2014 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival May 1–31, 2014 in Toronto

2014 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

May 1–31, 2014

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Festival Launch: May 2, 7:00 pm
Always FREE Admission at Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art
952 Queen St W, Toronto
Phone: 416 395 0067
www.mocca.ca

Contact Photography Festival is a month-long celebration of contemporary photography.
The Festival has shown over 1000 local, national and international photographers at more than 200 venues.
“As the largest photography event in the world, Scotiabank CONTACT stimulates excitement and discussion among an audience of over 1.5 million.”
Some exhibitions/events/activities have FREE admission.
- A few events start earlier (April) or ends later (September) than the festival’s official dates.

Stan Douglas
Scotiabank Photography Award Winner

Artist Talk Kodak Lecture Series: Stan Douglas
Exhibition Preview and Public Lecture
April 30, 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm (lecture begins @ 7:30 pm)
Ryerson University – LIB-72
350 Victoria Street, Toronto

Scotiabank Photography Award Exhibition
May 1 – June 1, 2014
Guest Curated by Robert Bean
Ryerson Image Centre, Main Gallery
33 Gould St, Toronto
Hours: Tue–Fri, 11–6pm
Wed, 11–8pm
Sat–Sun, 12–5pm

Phone: 416 979 5164
www.ryerson.ca/ric
ric@ryerson.ca

The winner of the prestigious Scotiabank Photography Award for 2013 is Stan Douglas who will showcase his work at an exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre.

Scotiabank Photography Award (SPA) is the largest annual peer-reviewed award in Canadian contemporary photography.
- The award recognizes the work of an exceptional Canadian photo-based artist and aims to launch them to the next level of their career.
- The jury is chaired by internationally renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky.
“Douglas has created films, photographs, and installations that reexamine particular locations or past events.
- His works often take their points of departure in local settings, from which broader issues can be identified.
- He works with popular media: photography, film, storytelling, public spectacle, and soon, mobile apps.
  - With his artwork, Stan invents, influences and redefines the cultural understanding and reception of art.”

Festival Launch: May 2, 7:00 pm
Always FREE Admission at Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

You are invited to celebrate the Festival at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA).

Celebrate the launch of CONTACT 2014 with opening receptions for:
- Material Self: Performance of the Other Within,
- In Character: Self-Portrait of the Artist as Another, and
- the public installation Hereros, by Jim Naughten, which will also be on view in the MOCCA courtyard.
“Kick off the festival in style: rub elbows with participating artists.
Enjoy tunes by DJ Brendan Canning, Grolsch beer and fine wine by Stratus Vineyards.
See you there!”

CONTACT’s Exhibitions

Primary Exhibitions at major venues in Toronto showcase the work of Canadian and international artists, both emerging and established, as well as images from throughout the history of photography.

Within museums and galleries, 13 major exhibitions address issues of identity through images from around the world.

Public Installations of photography are presented in high profile public sites across the city that are accessible to a wide and diverse audience from all walks of life.

In urban settings throughout Toronto and across Canada, site-specific projects highlight the relationship between identity and photography.

Reflecting a wide range of approaches to photography, Featured Exhibitions of works by artists from around the world at established galleries and cultural centres are selected through a call for submissions.

34 selected exhibitions present a wide range of works by Canadian and international artists.

The foundation of CONTACT was based on an open call to participate, enabling emerging artists to show their work concurrent with exhibitions of works by leading professionals. Today the Open Exhibitions continue to encourage community involvement across the city at galleries, community centres, educational and international institutions, restaurants, cafes, retail stores, and many alternative locations.

In response to an open call, more than 350 artists & photographers exhibit their work at 144 venues throughout the community.

Events & Education

CONTACT organizes and co-presents numerous educational activities and events such as lectures, symposiums, film screenings, portfolio reviews and workshops. Catering to all levels of interest in photography, these initiatives stimulate discourse within the community and encourage participation.

Collecting and Curating Photographs Between Private and Public Collections
Ryerson Image Centre Symposium: May 1 – 3; FREE Admission
Organized by Dr. Thierry Gervais
Eaton Lecture Theatre (RCC-204)
Rogers Communications Centre, Ryerson University
80 Gould St, Toronto
www.ryerson.ca/ric/
- Collectors, curators and scholars will gather to discuss how the photograph has become a collectible item and subject of academic study since the nineteenth century.
- Participants include: Quentin Bajac (Museum of Modern Art, NYC); Howard Greenberg (Howard Greenberg Gallery, NYC); and Ann and Harry Malcolmson (collectors, Toronto); as well as 17 other renowned photography experts from around the world.
- This symposium includes the following highlights:
  - Focusing on the dialogue established between private collectors and museum curators.
    - Gabriel Cromer, Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, Georges Sirot, or more recently Pierre Apraxine for the Gilman Paper Co. — to name a few — have assembled large photographic collections that were sold, or partially donated, respectively to the George Eastman House (Rochester, NY), Harry Ransom Center (Austin, TX), the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, NY).
  - Examining the process of recognition and institutionalisation of the photographic medium.
  - Highlighting thematic similarities and shared concerns via four panels:
    1. “Building Public Photographic Collections”
    2. “Collecting Photographs”
    3. “Photographic Collections in Perspective”
    4. “Passeurs of Photographs.”
- Please click here for more info.
- Seating is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
Also, there are Events presenting “a forum for education, discussion and debate with artists, curators, and professtionals in the field of photography” April 25 – June 17, 2014.
Workshops: A series of pre-registered educational workshops and seminars.

The CONTACT Portfolio Reviews brings internationally renowned curators, art dealers, directors, publishers and photo editors together for two days to review the work of emerging and mid-career artists and photographers.