The City of Toronto’s free outdoor public art celebration, BigArtTO, continues to offer residents with opportunities to safely explore their communities, while still respecting public health guidelines. And OCAD University is excited to participate as a proud partner.
This week, BigArtTO visits the neighbourhoods of Scarborough-Agincourt and Willowdale.
Twenty-one of the BigArtTO productions are the result of a close collaboration between the City of Toronto, OCAD University, and AVA Animation & Visual Arts Inc. Three of the BigArtTO productions are being delivered at waterfront locations and will be activated by program partner, The Bentway. These meaningful partnerships will provide opportunities for emerging Toronto-based artists and students.
October 28-31: daily from 7 to 10 p.m.
Ward 22: Scarborough-Agincourt
(Stephen Leacock Community Centre, 2500 Birchmount Rd, M1T 2M5)
Artist: Vladimir Kanic (OCAD U Student, Integrated Media)
Title: Only Lovers Leave to Die
A film about a girl whose brain smells like cookies, her imaginary dog, and a world made of painted film stock.
Shortly after being injured in an accident, the main character Emily begins perceiving the world as if it were made from painted film stock. On her way to a hospital, a story of love, death, passion and loss unravels through the dialogues of the characters surrounding her, each represented with a different pattern of film stock. Love, death and tears included - of course.
Vladimir Kanic is a versatile multidisciplinary artist, whose diverse practice spans visual art and computer science. While constructing interactive interfaces that control immersive installations, his work is often created in situ, where audiences are immersed in digital experiences. His experimental animation Only Lovers Leave to Die has been screened at Oscar qualifying festivals, won multiple international awards, and was selected as one of the top ten films in contemporary Canadian animation in 2020.
Downloadable trailer of Only Lovers Leave to Die available at: https://vimeo.com/113120397
Instagram: @vladdkanic
Ward 18: Willowdale
(Clock Tower at Princess Park, 214 Doris Ave., M2N 6T5)
Artist: Amanda Arcuri
Title: Iterations: A Shot in the Dark (2020)
These cinematic iterations, from the ongoing series A Shot in the Dark, explore our relationship with failed hopes and rituals. Lit by stained glass windows, dead floral arrangements are set ablaze in a dimly lit room. As the flame dances, it chars whatever it touches, urging us to contemplate the cycle of life and death. Presented on a continuous loop, the flame dies only to be reborn over and over again. Amanda Arcuri is a Toronto-based artist who uses photographic tropes and unconventional lighting techniques to contemplate our personal relationship with the natural world around us.
Instagram: @amanda_arcuri
The BigArtTO initiative runs to December 5, 2020. A complete event schedule is available on the City of Toronto website.
