UPCOMING EVENT
CALL FOR APPLICANTS : Gallery Administration Assistant
6 June 2023 11pmProgram Stream: Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations Term: 10-week position, 40 hours / week Location: Hybrid work model, Toronto, ON Hourly Wage: $19.50 per hour worked, less applicable withholdings and statutory deductions Mercer Union, a centre for contemporary art, is seeking a Gallery Administration Assistant for a 10- week contract beginning 27 June 2023. […]
PAST EVENT
a dream, a mountain, a ruin with Gelare Khoshgozaran
22 April 2023 7pm - 9pmCurated by Nasrin Himada Innis Town Hall Theatre 2 Sussex Avenue University of Toronto Gelare Khoshgozaran’s work sets up a deep engagement with moving images that address the geopolitical urgencies afflicting our contemporary context. Viewers are invited to a close study of Khoshgozaran’s films that inform the poetry and dreams of diasporic longings, embedded in […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: Tassili
21 March 2023 12amLydia Ourahmane gives a virtual tour of her ongoing solo exhibition, Tassili. Speaking to the process of making her commissioned film, the artist reflects on 13 days and nights spent in the desert with her collaborators, and considers the urgency of documenting the ancient riverbed. Cinematography, Editing & Production by Vuk Dragojevic. […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Samia Henni
23 March 2023 3pmContaminating the Sahara On 13 February 1960, the French colonial authorities detonated their first atomic atmospheric bomb in Reggane in the colonized Algerian Sahara, six years after the outbreak of the Algerian Revolution, or the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962). Codenamed “Gerboise Bleue” (Blue Jerboa), the explosive had a blast capacity of 70 kilotons, about […]
PAST EVENT
Winter 2023 ARTbus: Exhibition Tour
28 January 2023 12pm - 5pmPick-up and drop-off at Mercer Union. $10 minimum donation includes transportation to all galleries and afternoon refreshments. In partnership with Oakville Galleries and the Art Gallery of Burlington, Mercer Union invites you to join us for the Winter ARTbus tour of 4 exhibitions. Beginning with Lydia Ourahmane’s exhibition Tassili at Mercer Union, the ARTbus will […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Lydia Ourahmane
24 January 2023 6pmEvent begins at 6:30PM EST Main Hall 1 Spadina Crescent John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design University of Toronto Lydia Ourahmane leads an artist talk around her new film and the subject of her first exhibition in Canada, Tassili (2022). Documenting a two-week journey on foot with a group of artists to […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Vanessa Parent
17 November 2022 6pmRSVP to Join us at the Gallery Conjuring Resonance: Scrying Feminist Pasts “I can’t break with my resignation and subordination (…) if I don’t find in other women as well my desire to get out, to attack, to destroy…”—Anonymous Anarcho-Feminist, Italy, 1979 Art historian Vanessa Parent elaborates on the metaphor of the scryer in […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Sebastian De Line with Qanita Lilla
10 November 2022 6pmListening to the Vault On the surface, the museum vault is a storage unit and a place of sanitized preservation. But it embodies an unseen reality. It is where Indigenous and African Ancestors (remains and cultural belongings) live. It is a home, not of light, warmth, and intimacy above ground but a bunker—an underground address […]
PAST EVENT
Before Law: Launch Party with Performance by Oliver Husain
10 December 2022 7pmMercer Union is thrilled to host the launch of Before Law, an ambitious web-based project by artists Sharlene Bamboat and Alexis Kyle Mitchell (Bamboat | Mitchell) featuring the work of more than a dozen contemporary artists, writers, poets, and thinkers. For one night only, we’ll be transforming Mercer Union in celebration of the bugs and […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: Scryer in the Archive
15 October 2022 12amAimée Zito Lema gives a virtual tour of her solo exhibition, Scryer in the Archive. Taking as a starting point her family’s experience of living in Argentina during the political turmoil of the 70s, the artist shares her process of working with the material memory of paper, and reflects on how the photographic image traces […]
PAST EVENT
The African Desperate with Martine Syms
9 November 2022 6pmEvent begins at 6:30PM EST The Canadian premiere of Martine Syms’ film, The African Desperate (2022) is accompanied by a virtual Q&A with the director, moderated by programmer Nataleah Hunter-Young. Newly minted MFA Palace Bryant — effectively played by artist Diamond Stingily — has survived the white chaos of art school in Upstate New York […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Harold Offeh
18 October 2022 6pmLed by artist Harold Offeh, this workshop playfully explores the potential of the camera, the smartphone, and the selfie stick to mediate our experience of the body through the expressions our actions and gestures transmit in the recorded image. Connections between the body, photography, and archival reproduction present in Aimée Zito Lema’s exhibition are extended […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Giulia Damiani
7 October 2022 1pmLe Nemesiache in 1970s and 1980s Naples: a gallery tour, group reading, and conversation between Giulia Damiani and Helena Reckitt “WE DENOUNCE the violence which deprived ourselves of our bodies, of our expressions and of our extensions. CREATIVITY IS POLITICAL, it is life, routine, erotics, in harmony with nature and the cosmos.” — Le Nemesiache, […]
PAST EVENT
SUMMER CLOSURE
27 August 2022 12am - 5 September 2022 11pmThe gallery is closed to the public while we install our fall exhibition, Aimée Zito Lema’s commissioned project, Scryer in the Archive; we will resume regular gallery hours on 17 September. Mercer Union’s office will be closed for summer holidays from 27 August to 5 September. During our closure, you can reach us via email […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: Evidence
9 August 2022 10amGuest curator Amy Zion gives a virtual tour of Evidence, a group exhibition featuring the work of artists Brian Belott, Petrit Halilaj, Ulrike Müller, Oscar Murillo, and Alanis Obomsawin. Speaking to each project in the exhibition, Zion reflects on the artists’ foregrounding of art by children in their practices, and the profound insights that children’s art can offer […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Afternoons
18 August 2022 5pm - 7pmSave the date! Our community social, Artist Afternoons, returns this August. We invite artists, friends, peers and neighbours to join us on the patio, and take in our summer exhibitions with good company. Gather around Shellie Zhang’s SPACE commission, A day passes like a year: Ode to Summer, and catch the final days of our summer […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: 45th Parallel
26 April 2022 12amLawrence Abu Hamdan gives a virtual tour of his solo exhibition, 45th Parallel. Speaking to his interest in the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, the artist gives us a glimpse into the stories told in his commissioned film, and reflects on what they tell us about permeable borders and impermeable laws. 2021-22 […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Suneil Sanzgiri
30 April 2022 12pmREGISTER TO ATTEND Artist and filmmaker Suneil Sanzgiri invites audiences to collectively unpack and collaboratively explore questions around borders, nationalism, identity, and state-based violence. Prompted by a passage from Harsha Walia’s book Border & Rule and one of Sanzgiri’s own short films, this wide-ranging and informal conversation will look at how the moving image might […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Lawrence Abu Hamdan with Tina Sherwell
5 May 2022 11amLawrence Abu Hamdan joins art historian Tina Sherwell for a conversation engaging the film and exhibition 45th Parallel (2022) to discuss the challenge and opportunity of creating work across borders. Download the PDF transcript here — Lawrence Abu Hamdan (born in 1985, Amman, Jordan) is a “Private Ear.” His interest in sound and […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Sebastian De Line, Michelle Jacques, Yaniya Lee, and Jocelyn Piirainen
9 February 2022 2pmfORUM: Nasrin Himada invites Sebastian De Line, Michelle Jacques, Yaniya Lee, and Jocelyn Piirainen to speak in conversation. This program is the final event in a series organized by Himada that extend on the themes of Onyeka Igwe’s exhibition, THE REAL STORY IS WHAT’S IN THAT ROOM. In this final program of let it matter […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Onyeka Igwe, Gelare Khoshgozaran, and Aliya Pabani
19 January 2022 2pmfORUM: Nasrin Himada invites Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Onyeka Igwe, Gelare Khoshgozaran, and Aliya Pabani to speak in conversation. to go to the site of the wreck is borrowed from Basel Abbas’ and Ruanne Abou-Rahme’s description of their project, And yet my mask is powerful (2016), which references a poem by Adrienne Rich entitled “Diving Into the […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Nadia Kurd, Anique Jordan, and Paul Seesequasis
13 January 2022 7pmfORUM: Nasrin Himada invites Nadia Kurd, Anique Jordan, and Paul Seesequasis to speak in conversation. Inspired by Anique Jordan’s art practice and curatorial vision, moved by Paul Seesequasis’s Indigenous Photo Archival Project, and excited by Nadia Kurd’s curatorial ethos on how to be with collections and archives, this program is guided by the question of […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: THE REAL STORY IS WHAT’S IN THAT ROOM
16 December 2021 12amOnyeka Igwe gives a virtual tour of her solo exhibition, THE REAL STORY IS WHAT’S IN THAT ROOM. Speaking to her research into the power and politics of colonial film archives, and the architectural spaces that house them, Igwe gives us a glimpse into her commissioned film, a so-called archive (2020). 2021–22 […]
PAST EVENT
Onyeka Igwe In Conversation with Nasrin Himada and Milka Njoroge
15 October 2021 12pmEvent starts at 12:30PM EST Onyeka Igwe speaks in conversation with Nasrin Himada and Milka Njoroge. This event contextualizes key themes running through Igwe’s work and the artist’s forthcoming solo exhibition at Mercer Union: THE REAL STORY IS WHAT’S IN THAT ROOM, which includes the new film a so-called archive (2020). In a double portrait […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Afternoons
15 September 2021 6pm - 6 October 2021 7pmPlease join us for Artist Afternoons at Mercer Union on September 15, 22, 29, and October 6 from 6 – 7 PM. Through the end of our current exhibition, we invite artists and our community to come and meet one another at Mercer Union’s patio after hours on Wednesdays. Hang out and reconnect with friends […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Amy Lam
15 June 2021 7pmThe Four Onions launch and reading “These poems started with food. I was writing down what I talked about most, and I talked a lot about the things I eat and don’t eat. For example, beef jerky vs. eggs. I realize now that food was the beginning because 1) my parents ran a café/diner during […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Sarah Rifky with Courtney Lesoon, Radek Przedpełski, and Laura U. Marks
25 May 2021 1pmREGISTER TO ATTEND Imagine what the General’s wife would say! Careful Studies and Rogue Constructions of the Kėdainiai Minaret Storytelling and history spring from the same origin, yet their alliance is sometimes troubled. In the exhibition A Minaret for the General’s Wife, by Turkish-Canadian artist Erdem Taşdelen at Mercer Union, the Kėdainiai minaret is a […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: ma ma invite Claire Bishop
12 April 2021 6pmma ma | in residence invite art historian Claire Bishop to discuss her writings A Speculative Review of #NewMoMA and MoMA Tour 2064, and reflect on speculation as a way of imagining ethical institutional practices. Her talk will be followed by a discussion with the audience moderated by ma ma. Admission to this online event […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: ma ma invite Chaédria LaBouvier
17 May 2021 6pmma ma | in residence invite curator, art historian, writer and organizer Chaédria LaBouvier to contribute a triptych work: a short, written introduction, clips of an unfinished film project, and a talk. All works will focus on interrogating what’s been called an art-world reckoning, and the cost and site of this foundation. Admission to this […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: ma ma
28 June 2021 6pmAs part of their program ma ma | in residence, Heather Rigg and Magdalyn Asimakis lead a workshop on speculative writing. This program will encourage participants to imagine the future of arts institutions through new forms of writing and critique. This will be a collective exercise for writers at all levels. Admission to this online […]
PAST EVENT
“What Viruses Know About Politics?” | Filipa Ramos
26 January 2021 5pm - 7pmREGISTER TO ATTEND In 2014, social theorist Brian Massumi authored What Animals Teach Us About Politics?, “an extended thought experiment in what an animal politics can be”. Seven years later, humanity’s belonging to the natural realm has never been so asserted, as human-induced climate change renders the entanglement of causes and consequences even more visible and […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION/relay: Alize Zorlutuna
14 February 2021 12pmHow to write for an imagined place The word “place” can refer to a myriad of locales, both physical and psychic. Place is real earth beneath our feet as well as imagined: a relic of memory in the privacy of our thoughts; an historic construction; a fantasy of elsewhere; a felt sense; a longing. Place is a gathering of stories, mythologies, and hauntings. It can be […]
PAST EVENT
Video Walkthrough: A Minaret for the General’s Wife
12 January 2021 12amErdem Taşdelen gives a virtual tour of his ongoing solo exhibition, A Minaret for the General’s Wife, speaking to the histories, myths and speculations that drew him to the Kėdainiai Minaret and how exhibition-making within the pandemic environment pushed the artist to creatively rethink ideas of presence without live bodies. While A Minaret for the […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION/relay: Cassandra Myers
17 January 2021 12pmImpossible Time There are very limited words to discuss time in the English language. Time according to queer disability scholars runs differently depending on your positionality of privilege, and thus movement through the world. To question our relationship with time is to question our relationship with colonial understandings of a person’s milestones, their life path, their […]
PAST EVENT
isthmus Live | Arriving Elsewhere
15 November 2020 1pmParastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushahpour, and Ryan Ferko will conclude their isthmus collaborative research commission with a live online presentation on Sunday 15 November. This event gives space to an ongoing 11-person collaboration under the name Arriving Elsewhere, exploring the possibilities of shared experience while contending with the digital spaces that simulate proximity. For the month […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: NADI | COUSIN | Ogimaa Mikana Project
12 September 2020 3pmREGISTER TO ATTEND Native Art Department International invites members of COUSIN and Ogimaa Mikana Project to discuss horizontality as a strategic and behavioural order in collective practice and community development. Utilizing both the gallery and Zoom as spaces that can be activated by bodies and voices, this event is simultaneously a panel and a performance. […]
PAST EVENT
Opening Reception Postponed
13 March 2020 11am - 11pmWe have been closely monitoring the evolving situation regarding COVID-19, with the health and well-being of our artists, staff, community and collaborators in mind. Following the guidelines of Canada Public Health officials, including a recommendation to avoid large gatherings, we have decided to postpone our opening reception for Native Art Department International: Bureau of Aesthetics. According to […]
PAST EVENT
CANCELLED | Aggregate: Filipa Ramos
17 March 2020 6pm - 8pm— Following the guidelines of Canada Public Health officials, including a recommendation to avoid all non-essential international travel, this event has been cancelled. — Making Plans for Nigel Nigel was a male Australasian gannet who spent his last years living in the New Zealand island of Mana, where he befriended a concrete decoy of a […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Miles Rufelds
21 February 2020 6pm - 7pmPlease join us on Friday 21 February for a one-hour mix by Miles Rufelds and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience our current exhibition, Laure Prouvost & Jonas Staal: Obscure Union, before it closes on 22 February. Not yet a member? To have access to this and future cocktail mixers, become a […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Desire x Politics
26 January 2020 12pm - 3pmIn Desire x Politics: Solve for x, where x is the variable prised open between the bodies of politics and the bodies of desire. Over the past eight months, a nine-person* working group led by Yaniya Lee and Fan Wu has been navigating the problematics of desire x politics, reading and writing to unravel this […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Jonas Staal
3 December 2019 6pmMain Hall 1 Spadina Crescent John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design University of Toronto Propaganda Art in the 21st Century | Lecture and Canadian Book Launch Fake news, alternative facts and the post-truth era: these terms are presented to us as part of a rise of elected authoritarian and alt-right regimes the world over. […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Sameer Farooq
6 October 2019 12pm - 3pm1st Meeting for Nondualistic Thinking Artist Sameer Farooq invites participants to turn inward to evoke the personal atlas of images, objects and texts held by our internal reservoirs. Drawing from somatic body inquiry and contemplative practice, a series of exercises will centre the meeting around the question: What does my body want to make? More a silent town […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Michèle Pearson Clarke
2 October 2019 6pmWe regret to inform our Members that In Studio with Michèle Pearson Clarke has been postponed. Rescheduled event information will be shared via our website and social media in due time. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank all those who expressed interest in the event. Join Mercer Union for a studio visit with Michèle Pearson Clarke. […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Bambitchell in conversation with Richy Carey
17 September 2019 7pmBambitchell join composer Richy Carey (Glasgow) for a conversation engaging their most recent collaboration in Bugs and Beasts Before the Law (2019) to discuss questions of subjectivity and multiplicity, the site of the gallery and that of the cinema, and the complex process of collectively addressing pertinent histories and geographies through sound and moving image practices. […]
PAST EVENT
40 Forward: Stellar Living 2019
14 November 2019 6pmAUCTION NIGHT | Doors at 6PM | Auction at 7PM LOCATION | Mercer Union | 1286 Bloor St. West Tickets $100 | join the waitlist at https://stellarliving.eventbrite.ca/ Mercer Union’s signature fundraising auction returns in celebration of our 40th Anniversary. Proceeds from the event contribute essential funds to support exhibitions and programs at Mercer Union, and help maintain our […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Nadia Belerique
9 August 2019 6pm - 20 July 2019 7pmPlease join us on Friday 9 August for a one-hour mix by Nadia Belerique and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience our current exhibition, Jennifer Rose Sciarrino: from root to lip, before it closes on 10 August, and an opportunity to order our 2018-2019 Member Edition by Lorna […]
PAST EVENT
CANCELLED – SESSION: Natasha Myers
25 July 2019 7pmDue to unforeseen circumstances, our upcoming Session with Natasha Myers is cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank all those who expressed interest in the event. Jennifer Rose Sciarrino: from root to lip continues until 10 August 2019. We hope to see you at the gallery soon. For more information about exhibitions and upcoming […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: EMILIA-AMALIA invite Erica Stocking
5 May 2019 12pm - 3pmSESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. EMILIA-AMALIA | in residence invites artist Erica Stocking to host a participatory reading of her play The Artist’s Studio is Her Bedroom (2019)—a choreographed statement on autobiographical art making. The work presents a singular female […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: EMILIA-AMALIA invite Moyra Davey
25 April 2019 7pmSESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. EMILIA-AMALIA | in residence invites artist and writer Moyra Davey to offer a reading from her new monograph accompanied by a screening of notable excerpts from her film work. Moyra Davey is an artist based in […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: EMILIA-AMALIA invite Samara Livingchimes
28 April 2019 12pm - 3pmSESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. EMILIA-AMALIA | in residence invites Therapeutic Sound Practitioner Samara Livingchimes to lead a meditative sound bath for a small group of participants in the spirit of Pauline Oliveros’ principle of deep listening. Samara […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: EMILIA-AMALIA invite Amy Wong
23 May 2019 7pmSESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. EMILIA-AMALIA | in residence invites artist Amy Wong to lead a performative lecture focusing on mother-work as interwoven with social, communal and activist work. Wong explores a range of inspirations and traditions: the popularity […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Rajni Perera
22 March 2019 6pm - 7pmPlease join us on Friday 22 March for a one-hour mix by Rajni Perera and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience our current exhibition Medicine for a Nightmare (they called, we responded) before it closes on 23 March, and an opportunity to order our 2018-2019 Member Edition by Lorna Mills. Not yet a member? To have […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Ricky Varghese
17 March 2019 12pm - 3pmSESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. Philosopher Rebecca Comay has suggested that “violence likes to occult itself – the apparatus of terror requires this obfuscation – and one of the most systematic mechanisms of ‘disappearance’ is that the traces of […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Michael Nijhawan
6 March 2019 7pmJoining with centuries-old customs of care and community building, Nep Sidhu’s Medicine for a Nightmare (they called, we responded) charts Sikh resilience through memorialization practices. Michael Nijhawan’s presentation will consider how cultural identities can be fostered and amended through artistic practice, proposing a connection between the work of artists, the writing of history and self-understanding. What […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Erdem Taşdelen
27 February 2019 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Erdem Taşdelen. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Erdem Taşdelen is […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Yaniya Lee
18 January 2019 6pm - 7pmPlease join us on Friday 18 January for a one-hour mix by Yaniya Lee and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience our current exhibition governance machines and the future of futures before it closes on 19 January, and an opportunity to order our 2018-2019 Member Edition by Lorna Mills. Not yet a […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Marc Couroux
16 January 2019 7pmFUTURE ANTERIOR: A PSYCHOTEMPORAL FUGUE (A XENFLIX ORIGINAL) Bahar Noorizadeh’s After Scarcity closes on an invitation: “The recent rise of TV culture proves that a planned and cultivated stretch of time can be adequately thrilling to stimulate a Utopian impulse.” Marc Couroux’s Future Anterior is a psychotemporal fugue in 17 episodes tracking the efforts of three temporal […]
PAST EVENT
Letter from the Future
25 November 2018 12pm - 3pmSomething is exposed that blows your mind ‘unknowing’ ‘science fiction’ a narrative is science fiction only the future are black holes about future the ‘it’ the shift science fiction has a shift not necessarily about a linear shift of canter. Imagination fight for power ‘bad other (alien)’ spatial + time other ‘time fiction’ not […]
PAST EVENT
40 years of Mercer Union.
Cultivating artists and challenging audiences since 1979.
10 July 2019 12pmMercer Union is turning 40! We have exhibited over 1,300 artists since our inception and currently count more than 28,000 annual participants in our programming. We are a launch pad for artists with bright futures. Like everyone on the cusp of a big birthday, we’re wishing for the gift of time. And as we all […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: María Alejandrina Coates
2 December 2018 12pm - 3pmUnderstanding Systems with governance machines and the future of futures SESSION is a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. Presented in collaboration with SAVAC, curator María Alejandrina Coates will lead this third iteration of SESSION to flesh out the meanings […]
PAST EVENT
Aggregate: Sepake Angiama
20 November 2018 7pmMercer Union’s Aggregate program seeks to invite cultural producers to Toronto, who are researching and developing methodologies that speak to the value of working small-scale. Aggregate aims to foster dialogue with like-minded organizations, combining knowledge and resources to expand the potential of our work. Sepake Angiama is a curator and educator currently based in Europe. […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Faraz Anoushahpour, Parastoo Anoushahpour and Ryan Ferko
28 November 2018 6pm - 7pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Faraz Anoushahpour, Parastoo Anoushahpour and Ryan Ferko. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushahpour, and Ryan Ferko have worked in […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Alvin Luong
2 November 2018 6pm - 7pmMembers-Only One Hour Mixer AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 2 November for a one-hour mix by Alvin Luong and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience the exhibition The Fine Thread of Deviation before it closes, and an opportunity to renew your membership prior to […]
PAST EVENT
The Flesh of Memory
21 October 2018 3pm - 5pmWriting workshop with Merray Gerges In advance of Nep Sidhu’s solo exhibition at Mercer Union entitled Medicine for a Nightmare (They Called, We Responded), which will open in February 2019, this writing workshop will explore how experience anchors itself in the body. Led by Merray Gerges, participants will be guided through a series of writing exercises that […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION: Jean-Paul Kelly
14 October 2018 12pm - 3pmConsidering The Fine Thread of Deviation, artist Jean-Paul Kelly will lead a SESSION that regards the purposeful abstraction of historical material as a means to defamiliarize the primacy of retroactive sense: Using his own research and forthcoming projects related to the ethics of queer aesthetics in the work of American writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Evan Calder Williams
18 October 2018 7pmAbstract Floods Drawing on research linked to his current exhibition at Mercer Union, theorist and artist Evan Calder Williams moves across technological, political and artistic histories to sketch a theory of subsumption. As a philosophical category, subsumption suggests the gathering of particulars under the sign of a universal, while in Marxist theory, it became a crucial […]
PAST EVENT
Summer Holiday
12 August 2018 12pm - 13 September 2018 12amMercer Union galleries will be closed from 12 August to 13 September 2018. We look forward to seeing you in the fall for the opening of our exhibition with Anne Low and Evan Calder Williams on Friday 14 September 2018, 7pm. While the gallery will be closed, regular office hours will be maintained, Tuesday through Friday, 11am–6pm. Image: Atom Deguire, Mercer […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Yaniya Lee
10 August 2018 6pm - 7pmDue to ongoing maintenance activities following Tuesday’s inclement weather, ONE HOUR MIXER: Yaniya Lee is postponed. Rescheduled event information will be shared via our website and social media in due time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please join us on Friday 10 August for a one-hour mix by Yaniya Lee and a drink on the house with good company. This […]
PAST EVENT
Artist performance: Dana Michel
7 August 2018 8pmMercer Union is delighted to announce a performance by Dana Michel presented as part of group exhibition and event series RAGGA NYC. Please join us on Tuesday August 7. This event will follow the final session of Michèle Pearson Clarke’s What We Owe to Each Other, which opens at 6PM. Dana Michel’s performance will begin at 8:30PM. Admission is free and all are […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Tau Lewis in conversation with Katherine McKittrick
27 June 2018 7pmThe conversation between Tau Lewis and Katherine McKittrick will explore their relational archives – situated in black cultural production and black studies. McKittrick will explore and query Lewis’ work in relation to belonging, scavenging, retrieval; Lewis will explore and query McKittrick’s work in relation to black geographies, plantocratic enumerations, and black life. The discussion hopes […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Benjamin Ong
1 June 2018 6pm - 7pmMembers-Only One Hour Mixer AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 1 June for a one-hour mix by Benjamin Ong and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience the group exhibition Sophia Al Maria: Black Friday before it closes and an opportunity to order the last of our 2017-18 Member Edition by Oliver Husain. Not […]
PAST EVENT
SESSION
3 June 2018 12pm - 3pmSESSION: Rouzbeh Akhbari, Faraz Anoushahpour, Parastoo Anoushahpour and Ryan Ferko Mercer Union is delighted to launch Session, a project modelling itself after an incubator that invites cultural practitioners to engage with questions that emerge out of a given exhibition. Taking the form of workshops, conversations or teach-ins, Session is interested in developing a dialogue between […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Nasrin Himada
23 May 2018 7pm - 8pmfORUM: Nasrin Himada Nasrin Himada’s writing and curatorial series For Many Returns challenges traditional forms of art writing and reading. Instead of talking or writing about the art work as a way to analyse, explain, or interpret the object in question, this series focuses on the ways in which art can be a catalyst in constituting a radical, […]
PAST EVENT
Call for Board Members
13 July 2018 5pmMercer Union, a centre for contemporary art, enjoys a unique position at the forefront of contemporary art in Toronto and Canada – a vantage point cultivated over many years, bolstered by the efforts and foresight of countless members, volunteers, staff and supporters. We are distinctive in our commitment to supporting the production of new and experimental […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Sandra Brewster
23 March 2018 6pm - 7pmMembers-Only One Hour Mixer AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 23 March for a one-hour mix by artist Sandra Brewster and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience group exhibition Common Cause: before and beyond the global before it closes and an opportunity for […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Denise Ferreira da Silva
19 March 2018 6pm** Please note this event will start at 6:30, as well as taking place off-site at at the Mediatheque (Room 200), 1 Spadina Crescent, Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto. Mercer Union is delighted to announce that Denise Ferreira da Silva will give a lecture on Monday 19 March 2018 at 6:30PM. This lecture is presented in partnership […]
PAST EVENT
Artist performance: Jeneen Frei Njootli
20 March 2018 7pmSoundtools created by Jeneen Frei Njootli will be used in her performance to create a live soundscape in the gallery. This artist performance is presented in conjunction with Common Cause: before and beyond the global, guest curated by Denise Ryner. Admission to our public programming is free and all are welcome. Jeneen Frei Njootli is a […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Sandra Brewster
13 March 2018 7pmPlease join us for a public artist talk by Sandra Brewster in conversation with Richard Fung. This public artist talk is presented in conjunction with group exhibition Common Cause: before and beyond the global, guest curated by Denise Ryner. Admission is free and all are welcome. BIOGRAPHIES Sandra Brewster is a Canadian artist and holds a Masters of Visual […]
PAST EVENT
One hour mixer: Oliver Husain
2 February 2018 6pm - 7pmONE HOUR MIXER: Oliver Husain 2 February 2018 6pm – 7pm Members-Only One Hour Mixer AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 2 February for a one-hour mix by Oliver Husain and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience the group […]
PAST EVENT
Public Talk with Anne Low & Jacob Korczynski
2 December 2017 2pm - 3pmPlease join us for a public discussion of group exhibition s e p a r a t i o n p e n e t r a t e s with artist Anne Low and guest curator Jacob Korczynski. Admission is free, and all are welcome. Biographies Jacob Korczynski is an independent curator and the editor of […]
PAST EVENT
Public conversation with Deanna Bowen
1 November 2017 7pm - 9pmAdmission is free, and all are welcome Join us for a conversation between artist Deanna Bowen and art historian Gabrielle Moser responding to Bowen’s current exhibition, On Trial The Long Doorway. Combining historical research with strategies of reenactment, dramaturgy, and performance, this newly commissioned installation continues Bowen’s interest in activating overlooked and forgotten histories of […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Joshua Vettivelu
3 November 2017 6pm - 7pmMembers-Only One Hour Mixer AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 3 November for a one-hour mix by Joshua Vettivelu and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience Deanna Bowen’s exhibition before it closes and an opportunity for existing members to pick up our 2017-18 Member […]
PAST EVENT
Oliver Husain Member Edition Launch at Art Toronto
27 October 2017 12pm - 30 October 2017 8pmToronto-based filmmaker and artist Oliver Husain has designed our 2017-18 member edition entitled Mercèr Jungle. This glamorous silk twill scarf is available to new and existing members at Art Toronto, Booth B23, 27-30 October 2017. Visit our booth to purchase yours, and to view Mercer Union’s first in-house brand campaign, featuring Rusty. Existing members can collect their scarf at the […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Edition 2017 Duane Linklater
27 October 2017 12pm - 30 October 2017 8pmMercer Editions is an initiative of Mercer Union to commission work from Canadian and international artists to benefit its activities as an artist-run centre. Projects under this banner may take different forms that reflect the diversity of artistic practice presented in its galleries and programs. For its second edition, Mercer Union collaborated with Duane Linklater to […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Multiplier 2017
14 November 2017 6pm - 10pmMercer Union has asked 25 artists to each contribute works in limited editions of five, less than or equal to 20×30”. That means 125 chances for you to take home a unique work of contemporary art, while supporting Toronto’s leading artist-run centre. Purchase a ticket to be guaranteed a work at the event – ticket […]
PAST EVENT
Big on Bloor: Toronto Ink Company
22 July 2017 1pm - 23 July 2017 3pmMercer Union is pleased to present a billboard and City and Colour workshops with Jason Logan from Toronto Ink Company as part of Big on Bloor 2017. Celebrating 10 years, of local arts, culture and community, BIG on Bloor is a two-day summer event presented along a car-free stretch of Bloor Street West between Dufferin […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Shellie Zhang
11 August 2017 6pm - 7pmSummertime is for Members! AFTER HOURS music and cocktails Please join us on Friday 11 August for a one-hour mix by Shellie Zhang and a drink on the house with good company. This is your last chance to experience Katinka Bock’s exhibition before it closes. Refreshments will be served on the patio (weather permitting). Not yet a member? To have access to […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures: Anne-Lou Vicente & Raphaël Brunel
6 July 2017 7pm - 8pmCurator’s talk: Anne-Lou Vicente and Raphaël Brunel (What You See Is What You Hear) Thursday 6 July, 7 – 8PM Addmission is FREE and all are welcome From Marconia di Pisticci to Toronto (and back): a post-radio tale On the occasion of this talk, they will discuss Toronto’s connection to Marconia di Pisticci, a small […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures: Céline Poulin
21 June 2017 7pm - 8pmSteps/Mesures is a short-term residency program presented in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto. This program invites artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The next guest of the series will be Brétigny-based curator Céline Poulin. Curator’s Talk Céline Poulin Wednesday 21 […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Robert Hengeveld
31 May 2017 6pm - 11 May 2017 7pmFree for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. Hengeveld’s studio is walking distance from Mercer Union. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Robert Hengeveld […]
PAST EVENT
Musical Movements, Historical Deposits: Farzaneh Hemmasi and Leila Pourtavaf
16 May 2017 6pm - 8pmJoin us on Tuesday 16th May at 6.30pm for a conversation between Farzaneh Hemmasi and Leila Pourtavaf responding to our current exhibition Jumana Manna’s A Magical Substance Flows Into Me. Farzaneh Hemmasi is an Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto. Her research interests span popular music, celebrity, transnational media publics, and the politics […]
PAST EVENT
Stellar Living 2017
25 April 2017 6pmAUCTION NIGHT | Doors at 6PM | Auction at 7PM LOCATION | Scrap Metal Gallery | 11 Dublin Street, Unit E, Toronto TICKETS $80 BUY NOW Mercer Union is proud to present Stellar Living 2017, our signature fundraising auction. The proceeds from Stellar Living 2017 will contribute essential funds to exhibitions and programs at Mercer Union, and help us maintain […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Ray~Ray & Jessica Price-Eisner
3 February 2017 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Friday 3 February for a jewelry-focused one hour mix by Ray~Ray in collaboration with artist Jessica Price-Eisner. Members enjoy a drink on the house with good company and a chance to experience Astral Bodies after hours. Bold accessories encouraged! Not yet a member? To have access to this and future […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Mediated Monologues
12 January 2017 6pm - 8pm** Please note this event will start at 6:30, as well as taking place off-site at Lecture Hall 103, 230 College Street, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto Mercer Union is delighted to announce that Mason Leaver-Yap will give a lecture titled Mediated Monologues on Thursday 12 January […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Ancestral Inheritance, Queer Unbecoming
25 January 2017 7pm - 9pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Fan Wu will be the next guest in our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Wednesday 25 January at 7PM. Doors will open at 6:30. “I want us to have a conversation around a spectrum of self-conception that runs across two poles: becoming on one end, […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Duane Linklater | Video Documentation
25 October 2016 7pmDocumentation from Duane Linklater’s artist talk and conversation with Director of Exhibitions and Programs Georgina Jackson. The talk was held in conjunction with Linklater’s exhibition From Our Hands, presented at the gallery from September 9 to November 5, 2016. From Our Hands Duane Linklater with Ethel Linklater and Tobias Linklater September 9 – November 5, […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures: Patrick Bernier & Olive Martin
22 October 2016 2pm - 3pmSteps/Mesures is a short-term residency program presented in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto. This program invites artists and curators living in France to Toronto between Winter 2015 and Winter 2016 to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The next guests of the series will be artists Patrick Bernier and Olive Martin. Artists […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Edition 2016: Abbas Akhavan
16 October 2016 6pm - 31 December 2019 8pmMercer Editions is an initiative of Mercer Union to commission work from Canadian and international artists to benefit its activities as an artist-run centre. Projects under this banner may take different forms that reflect the diversity of artistic practice presented in its galleries and programs. For its inaugural edition, Mercer Union collaborated with Abbas Akhavan […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures: Éric Mangion
25 October 2016 7pmCurator and Critic’s Talk Éric Mangion |Art and Society Steps/Mesures is a short-term residency program presented in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto. This program invites artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto between Winter 2015 and Winter 2016 to forge conversation between cultural […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: AMY WONG
4 November 2016 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Friday 4 November for a one hour mix by Toronto artist Amy Wong. Members enjoy a drink on the house with good company and a chance to experience Duane Linklater’s exhibition after hours. Not yet a member? To have access to this and future cocktail mixers, become an Associate […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jenine Marsh
16 November 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Jenine Marsh. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 […]
PAST EVENT
Book Launch: The Curatorial Conundrum, What to Study? What to Research? What to Practice?
23 September 2016 6pmMercer Union is delighted to host a publication launch for The Curatorial Conundrum, What to Study? What to Research? What to Practice?, edited by Paul O’Neill, Mick Wilson and Lucy Steeds and published by The MIT Press, on Friday 23 September at 6:30PM with special guest Paul O’Neill. Overview Today curators are sometimes more famous than the artists whose work they curate, […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Paul O’Neill
22 September 2016 6pm** Please this event will start at 6:30, as well as taking place off-site at Lecture Hall 103, 230 College Street, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto Mercer Union is delighted to announce that Paul O’Neill will give a lecture on Thursday 22 September 2016 at 6:30PM. This is […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Nicolas Fleming
15 September 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Nicolas Fleming at 6:30PM Thursday 15 September. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Kent Monkman
5 October 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Kent Monkman. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 […]
PAST EVENT
Big On Bloor: Extended Opening Hours and Special Screening
23 July 2016 11amMercer Union, a centre for contemporary art, will have special opening hours as part of JOUEZ @ Big On Bloor Festival. The gallery will be open from 11am until 10pm on Saturday 23rd July and from 11am until 4pm on Sunday 24th July. Special Screening: Saturday 23rd July 2016, 9.30PM In partnership with Trinity Square Video […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures | Katinka Bock
28 June 2016 7pmSteps/Mesures is a short-term residency program presented in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto. This program invites artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto between Winter 2015 and Winter 2016 to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The fourth guest of the series will be […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures | Géraldine Gomez
16 June 2016 7pmSteps/Mesures is a short-term residency program presented in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto. This program invites artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto between Winter 2015 and Winter 2016 to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The third guest of the series will be Paris-based […]
PAST EVENT
Member Edition Launch: Jenine Marsh | TWO HOUR MIXER: Chris Curreri
28 June 2016 5pm - 7pmSummertime is for Members! Cinq-à-sept Member Edition Launch & Two Hour Mixer Please join us for the launch of our 2016-17 member edition by Toronto-based artist Jenine Marsh entitled: The feeling’s mutual. This edition is available in assorted colours – attend the launch to choose yours. Mailed editions will be selected randomly. Enjoy an after-hours […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Multiplier
11 May 2016 6pm - 9pmA Benefit for Mercer Union, a centre for contemporary art Doors open at 6 pm – Draw at 7 pm Mc’d by Robert Dayton Mercer Union has asked 25 artists to each contribute a work on paper produced in an edition of 5, less than or equal to 20″ x 30″. That means 125 chances […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Kotama Bouabane
17 May 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with Kotama Bouabane. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 […]
PAST EVENT
Film Screenings and Discussion with Pidgeon Pagonis and Arisleyda Dilone
24 May 2016 7pmJoin us for a screening of Pidgeon Pagonis’ The Son I Never Had: Growing up Intersex (2014), Arisleyda Dilone’s Mami y Yo y Mi Gallito (mom and me and My Little Rooster) (2015), Del LaGrace Volcano’s Gender Queer: Qu’est-ce c’est? (2005) and the documentary Intersexion (2012), written, directly and edited by Grant Lahood and produced by […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Are you the real deal? Meditations on legitimacy with Liz Peterson and Vanessa Dunn
28 April 2016 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Liz Peterson and Vanessa Dunn will be the next guests in our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Thursday 28 April at 7PM. Doors will open at 6:30. Peterson and Dunn will present a lecture-performance that examines the experience of performing as a body in space. When does […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures | Aymeric Vergnon-d’Alançon
20 April 2016 7pmMercer Union is delighted to partner with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto on a new platform entitled Steps/Mesures. This program will invite artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto between Winter 2015 and Summer 2016 to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Jérôme Havre
1 April 2016 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Friday 1 April for a one hour mix by Toronto artist Jérôme Havre. Members enjoy a drink on the house with good company and a chance to experience Isabel Nolan’s exhibition after hours. Not yet a member? To have access to this and future cocktail mixers, become an Associate Member […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jennifer Rose Sciarrino
22 March 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a private visit to Jennifer Rose Sciarrino’s studio. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Jennifer Rose […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Motion, Captured
31 March 2016 7pmMercer Union is delighted to partner with The Power Plant’s International Lecture Series and Images Festival to present a lecture by Sven Lütticken on Thursday 31 March at 7PM at the Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre. Taking in a range of practices from artistic and other contexts, Lütticken will analyze modern and contemporary forms of motion study, […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Sandy Plotnikoff
5 April 2016 6pmJoin Mercer Union for a private visit to Sandy Plotnikoff’s studio. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Sandy Plotnikoff is […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: TIMELINES (1286 Bloor Street West)
27 January 2016 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Maggie Groat will be the next guest in our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Wednesday 27 January at 7PM. Doors will open at 6:30. TIMELINES (1286 Bloor Street West) reflects on the shifting territory of Mercer Union’s current location and surrounding area, through the presentation of […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: TIMELINES (1286 Bloor Street West)
27 January 2016 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Maggie Groat will be the next guest in our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Wednesday 27 January at 7PM. Doors will open at 6:30. TIMELINES (1286 Bloor Street West) reflects on the shifting territory of Mercer Union’s current location and surrounding area, through the presentation of […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Bridget Moser
22 January 2016 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Friday 22 January for a one hour mix by Toronto artist Bridget Moser. Members enjoy a drink on the house with good company and a chance to experience Liz Magic Laser’s exhibition after hours. Not yet a member? To have access to this and future cocktail mixers, become an Associate Member starting at […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Laurie Kang
8 December 2015 6pmJoin Mercer Union for an private view of Laurie Kang’s studio and current practice. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Laurie Kang (b.1985) works in photography, sculpture and installation. Recent exhibition sites include Raster Gallery […]
PAST EVENT
Steps/Mesures | Caroline Hancock
3 December 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to partner with the Institut Français and the Consulate General of France in Toronto on a new platform entitled Steps/Mesures. This program will invite artists and curators living in France for a series of short-term residencies in Toronto between Winter 2015 and Summer 2016 to forge conversation between cultural ecologies. The […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins
24 November 2015 7pmJoin Mercer Union for a private visit to Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins’ studio and current projects. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. Meeting location will be announced to confirmed attendees closer to the date of the studio visit. RSVP to York Lethbridge […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Eileen Myles | A Reading and Conversation
8 November 2015 8pmMercer Union is delighted to partner with Toronto New School of Writing and BookThug to present a full length reading by poet and author Eileen Myles. Myles will be reading in celebration of the release of I Must Have Lived Twice: New and Selected Poems, and the rerelease of her novel Chelsea Girls. Poet Julie Joosten will join […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Katie Bethune-Leamen
