Victoria Day long weekend may be over, but we can still enjoy two more weeks of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Throughout your commute across Toronto over the last few weeks, you may have noticed unusual sights such as the gallery of photos replacing ads along the platform of St. Patrick Station and new visuals lining the walls of your favourite cafes. In accordance with this year’s theme “Field of Vision,” CONTACT 2013 employs installations and open exhibits across the entire city as an invitation to extend our personal field of vision beyond the mundane. Here are some key events of the last two weeks of the festival:
Lecture by Michelle Valberg: “Arctic Kaleidoscope The People, Wildlife and Ever-Changing Landscape”
“Arctic Kaleidoscope” is the result of 16 trips to the Arctic by Valberg and showcases the beauty of the North. May 22, 6:00pm at St. Paul’s Bloor Street.
Screening of Gabriele Basilico
Directed by Giampiero d’Angeli, Gabriele Basilico is a portrait of the famed Italian photographer who had a special relationship with architecture and urban landscapes. May 22, 6:30pm at Instituto Italiano di Cultura.
“A Definition of Awe: Dialogues About Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis“
“A quest for the world as it was…” Renowned Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado spent eight years in 32 locations to produce 245 awe-inspiring photos of unseen places for Genesis. The open exhibit is available until September 2 at The Royal Ontario Museum, but don’t miss the curated conversations and after-hour tours on Genesis, also at the ROM on May 28, 6:30pm.
Lecture by Kristian Bogner: “Passion and Excellence in Photography”
Bogner shares his passion and breathtaking images intersecting athleticism, nature and travels. May 29, 6:00pm at St. Paul’s Bloor Street.
Book Launch: World’s Greatest
Pete Doherty (not to be confused with the British musician) is a photographer and ex-boxer. His new book will feature works focusing on the prevailing theme of his photojournalism: “emotions, training, and politics that make up both amateur and professional fighting.” May 30, 5:00pm at Stephen Bulger Gallery. (Exhibit will remain open from May 30 to June 15.)
Patent Pending
Described as “a closely woven collaboration of space, art, composition, and interaction”, Patent Pending is an innovative performance that will engage all senses, not just sight. May 31, 8:00pm/9:30pm/11:00pm at 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media & Education.
While only a handful of events remain, most of the public installations and open exhibits will be available until the beginning of June. Some are even strategically placed together for enhanced viewing and experience. At the courtyard of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Tree, For, Too, One lines the east wall, consisting of an odd assortment of random objects grouped carefully together create a provoking photomontage about the temporality of space. It’s a striking prelude to the Collected Shadows exhibition, which acts as an extension of the previous theme, emphasizing time and history in the narrative. This collective journey ends with Michael Snow’s The Viewing of Six New Works, a graphic composition of light projections that asks viewers to not only perceive but to think about the very act of perceiving, be it through the easy flick of a glance or the thoughtful capture of a long gaze. CONTACT 2013 satisfyingly proves that the field of vision is much more than just the physical landscape.