog Street View
Co-Curators Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta
Setting off en route to our first tour stop
En route to our first tour stop
A floral-decorated bicycle joining us for the tour
The audience gathering for Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
Still life with sand, wood, grass, weather and movement by Jenn Goodwin
DJ General Eclectic on his Boom Bike
Michael Louis Johnson directing traffic with his trumpet
Michael Louis Johnson leading the group
Walking into the Gardiner Expressway Underpass for our second project
PARTNERS
