The Grange Prize at the Art Gallery of Ontario

The Grange Prize recognizes the best in Canadian and international contemporary photography. It was launched in 2008 and organizers work with an international partner every year to select a shortlist of four photographers -- two from Canada and two from the partner country. The artists live in the partner country and create new works, an incredible opportunity for both the artist and the country seen with a fresh sensibility. This year the partner country is India, and the artists are Gauri Gill, Elaine Stocki, Althea Thauberger and Nadini Valli.

Their images are on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and here a short video of some of their work:

You can visit the Grange Prize site for more information on voting and the individual artists. The exhibition runs until November 27, 2011.

Inspired by Bill Cunningham: Halloween in Toronto

While riding home on my bicycle yesterday, I shot a short video of various Halloween decorations en route. The idea was simple: I would shoot eye-catching decorations using my iPhone. I could stop, of course, but not dismount my bike.

This idea is inspired by the New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. I first saw the documentary Bill Cunningham New York in April. (Here's my review.) The film continues to resonate with me for many reasons. There's Cunningham's Schwinn bicyle, his old film camera, his blue smocks, his absolute love of fashion, his principles and his compassion.

Not unlike Cunningham who rode his bicycle around Manhattan to get him from location to location, I've had the idea to capture various city scenes with my phone while riding my own bicycle around Toronto. The project starts with this video essay on the Halloween decorations found around various homes in Toronto. The footage was taken in Parkdale, The Annex and Chaplin Estates.

Art Is Everywhere: The Red Dot Exhibit

On the night of Nuit Blanche several artists got together to present Art is Everywhere: The Red Dot Exhibit in Parkdale, Toronto. Artists including the folks at the jewelry design shop Made You Look were given the challenge of creating larger than life necklaces by using red dots. Here's a video of the project:

Nuit Blanche 2011: Everybody Deserves Love, Even You By Lynne Heller

I met artist Lynne Heller over a decade ago. Her exhibition Nine Sisters and 115 Unused Quilts was on view at the Rebecca Gallery in Toronto, and I produced a short documentary about her.

I re-introduced myself to Heller at Nuit Blanche on Saturday. She was showing her work Everybody Deserves Love, Even You, an installation that uses light, sound, rotating gobos and coloured gels. In it, the text from spam emails is projected onto stuffed white garbage bags. The installation speaks to the alluring power of spam email to interrupt our time spent online. You can read about Heller's work in her artist's statement.

Here's a video of artist Lynne Heller's Everybody Deserves Love, Even You:

Nuit Blanche 2011: Chromatic Hi-Five! By Amanda Browder

Amanda Browder's Chromatic Hi-Five! is part of Leitmotif, Nuit Blanche 2011. In her art project, she transforms into a standard cube van by covering it with a fabric sculpture. Here's my shot video:

Nuit Blanche 2011: Toronto International Adhesive Arts Expo

The Batishop Gallery in Parkdale is opening its doors for Nuit Blanche with the 2011 Toronto International Adhesive Arts Expo. Here's my short video:

Nuit Blanche 2011: Funhouse at the Drake Hotel

Here's a short video of the Drake Hotel's Funhouse installation for Nuit Blanche 2011 in Toronto: