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ABOUT

ABOUT:

THE HOPE FOUNDRY, was a one-night light and video installation at the enigmatic and beautiful glass paned building at the the northeast corner of the Dupont & Dovercourt intersection, presented by Art Spin in partnership with adelheid.

 

This project, a creative collaboration between Heidi Strauss, Jeremy Mimnagh, Rebecca Picherack, and Joshua Van Tassel working with Art Spin curators Layne Hinton & Rui Pimenta, was projected from within the majestic glass walled interior of this industrial gem – one that has long captured the attention and curiosity of so many –and viewed by the public from street level.

 

THE HOPE FOUNDRY came about as an improvised experiment, inspired by the mutual encouragement of its various creative collaborators in response to the unique circumstances resulting from COVID-19 and the challenges to social gathering for artistic presentations.

 

Precipitated by Art Spin having secured access to this highly recognizable yet enigmatic building that we’ve dubbed ‘The Foundry’, in keeping with its manufacturing history, we were excited to offer a safe opportunity to take in this radiant activation through the use of light and sound to create an ephemeral yet memorable experience.

 

The work was conceived in response to the question of how we fill space at a time when physical proximity is so loaded with risk. It was also inspired by the profound recognition of the meaning and sense of purpose that we as artists, curators and producers experience when we present artwork to the public, along with the recognition of how tenuous and precious these roles are when faced with the existential threat to art and culture which this pandemic represents.

Date:

Wednesday August 19th, 2020

8:30pm - 12am

 

Location:

950 Dupont St.

The NE corner of Dupont St. and Dovercourt Rd.

Artwork viewed from the sidewalk

 

Artists:

Heidi Strauss, concept

Jeremy Mimnagh, projection

Rebecca Picherack, lighting 

Joshua Van Tassel, composition

Charissa Wilcox, technical support

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

InterAccess, Solotech, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Simon Rossiter

Artist’s note from Heidi Strauss:

I have lived around the corner from 950 Dupont for 13 years.  It’s a building I have gone by many times, and thought about many times in passing.  Had we been in a different time, this installation would have included dance, and moving human bodies.  Instead, you will see the inside of 950 awash in a gentle dance of moving light, image, and sound, all softly breathing through the immense glass building.  The enormous structure, empty of bodies, brought to life because of them.  This honours the liminal space that exists for many people in this time of continued uncertainty and change, with hope that together, we can imagine many new kinds of spaces and ways forward.

- Heidi Strauss

PHOTOS

PHOTOS

video

VIDEO

The Hope Foundry was included in Toronto's ArtworxTO Symposim during the panel talk 'Canada's UNESCO Creative Cities : Moving Forward'. This project was discussed as an example of a unique media project for Toronto's UNESCO designation of Media Arts.

See The Hope Foundry section here, or follow this link to watch the panel in its entirety.

PARTNERS

PARTNERS

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