29 October 2015 7pmJoin Mercer Union for an intimate view of Katie Bethune-Leamen’s studio and current practice. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $15. Refreshments will be served. RSVP to York Lethbridge by email or by calling 416.536.1519 Katie Bethune-Leamen works in sculpture, installation, and video, toward consideration of the […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Bojana Stancic
15 October 2015 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Thursday 15 October for a one hour mix by Toronto artist Bojana Stancic. Members enjoy a drink on the house with good company and a chance to experience Abbas Akhavan’s exhibition after hours. Not yet a member? To have access to this and future cocktail mixers, become an Associate Member starting at only […]
PAST EVENT
Mythology, Gender and Cyber-virtual Identity in Pop Music Performance
15 September 2015 8pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Lief Hall will be the eleventh guest of our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Tuesday 15 September at 8PM. Doors will open at 7:30. Please note this event will be held at Propeller Coffee Co, 50 Wade Avenue (just around the corner from Mercer, just […]
PAST EVENT
BIG on Bloor: Mantasha
23 August 2015 2pm - 4pmMercer Union presents Mantasha at BIG on Bloor 2015. Now in its 8th year, BIG on Bloor is a two-day, car-free summer street celebration of arts, culture and small business. The festival takes place in Bloordale (Dufferin to Lansdowne) and runs from Saturday 22 August 1 pm – 10 pm through Sunday 23 August noon […]
PAST EVENT
How Lesbians Invented the Internet
10 June 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Cait McKinney will be the tenth guest of our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Wednesday 10 June at 7PM. Doors will open at 6:30. Please note that this event will not be held at Mercer Union. Join us Wednesday evening at Scrap Metal, located a […]
PAST EVENT
Member Edition Launch | Jon Sasaki
29 May 2015 6pm - 7pmToronto-based interdisciplinary artist Jon Sasaki has designed our 2015-16 member card edition entitled 1:1 replica of a key to Mercer Union. Please join us for the edition launch, followed by the opening reception for Mercer Union’s summer exhibitions. Artist in attendance. All new and existing members are invited to enjoy a drink on the house […]
PAST EVENT
Stellar Living 2015
13 May 2015 6pm - 11pmJoin us for Stellar Living 2015, Mercer Union’s biannual fundraising auction. Canadian and international artists have generously contributed unique works of art to be sold in support of Mercer Union’s programming and exhibitions in 2015-2016. Works will be on view at Mercer Union starting Thursday 30 April leading up to the auction night Wednesday 13 […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Lisa Robertson | Cinema of the Present
1 May 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that our ninth fORUM of the season will be a performative reading by poet Lisa Robertson. Robertson and artist Hadley Howes will read the entire text of Cinema of the Present (Coach House Books, 2014), Robertson’s most recent publication. This reading is an experiment for two voices, in an uninterrupted two […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: David Poolman
24 April 2015 6pm - 7pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Please join us on Friday 24 April for a one hour mix by Toronto artist David Poolman and a drink on the house with good company. If you haven’t had a chance to see the current exhibitions by Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen and Krista Belle Stewart, be sure to stop by early for a last look. Not a […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Why Do We Do Things?
22 April 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that our eighth fORUM of the season will be a conversation between Aisha Sasha John and Jacob Wren. In both art and in life, why do we do the things we do? As Aisha wrote to Jacob: what might it mean to be wholesomely, hungrily ambitious – ambitious for […]
PAST EVENT
What Can Art Do for Post-Capitalism?
24 March 2015 7pm*Please note that the talk will start at 7:30PM Mercer Union is delighted to announce that Suhail Malik and Nick Srnicek will be the seventh guests of our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Tuesday March 24th at 7:30PM for their discussion on ‘What Can Art Do for Post-Capitalism?’ Left Accelerationism proposes that […]
PAST EVENT
CHALLENGE FOR CHANGE AND A NEW SOCIETY
14 March 2015 2pm - 5pmA discussion after Challenge for Change/Société nouvelle Between 1967 and 1980 the National Film Board of Canada spearheaded a social activist documentary initiative placing film skills into the hands of the people to tackle poverty, environmental, first nations and women’s issues. Government bureaucrats, documentary filmmakers, community activists and citizens defined a participatory model of filmmaking […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Giles Round
23 February 2015 7pmPlease join us for an artist talk by British artist Giles Round on Monday 23 February at 7pm in the gallery. Round’s work Untitled, 1943/1944 (SORRY!) is currently installed on the corner of St. Clarens and Bloor Street West. Giles Round looks to the language of modernism to explore the history of ideological positions that proposed […]
PAST EVENT
Death from Laughter, Female Hysteria, and Early Cinema
17 February 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Maggie Hennefeld will be the sixth guest of our fORUM critical conversation series. Please join us on Tuesday 17 February at 7PM for her lecture Death from Laughter, Female Hysteria, and Early Cinema, followed by a discussion period. Did early film audiences really find movies so funny that […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Miracle Fortress & Ken Park
5 February 2015 8pmKen Park | Performance at 9 pm Miracle Fortress | Peformance at 9:40 pm Admission $10 | Members $5 (available at the door) A limited amount of regular admission tickets are on sale at Soundscapes* *in person / cash-only, small service fee applies KEN PARK is a Toronto-based dance music producer. Favouring gear to software, Park makes dance music […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Iris Fraser-Gudrunas
30 January 2015 7pm - 8pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Happy New Year members! Join us on Friday 30 January for a last look at Tiziana La Melia‘s exhibition and Elisabeth Subrin‘s film, Shulie (1997). We’ve invited Toronto-based artist and filmaker Iris Fraser-Gudrunas to contribute a one-hour track made specifically for the occasion. Enjoy a drink on the house with good company. Not a member? To have access […]
PAST EVENT
Beyond Broadcast: Artists and the Future of Public Service TV
21 January 2015 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Maeve Connolly will be the fifth guest of our fORUM series. Since at least the 1960s, artists have been drawn toward broadcasting, sometimes seeking access to new technologies and broader audiences or opportunities to interrogate television as a cultural form. In recent years, however, collaborations between artists and […]
PAST EVENT
You And Me Right Here Right Now: Theatre In The Post-Cinema Age
9 December 2014 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Jordan Tannahill will be the fourth guest of our fORUM critical conversation series, a monthly series of talks, lectures, interviews, screenings and performances at the gallery. Please join us on Tuesday December 9th for a performance lecture by Jordan Tannahill featuring Bridget Moser. Tracing through the histories of cinema […]
PAST EVENT
CLOUD 35 ANNIVERSARY PARTY
7 November 2014 8pm - 8 November 2014 12amMUSIC by New Horizzzons | Midnight Static: DJs Gabe Knox & Diana McNally $35 Cloud Pass includes complimentary artist cocktails + 1-year Associate Membership A lot has changed since 1979 but not our commitment to artist-run culture and cutting-edge contemporary art. After 35 years in Toronto —5 locations, 160 board members, countless volunteers, over 2,000 artists exhibited— we want to […]
PAST EVENT
Through the Known and the Unknown We Will Find the New: Apocalypse and Alchemy on McLuhan and Frye, and on to Opening Time
21 October 2014 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that B.W. Powe will be the third guest of our fORUM critical conversation series. In his talk B.W. Powe will explore visionary traditions and technologies, focusing on the work of Marshall McLuhan and Northrup Frye and their interest in apocalypse and alchemy. Both looking backwards and forwards, Powe will […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Public Studio
7 October 2014 7pmMercer Union is delighted to host a studio tour with Public Studio, the collective art practice of filmmaker Elle Flanders and architect Tamira Sawatzky. Open to Sustaining Members and above, other Mercer Union members and non-members may attend for $25 (can be pledged towards the purchase of a Sustaining Membership). Refreshments will be served. RSVP […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Iris Häussler
23 September 2014 7pmJoin Mercer Union for a studio visit with artist Iris Häussler. Refreshments will be served. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and non-members for $25. Space is limited. To ensure your place RSVP to York Lethbridge at york@mercerunion.org or by calling 416.536.1519 Iris Häussler was born in Germany and moved to […]
PAST EVENT
Tainted Goods: Contemporary Sculpture and the Critique of Display Cultures
16 September 2014 7pmMercer Union is delighted to announce that Dan Adler will be the second guest of our fORUM critical conversation series. This talk will address large-scale exhibitions by Rachel Harrison, Isa Genzken, and Geoffrey Farmer consisting of sprawling accumulations of objects: some found, some modified, some handcrafted. Adler will explore how these expansive shows incorporate assemblage-based […]
PAST EVENT
fORUM: Monika Szewczyk
16 July 2014 7pmWe are delighted to announce that Monika Szewczyk is the inaugural guest of our fORUM critical conversation series, a monthly series of talks, lectures, interviews, screenings and performances at Mercer Union. Monika Szewczyk on “how to hold a conversation” Conversation is a somewhat fragile thing. It is something that we forge, but also something that is […]
PAST EVENT
New Member Edition Launch | Sandy Plotnikoff
4 July 2014 6pm - 7pmJoin us for the launch of our first Mercer Member card edition. For the 2014-15 year, Mercer Union has invited Sandy Plotnikoff to design a portable artwork exclusively for members of the centre. All new and existing members are invited to enjoy a drink on the house, music on the patio (weather permitting) and good company. Artist in attendance. […]
PAST EVENT
PLATFORM: Music at Mercer
30 May 2014 8pmwith Absolutely Free | Jason Doell | Swiss Dice Admission $10 | Members $5 (available at the door) Absolutely Free are a 3-piece band based in Toronto, comprised of former members of DD/MM/YYYY. The group formulates musical experiments based on instrumentation, compositional structure and other formal qualities ubiquitous to popular rock music. Their music integrates […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Bunchoffuckinstoops
23 May 2014 7pm - 8pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Every month, we invite new and existing Mercer Union members to our One Hour Mixers. On Friday 23 May, we’ll be jamming to a recording of Bunchoffuckinstoops, live at the Bloor Ossington Folk Festival 2013. Enjoy a drink on the house, good company, and Sarah Pierce’s exhibition Lost Illusions/Illusions perdues […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Prince Innocence
25 April 2014 7pm - 8pmMercer Union Members-Only Cocktail Hour Every month, we invite new and existing Mercer Union members to our One Hour Mixers. On Friday 25 April, we’ve invited Toronto-based artist Prince Innocence to contribute a one-hour track made specifically for the occasion. Enjoy a drink on the house, good company, and Sarah Pierce’s exhibition Lost Illusions/Illusions perdues […]
PAST EVENT
IN STUDIO: Nadia Belerique
24 April 2014 7pmJoin Mercer Union for a visit to Nadia Belerique’s studio in advance of her upcoming show Have You Seen This Man at Daniel Faria Gallery (opening 1 May 2014). Refreshments will be served. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $25. Space is extremely limited. RSVP to York Lethbridge, […]
PAST EVENT
SPIKED TEA: Surrealist Derby
29 March 2014 2pmExpect an elegantly strange atmosphere at Spiked Tea: Surrealist Derby. This afternoon event – now in its third year – features outlandish tables hosted by some of Toronto’s most exciting emerging artists. Specialty tea cocktails and finger sandwiches will give way to cheering and friendly competition. With the roll of a die, party goers can […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Digits
21 March 2014 7pm - 8pmMercer Union Members’ Only Cocktail Hour Every month, we invite new and existing Mercer Union members to our One Hour Cocktail Mixers. On Friday, March 21st, we’ve invited Toronto-based artist Digits to contribute a one-hour track made specifically for the occasion. Enjoy a drink on the house, good company, and good art: we’ll be socializing […]
PAST EVENT
Push and Pull Artists’ Talk
15 March 2014 2pmAs part of the exhibition, there will be a discussion between Bridget Moser, Michael Vickers, Nikki Woolsey and Georgina Jackson. This event is free and all are welcome.
