April Hickox
Vantage Point-Passing
Exhibition
Public
Over the last three decades of her life, April Hickox (b. 1955, d. 2025) documented the groyne—a slab of concrete extending perpendicular to the shoreline of Lake Ontario.
199 Richmond Street West
199 Richmond Street West
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April Hickox
Vantage Point-Passing Series (n.d.)
May to August 2026
Onsite Gallery Exterior Street-Level Mural - 199 Richmond St W.
April Hickox’s long-term photographic series Vantage Point–Passing, reflects her continued exploration of the relationship between humans and the land. A long-time resident, community member and activist for the Toronto Islands, Hickox photographed and filmed a single groyne for almost two decades, returning to the same vantage point to observe shifting water, sky, climate, and season, and to note how people, animals, and boats moved through this sustained frame. Her unwavering, repetitive practice became an act of deep looking and a meditative focus on life’s one constant: change. These images invite viewers to pause, observe, and consider their own connection to the land and to experience the quiet reverence that animated Hickox’s lifelong, prolific practice.
About the Artist
April Hickox (1955–2025) was a Canadian lens-based artist, educator, and independent curator whose practice spanned photography, film, video, and installation. A founding director of Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography and a founding member of Tenth Muse Studio and Artscape Toronto, she played a vital role in shaping Canada’s contemporary photography community. Hickox exhibited widely across Canada, and her work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Born in Oakville, Ontario, Hickox grew up on the Toronto Islands, where she lived and worked throughout her life. She studied photography and graphic design in London, England, and earned an AOCA from OCAD University, where she taught for over 30 years and chaired the Photography program from 1998 to 2007. Her work explored memory, landscape, and environmental stewardship, with a recent public installation, Field, at Donlands subway station.
About the Curators
Ursula Handleigh is a Tkaronto Scarborough-born artist, curator, and educator of Filipino mixed-ancestry working within expanded photography, moving image and alternative processes of image making. Handleigh is currently an Assistant Professor at OCAD University.
https://www.ursulahandleigh.com
Meera Margaret Singh is a visual artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto. She has exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions throughout Canada and internationally. She is an Associate Professor and Chair of Photography, Printmaking & Publications at OCAD University.
https://www.meeramargaretsingh.com
Onsite Gallery is generously supported by The Delaney Family.
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