NYA Colours

Six feet apart, but more together than ever!

North York got a pop of colour in August 2020 when local artist Jieun June Kim (@junekima.rt) transformed Mel Lastman Square’s amphitheatre with her vibrant artwork. Jieun used spray chalk with custom stencils to mark safe seating areas and bring beautiful rainbow colours to the square.

We hope you had a chance to see the #NYAColours  social distancing artwork.Check out this video for a fun behind-the-scenes glimpse of the project. ⁣

Thanks to our partners at Art of Festivals and Cinematoscape for helping to make this posssible!
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Who is Lady York, Anyway?

By: Alessandra Pozzuoli

Who is Lady York, Anyway? is a multi-media exhibition that uses Lady York Foods (an 60 year old Italian grocery store in North York) as a focal point to discuss larger daily rituals surrounding family, the individual, consumerism, food, and home in Italian culture. Alessandra uses the grocery store to analyze the long history of Italian immigration to Toronto, and namely, how different generations come to understand each other.

Patria Potestas

by: Michelle Peraza

Patria Potestas a series of portrait paintings of the men in Michelle’s father’s family from Costa Rica. The work reflects family lineage, hierarchy, succession, authoritative heads of family, and Latino male identity and ethos. Through painting the complexities and subtleties of skin of her family, Michelle hopes the viewer can see the uniqueness of the Latino as interestingly varied in appearances because of history; a consideration often ignored.

Constructing Liminal Space

by: KIN Collective

In Constructing Liminal Space, KIN portrays the personal dilemma of being an immigrant and the impact of relocation on individual identity. Jieun and Marina’s immigration experiences have forced them to straddle the boundary between their homes in Korea and Russia (respectively), and their new home in Canada. Their work reflects the duality of the “in-between” space where their identities collide such as realities and dreams, and past and present life.

An opening reception for Constructing will be held at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on April 25, and is FREE to the public with RSVP, in the link below.

KIN Collective will also be hosting a FREE family-friendly collaborative art installation, “The Place of Belonging,” on May 4.

Ace and In Your Face

by: Mika Babineau

Mika’s series Ace and In Your Face focuses on different aspects of asexuality such as coming out, belonging in the LGBTQ+ community, visibility, representation, snide comments, love, as well as self doubt and acceptance. Each of these topics is explored through self portraits. Mika’s goal is to inform the public about asexuality as well as to give a voice to those who go unheard and let them know that they are not alone.

RSVP to opening reception July 4 6-9pm: 

Shahnameh (The Epics of Iranian Kings), a Dialogue with Persian Youth

By: Banafsheh Erfanian

The exhibition is based on Shahnameh, “The Book of Kings,” an epic poem written by Persian poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 CE. The poem tells the mythical and historical past of the Persian Empire – from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia. Banafsheh illustrated this book to showcase Persian art and culture while speaking to diverse and contemporary audiences. She hopes to give Persian youth a better understanding of their history through art.

RSVP to opening reception July 4 6-9pm: 

A Quiet Mind II

by: Emma Lau

A Quiet Mind II showcases Lau’s paintings from the past few years, all of which embody the artist’s meditation experience. In 2010, Lau received tutelage from Buddhist meditation masters who taught her how to meditate at a deep level. All subsequent artwork she has created explores translating her meditation practice into fine art. Art-making occurs immediately following meditation practice, and there are marked shifts in decision-making that occur after the act of meditation.

Metamorphic Reflections

by: Tasneem Dairywala

Metamorphic Reflections is a series of portrait paintings inspired by stories of Toronto residents from diverse demographics. Each painting is started through a question that encourages the subject to self-reflect on how they define and value themselves. The life-sized portraits are painted on mirrors and aim to capture the subjects’ presence and aura. Tasneem uses mirrors to encourage viewers to see similarities between themselves and the painted individuals.