PAST EVENT
All Handles Different: Bridget Moser
13 March 2014 7pmMercer Union is pleased to present All Handles Different, a 25 minute performance by Bridget Moser on Thursday, March 13th at 7pm. The long form performance is a site specific work created in response to the configuration of the gallery’s current exhibition Push and Pull. All Handles Different will make use of elements of performance […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jean-Paul Kelly
27 February 2014 7pmJoin Mercer Union for an intimate view of Kelly’s studio and current practice. Refreshments will be served. Free for Sustaining Members and above; open to other members and select non-members for $25. Space is extremely limited. RSVP to York Lethbridge, Director of Operations & Development, at york@mercerunion.org or by calling 416.536.1519 Jean-Paul Kelly (Canadian, b. […]
PAST EVENT
ONE HOUR MIXER: Body Interface
21 February 2014 7pm - 8pmMercer Union Member’s Only Cocktail Hour ABOUT THE EVENT Every month, we invite new and existing Mercer Union members to our One Hour Cocktail Mixers. On Friday, February 21st, we’ve invited Body Interface to contribute a one-hour track made specifically for the occasion. Enjoy a drink on the house, good company, and good art: we’ll […]
PAST EVENT
Carte Blanche Film Screening
29 October 2013 8pmOffsite at Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Avenue (alley off the east side of Spadina between Richmond and Adelaide) Presented in collaboration with York University’s Department of Film Join Mercer Union for an intimate screening of films selected for their affinities to Geoffrey Farmer’s own practice as an artist. This rare presentation will include the projection of […]
PAST EVENT
PLATFORM: Princess Century / new fries / Bizzarh
15 October 2013 8pmTickets available at the door MUSIC AT MERCER 2013 Princess Century new fries Bizzarh For more information, please contact york@mercerunion.org
PAST EVENT
Nuit Blanche Weekend
1 January 1970 12amONE HOUR MIXER Saturday 5 October, 5-6PM NUIT BLANCHE HANGOVER BRUNCH Sunday 6 October, 10AM-1PM ONE HOUR MIXER: Mercer Union Member’s Only Cocktail Hour **PRE – NUIT BLANCHE SPECIAL** SATURDAY OCTOBER 5, 5-6PM Image from Maryanne Casasanta’s Instagram, October 2013 For Mercer members, Nuit Blanche starts early this year. On […]
PAST EVENT
SMALL PRESS BOOK FAIR, CURIO + VINTAGE SALE
11 August 2013 10am - 5pmRain or shine! Admission PWYC (suggested donation $2) / free for Mercer Union members SMALL PRESS Anchorless Press Bywater Bros Editions Coach House Books Colour Code Printing Fake Injury Party Fuse Magazine Go Home Print Jesse Harris Koyama Press Little Brother Magazine Millions Magazine Nothing Else Press Paper Pusher Printworks Papirmasse Paul + Wendy Projects […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jeremy Laing & Vanessa Maltese
4 June 2013 7pmLocation will be confirmed on RSVP Refreshments will be served Join in this exclusive opportunity to visit Canadian designer Jeremy Laing and artist Vanessa Maltese, who collaborated on Laing’s 2013/14 fashion collection. Maltese and Laing will discuss their recent collaboration, in addition to current issues and interests in their practices. The In Studio series is […]
PAST EVENT
Stellar Living 2013
16 May 2013 6pmA Benefit for Mercer Union, a centre for contemporary art at Scrap Metal | 11 Dublin Street, Unit E, Toronto Auction Tickets $85 click to purchase via PayPal or call 416.536.1519 Join us for Stellar Living 2013, the fifth installment of Mercer Union’s biannual auction series. Canadian and international artists and designers have generously contributed […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jeremy Bailey
6 May 2013 7pmJoin us for an exclusive studio visit with artist Jeremy Bailey. Refreshments will be served. Free and guaranteed to Sustaining Members on RSVP. Space is extremely limited. Select tickets may be available to non-Sustaining Members for $25. Please contact York Lethbridge, Director of Operations & Development at york@mercerunion.org or 416.536.1519 for more details.
PAST EVENT
PLATFORM: I Am Robot And Proud / Alex Durlak / Cell Memory
26 April 2013 8pmTickets available at the door MUSIC AT MERCER 2013 I Am Robot And Proud Computer composer Shaw-Han Liem presents a new performance of live electronic melodies and procedurally generated, reactive projections. Alex Durlak Alex Durlak will present an original, immersive electronic composition utlizing a multi-speaker setup. Among other things, the piece will feature an indiscernible […]
PAST EVENT
THE DJ WHO GAVE TOO MUCH INFORMATION
23 April 2013 7pmFADO Performance Art Centre, Mercer Union Contemporary and PME-ART present The DJ Who Gave Too Much Information (Hospitality 5) By Caroline Dubois, Claudia Fancello & Jacob Wren Collaborators: Mathieu Chartrand, Sylvie Lachance & Radwan Ghazi Moumneh +++ A pile of records and a record player. For every record we have one story at the ready. […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / What is Difference? Recognizing and Reassembling
3 April 2013 6pm - 8pmA public conversation with Wanda Nanibush, Andrea Fatona and cheyanne turions What is difference? What constitutes difference? And what does difference mean? This series of questions has been at the forefront of Idle No More, post-colonialism, feminism, Marxism, and other cultural theory and still continues to influence much artmaking today. This conversation engages the public […]
PAST EVENT
Ever Ending Kicks & Wyrd Visions
10 March 2013 8pmMercer Union is pleased to announce the revival of its music series in its new incarnation as Platform: Music at Mercer 2013. with Ever Ending Kicks Breezy pop music on a potential spring day. Solo project from the drummer of Mount Eerie. http://www.everendingkicks.com/ Wyrd Visions An old friend that you are constantly rediscovering, Colin Bergh […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / What / Where is Social Practice?
5 March 2013 6pm - 8pmA public conversation with Linda Duvall, Kim Simon and Amish Morrell Where can we view social practice within the framing of art? Do Canadian institutions make space for these kinds of socially and community-engaged artworks? What is the role of the institution, curator and artist in making these works more visible? This conversation is takes […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Marla Hlady
5 February 2013 7pmJoin us for an exclusive studio visit with artist Marla Hlady. Refreshments will be served. Free and guaranteed to Sustaining Members on RSVP. Space is extremely limited. Select tickets may be available to non-Sustaining Members for $25. Please contact York Lethbridge, Director of Operations & Development at york@mercerunion.org or 416.536.1519 for more details. Marla Hlady […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / What Does the Commercial Gallery Mean for the Artist Today?
5 February 2013 6pm - 8pmA public conversation with Derek Liddington, Daniel Faria, Erin Stump and Pascal Paquette What role does the commercial gallery play in contemporary society? What does this mean for artists who arguable do not make saleable work? Where do artists and their ephemeral works fit in to the gallery’s catalogue? What does representation mean for an […]
PAST EVENT
Ivory Tickler
8 December 2012 8pmNot your average artist-run holiday party! Featuring Dean Baldwin VSVSVS DJs Bridgette Sullivan & Josh Voynovich Dean Baldwin‘s Bar Piano, first conceived for Nuit Blanche 2012 at Hart House, specially commissioned by the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Toronto (2012). Recent projects include; Lime Eyes at Parisian Laundry in Montreal (2012); Oh Canada! at the MASS […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / Polycephaly: Art, Funding, and Mythology
8 November 2012 6pm - 7pmwith Peter Kingstone Bringing forward ideas central to his artistic practice, this talk will explore the intersections between art, funding and the myths involved that all artists should know about. Please RSVP to Ellyn Walker, RG*RG Program Coordinator, at ellyn@mercerunion.org Peter Kingstone holds a Philosophy/Cultural Studies Degree from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, and Masters […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / Graduate Students: Applying for OGS and SSHRC
25 September 2012 6pmwith Ellyn Walker The beginning of fall 2012 graduate programs also marks the time that Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants are due to fund 2013-2014 graduate studies. By attending this workshop, you will gain hands-on knowledge about grant research, writing and editing including collective and individual […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Roula Partheniou
25 September 2012 7pmJoin in this exclusive opportunity to meet over drinks with artist Roula Partheniou at her studio. Free and guaranteed to Mercer Union Sustaining Members on RSVP. Space is extremely limited. Select tickets may be available to non-Sustaining Members for $25. For membership inquiries, contact York Lethbridge, Director of Operations & Development by email at york@mercerunion.org […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / Cover Letters, Resumes and CVs
18 September 2012 6pmwith Ellyn Walker Due to the growing competition and precarity of employment within the arts, eloquent, effective cover letter, resume and CV writing are all invaluable assets to bring to any job. As the first introduction many employers will have, your professional writing and application practices could make the difference between gaining employment and not. […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / Zines & Self-Publishing
28 August 2012 6pmwith Maggie Groat & Jimmy Limit Visibility is a central form of self-marketing, and accessibility to artist writing, artwork and research is a valuable process. Learn about economic, DIY ways to disseminate your work to the public, while at the same time creating a personal archive to be sustained. For more information, contact Ellyn Walker, […]
PAST EVENT
RG*RG / D.I.Y. Documentation
7 August 2012 6pmwith Ryan Park Learn the basics of documenting your work using what you have, what your friends have, or how to make it look like you know what you’re doing. This workshop will consist of an overview of documentation practices and how to maintain consistent image-based records from an object-based perspective that incorporates D-I-Y practices. […]
PAST EVENT
The Fake Revolt: Readings by Tamara Faith Berger, Malcolm Sutton and Jacob Wren
31 May 2012 12am - 12amThursday 31 May, 8pm Free Tamara Faith Berger, Malcolm Sutton and Jacob Wren read from their recent work. An exploration of what literature might mean, and become, today. And how it may, or may not, connect with feelings of revolt. About the Authors Tamara Faith Berger was born in Toronto. She wrote pornography for a […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Ian Carr-Harris & Yvonne Lammerich
26 April 2012 7pmFree and guaranteed to Sustaining Members on RSVP. Refreshments will be served. Join in this exclusive opportunity for Mercer Union Sustaining Members to meet over drinks with artists Ian Carr-Harris and Yvonne Lammerich. Ian Carr-Harris is an artist based in Toronto whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1971. Exhibitions include the Paris […]
PAST EVENT
BOOK LAUNCH: BLAST COUNTERBLAST
20 March 2012 12am - 12amTuesday 20 March 2012, 7PM An evening of screenings and performances from artists featured in BLAST COUNTERBLAST Edited by Steve Reinke and Anthony Elms Published by Mercer Union Distributed by WhiteWalls / University of Chicago Press Bar will be open all evening. Special discount on all book purchases! BLAST COUNTERBLAST features contributions by Stuart Bailey, […]
PAST EVENT
SPIKED TEA 2012
17 March 2012 12am - 12amSPIKED TEA 2012 A Mercer Union Afternoon Social Saturday 17 March, 2PM Tickets $75 | Members $65 click to purchase or call to confirm 416.536.1519 spiked.mercerunion.org Following the success of Spiked Tea 2011, Mercer Union once again hosts the time-honoured ritual of high tea… with a contemporary twist! Engage in lively conversation with prominent Toronto […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Jennifer Murphy
8 March 2012 12am - 12amIn Studio with Jennifer Murphy NOTE NEW DATE: Thursday 8 March, 7 PM Exclusive visit for Sustaining Members of Mercer Union Refreshments will be served Mercer Union invites Sustaining Members to meet over drinks with artist Jennifer Murphy. Murphy is a Toronto-based artist. Working mainly in collage, she uses different materials ranging from cut and sewn […]
PAST EVENT
Offsite Talk & Screening at the AGO!
17 January 2012 12am - 12amArtists in Conversation: Pierre Leguillon and Annie MacDonell Preceded by a special screening of Nostalgia by Hollis Frampton Tuesday 17 January, 7 PM Jackman Hall (use McCaul Street entrance) Free Join us on Tuesday 17 January at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Jackman Hall, for a discussion with artists Pierre Leguillon and Annie MacDonell, moderated […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Deborah Stratman
15 January 2012 12am - 12amJoin us on Sunday 15 January at 2PM for a talk by Chicago-based artist Deborah Stratman about the current installation “Tactical Uses of a Belief in the Unseen (2)” in relation to previous works and her current research.
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Luis Jacob
23 November 2011 7pmWednesday 23 November 2011, 7 PM FREE to Sustaining Members on RSVP $25 single tickets for non-members (pending availability) Refreshments will be served We are pleased to present this exclusive opportunity for Mercer Union Sustaining Members to meet over drinks with Luis Jacob. The event will be hosted by Sarah Robayo Sheridan, Director of Exhibitions and […]
PAST EVENT
PIN UP – posters by artists! Call for Submissions
31 October 2011 12am - 12amOn 15 December 2011, Mercer Union will be hosting a sale of limited edition posters by artists. The posters will be juried by former AGO Curator of Modern Art Michael Parke-Taylor. As a complement to the new works, Parke-Taylor will also be delving into his personal archives of Toronto gig posters to create a rare […]
PAST EVENT
Changing Stakes: Artist Talk by Armin Linke
22 October 2011 12am - 12amSaturday 22 October, 4 PM Armin Linke will be joining us via live stream from Berlin to discuss his work in the exhibition Changing Stakes: Contemporary Art Dialogues with Dubai (Sept 9 – Oct 29, 2011). A recently completed video work by the artist will also be premiered. Armin Linke’s participation has been made possible […]
PAST EVENT
Creative Time Summit 2011 – live stream
23 September 2011 12am - 12amFriday 23 September, 10am-6pm at Mercer Union A livestream broadcast of the NYC proceedings of the third edition of the Creative Time Summit. The Creative Time Summit is a conference that brings together cultural producers—including artists, critics, writers, and curators—to discuss how their work engages pressing issues affecting our world. Their international projects bring to […]
PAST EVENT
Changing Stakes: Panel discussion
10 September 2011 12am - 12amSaturday 10 September, 4PM Join us for a panel discussion with artists Haig Aivazian, Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen and Hajra Waheed lead by guest curator Srimoyee Mitra. Presented in conjunction with Changing Stakes: Contemporary Art Dialogues with Dubai (Sept 9 – Oct 29, 2011). Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen’s participation has been made possible by the […]
PAST EVENT
ART FAG CITY PRESENTS: THE SOUND OF ART
11 August 2011 12am - 12amA project by Paddy Johnson Live performance at Mercer Union Thursday, August 11th, 9pm Admission: FREE Find out what art sounds like in the hands of artists Paul Slocum and Lewis Kaye. Thursday 11 August, the musicians will remix Art Fag City’s limited edition LP, The Sound of Art, a record composed of sounds heard […]
PAST EVENT
RG/RG – Introduction to Typography Workshop with Dan McCafferty
31 July 2011 12am - 12amIntroduction to Typography: A workshop offered with Mercer Union’s Resource Group for Recent Grads Sunday 31 July 2011, 11AM – 4PM at Mercer Union Limited to 12 participants, membership required $5 for current paid student members / $20 new membership + workshop Lunch will be provided Mercer Union is getting typographical! Dan McCafferty (M.Des) will […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union / C Magazine at BIG on Bloor
23 July 2011 12am - 12amVisit the Mercer Union / C Magazine table at the BIG On Bloor Festival this Saturday July 23rd from 1 to 9 pm. The galleries at Mercer Union will also be open from 1 to 9pm, showing the commissioned project by Aleksandra Mir – The Seduction of Galileo Galilei. Pick up a free copy of […]
PAST EVENT
On Location: The Seduction of Galileo Galilei
11 June 2011 12am - 12amThe Seduction of Galileo Galilei by Aleksandra Mir is an action that will consist of building a tower of automotive tires as high as possible until it topples over, only to start over again. Several attempts will be made over the course of the day on Saturday 11 June 2011 from 10am to 6pm at […]
PAST EVENT
STELLAR LIVING 2011
3 May 2011 12am - 12 May 2011 12amMercer Union’s Stellar Living 2011 is the premiere contemporary art and design benefit auction in Canada. The preview exhibition features a variety of work by Canadian and international artists and designers that provides a cross-section of cutting-edge practices. Proceeds from the auction will directly support the innovative programming vision of Mercer Union, Toronto’s leading artist-run […]
PAST EVENT
No Reading After the Internet
1 January 1970 12amUlises Carrion’s The New Art of Making Books Thursday 17 February 2011, 7 PM Free Facilitated by Sarah Robayo Sheridan and cheyanne turions No Reading After the Internet is a free monthly series, in which a selected text is read aloud and discussed. Ulises Carrion’s text “The New Art of Making Books” has been selected as […]
PAST EVENT
SPIKED TEA
11 February 2011 12amA Mercer Union Afternoon Social Saturday 12 March, 2 PM www.mercerunion.org/spikedtea MERCER UNION is pleased to announce SPIKED TEA, a new fundraising initiative presenting guests with a twist on the time-honoured ritual of afternoon tea. Toronto’s art lovers will be enchanted by the unique opportunity to be welcomed to Mercer by a select group of […]
PAST EVENT
In Studio: Kristan Horton
3 February 2011 12am - 12amThursday 3 February 2011, 7 PM FREE to Sustaining Members on RSVP $25 single tickets for non-members (pending availability) Refreshments will be served Following the success of the first visit in the series—Abbas Akavan graciously hosted by Micah Lexier—we are pleased to present this exclusive opportunity for Mercer Union Sustaining Members to meet with 2010 Grange […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union Off-Site: Jayson Musson (aka Hennessy Youngman) at The Drake
31 January 2011 12am - 12amHENNESSY YOUNGMAN’S ART THOUGHTZ Artist talk and screening with Jayson Musson Tuesday 31 January 2012 7:30-9:30 PM, doors open at 7 PM Admission $8 / $5 Students The Drake Hotel, Underground 1150 Queen Street West New York-based artist Jayson Musson (aka Hennessy Youngman) will talk about why he started his wildly popular video series Art […]
PAST EVENT
No Reading After the Internet
31 January 2011 12am - 12amFeatured Reading: Jorge Luis Borges, “August 25, 1983” Tuesday 31 January 2012, 7 PM Free Facilitated by cheyanne turions No Reading After the Internet is a free monthly series, in which a selected text is read aloud and discussed. The short story “August 25, 1983” by Jorge Luis Borges has been selected as a complement […]
PAST EVENT
ALL INCLUSIVE
1 January 1970 12amMembers’ Exhibition & Sale 7-11 December 2010 Closing Party & Sale: Saturday 11 December 2010 at 5PM Mercer Union again delivers its big gift to artist members and small collectors in this year’s ALL INCLUSIVE rendition of our annual member’s show & sale – the perfect artist-run getaway from the holiday madness. Nothing but fun-in-the-sun […]
PAST EVENT
ALL INCLUSIVE
7 December 2010 12am - 11 December 2010 12amMercer Union again delivers its big gift to artist members and small collectors in this year’s ALL INCLUSIVE rendition of our annual member’s show & sale – the perfect artist-run getaway from the holiday madness. Nothing but fun-in-the-sun quality works, all priced at $169.99. First-come, first-served sale begins at 5 PM, Saturday 11 December. The […]
PAST EVENT
OMG SWAP 2
22 September 2010 12amOMG SWAP 2 Sunday 10 October, 12-6 PM The original enormous swap project !!!OMG SWAP!!! is coming back this fall just in time for Halloween. Looking to spice up your costume with some retro threads? Don’t miss the BEST SWAP EVER! OMG!! The leftover clothing will be donated to Sistering – a resource supporting homeless, […]
PAST EVENT
BOY by SSION
28 August 2010 12am - 12amSATURDAY 28 AUGUST, 8PM Toronto premiere of the feature film BOY by SSION with live DJ set PWYC admission Co-presented with Pleasure Dome Combining nine separately shot but jointly conceived music videos, “BOY” is a semi-autobiographical rock-n-roll musical journey centred around the Kansas City music and performance group SSION. This tale of a small town […]
PAST EVENT
SOL LEWITT: A MERCER UNION LEGACY PROJECT
OPENING & TALK BY ANTHONY SANSOTTA
10 July 2010 3pm - 12amPUBLIC OPENING 2-5 PM ANTHONY SANSOTTA IN CONVERSATION WITH SARAH ROBAYO SHERIDAN at 3 PM Anthony Sansotta is an expert draughtsman who worked with Sol LeWitt for many years. Mercer Union has invited him to speak about Sol LeWitt’s various processes and his personal engagement with LeWitt’s legacy. Transcript of the interview
PAST EVENT
LEWITT PREVIEW PARTY
7 July 2010 12am - 12amSOL LEWITT A MERCER UNION LEGACY PROJECT PRIVATE PREVIEW PARTY Wednesday 7 July, 6:30PM Tickets by donation starting at $125. On Wednesday 7 July, join us for an exclusive preview of Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #349, a special project to mark the culmination of Mercer Union’s 30th anniversary celebrations. For information on purchasing tickets for […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Erin Thurlow
29 May 2010 12am - 12amArtist’s Talk by Erin Thurlow Saturday 29 May, 2PM Free Join us to hear Erin Thurlow discuss his current exhibition The Bermuda Triangle in relation to his current practice.
PAST EVENT
ARTIST TALK: BRENDA GOLDSTEIN IN CONVERSATION WITH ULYSSES CASTELLANOS
3 April 2010 12am - 12amArtist talk: Brenda Goldstein in conversation with Ulysses Castellanos Please join us Saturday 3 April at 2 PM for an afternoon talk in conjunction with the exhibition Hereafter by Brenda Goldstein. Goldstein will give an introduction to her work, followed by a discussion between herself and Ulysses Castellanos, which will draw on their parallel artistic investigations […]
PAST EVENT
ARTIST TALK: DANIEL YOUNG AND CHRISTIAN GIROUX
6 March 2010 12am - 12amPlease join us Saturday 6 March at 2PM for a talk by Daniel Young and Christian Giroux. The talk is held on the occasion of the closing of their exhibition 50 Light Fixtures from Home Depot. Christian Giroux and Daniel Young have been making art together since 2002. They produce sculpture, public art and film […]
PAST EVENT
Petting Zoo
21 February 2010 12am - 12amIt’s breeding season at Mercer Union… PETTING ZOO FRIDAY 12 MARCH Doors @ 8PM $5 cover / free for members! DJ PANDA, YOUNG BRAN, DJ PUPPIES ‘N’ KITTENS with inflatables, hay rolling and more farm fun…
PAST EVENT
OMG SWAP!
21 February 2010 12am - 12amBIGGEST CLOTHING SWAP EVER! SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY, 12-6PM $5 Suggested donation and leave with ALL YOU CAN CARRY! Haul all your gently used clothing to Mercer Union to swap and trade with other thrifty sartorialists! All unclaimed clothing donations will be passed on to Sistering so this is a doubly good cause!
PAST EVENT
SOLID GOLD
17 December 2009 12am - 12amMercer Union again delivers its big gift to small collectors in this year’s SOLID GOLD rendition of the annual member’s show & sale. Nothing but SOLID GOLD quality works, all priced at $149.99. Watch the gold rush when the sale begins. Bar opens 6 PM. Sale begins 8 PM. The earlier you join the line, […]
PAST EVENT
Offsite Screening: Identifications
28 November 2009 12am - 12amIdentifications, 1970 Saturday 28 November, 8PM Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Avenue Co-presented with Pleasure Dome in conjunction with the exhibition We Interrupt this Program The landmark TV project Identifications was initiated by the German gallerist Gerry Schum, who envisioned television as a new exhibition platform distinct from the art market. Schum announced the project’s aim thus: […]
PAST EVENT
TERROR BINGO! TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2009, 7-11PM
27 October 2009 12am - 12amTERROR BINGO TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 7-11PM First Round: 7 – 8:30PM Second Round: 9 – 10:30PM Transylvania Twist dance party follows WANNA PLAY? $15 cover + free bingo kit (one round of bingo, bingo card booklet, dabber, lucky charm, and a beer) WANNA PLAY MORE? $5 extra rounds/booklets Play for spooktacular prizes! MERCER UNION a […]
PAST EVENT
ARTIST TALK: TAKU DAZAI IN CONVERSATION WITH LISE HOSEIN
26 September 2009 12am - 12amSaturday 26 September 2009 Artist Talk + Canadian Art Gallery Hop / Canadian Art 25th Anniversary Celebration and Launch Artist Talk 4:30PM Launch 5:30PM–7:30PM At 4:30 PM Mercer Union hosts a free conversation between exhibiting artist Taku Dazai and writer Lise Hosein as part of the Canadian Art Gallery Hop. Following the talk, join us together […]
PAST EVENT
MERCER MULTIPLES: OFFICIAL IN-GALLERY LAUNCH
11 September 2009 12am - 12amFriday 11 September 2009, 7PM Official Launch: MERCER MULTIPLES Mercer Union is pleased to announce the formal launch of our latest series of artist’s multiples by Johanna Billing, Jonathan Monk, Scott Rogers and the release of the audio art CD compilation Mercersound 09. Full listing of titles.
PAST EVENT
MIAS Performance: Pony Da Look / Thursday 27 August 2009, 8PM
27 August 2009 12am - 12amMusic in Alternative Spaces: Pony Da Look Thursday 27 August 2009, 8PM Mercer Union FREE The Night: The sorcerer reclines in the tender grasses under the forlorn willow tree. It stands strong of heart, rooted deep within the layers of fermenting generations. Upon each lonesome leaf hangs a Magpie’s tear that reflects the moon in […]
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces: Eric Woodley and Anna Friz
30 July 2009 12am - 12amThursday 30 July, 7 PM Music in Alternative Spaces: Eric Woodley and Anna Friz In this collaboration, Woodley and Friz explore phenomenologies of recording, radio, and electricity, and the materiality of the transmission environment. Resonance becomes palpable in the meeting of historical recorded material and a multi-channel micro-watt radio intervention involving a broadcast to a number […]
PAST EVENT
Free Screening 16 July, 7PM @ Mercer Union: Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
16 July 2009 12am - 12amSpecial screening in conjunction with the current exhibition This Is How We Walk on the Moon by Johanna Billing. Thursday 16 July, 7 PM Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, 2008. Directed by Matt Wolf 71 minutes FREE! Wild Combination is director Matt Wolf’s visually absorbing portrait of the ground-breaking avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, […]
PAST EVENT
SATURN RETURN
10 July 2009 12am - 12amSATURN RETURN: MERCER UNION’S 30th ANNIVERSARY BASH Friday 10 July 2009 Mercer Union celebrates 30 years in orbit On 10 July 2009, Mercer Union turns 30. In astrological terms, a 30-year interval equals the full orbit of Saturn around the sun. This phenomenon⎯known as “Saturn Return”⎯is associated with revising old patterns and moving forward with […]
PAST EVENT
ALVIN LUCIFER
21 May 2009 12am - 12amThursday 21 May 6PM – 12:06AM Performance: Alvin Lucifer by Brian Joseph Davis and Steven Kado In 1977, the same year that punk rock crossed over from a presumed New York underground and gained horrid legitimacy through the medium of the British popular music press, Alvin Lucier created Music on a Long Thin Wire. The […]
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces: Matt Smith (Nifty)
14 May 2009 12am - 12amThursday 14 May, 8PM Music in Alternative Spaces: Matt Smith (Nifty) Known as one-third of Les Mouches, Matt Smith has made noise-folk songs that “teeter between cascading abrasion and soothing caress.” Smith’s solo work as Nifty is equally diverse but uses very different elements, pulling from the worlds of African percussion, grimy electro-soul, patchy big […]
PAST EVENT
3D BINGO
22 April 2009 12am - 12am3D BINGO WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2009 Take a chance at Mercer Union… 3D BINGO 7PM to 10PM Post-bingo fun ‘til late WANNA PLAY? $15 / includes cover + free bingo kit (1 marker, 1 beer, 1 lucky charm, 1 pair 3D glasses) JUST WANNA PARTY? $5 cover / enter at any time Celeb Callers Alison […]
PAST EVENT
Curators Talk: Eugenio Valdés Figueroa and Marcio Botner
1 February 2009 2pm - 4pmWorking at the Intersection of Art and Pedagogy in South America: Reflections from Rio de Janeiro Part of the AGYU curatorial residency with Eugenio Valdés Figueroa and Marcio Botner Sunday 1 February 2009, 2–4PM Presented by The Art Gallery of York University (AGYU), Eugenio Valdés Figueroa, Director of Art Education and Research at Casa Daros […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Kenneth Goldsmith
9 January 2009 12am - 12amPlease join us Friday 9 January at 7PM for a talk by UbuWeb founder Kenneth Goldsmith. His exhibition Street Poets & Visionaries: Selections from the UbuWeb Collection will be on view at Mercer Union from 9 January–14 February 2009. Kenneth Goldsmith is an American Poet who resides in New York City. He is the founding […]
PAST EVENT
BAILOUT
9 December 2008 12am - 18 December 2008 12amClosing party & Sale: Thursday December 18, 2008 Hosted by Misha Glouberman When there’s blood in the streets buy…art. Mercer Union does its part with a stimulus package to put the US bailout to shame. With drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures and multiples all priced at $149.99, the artworks in the 2008 Annual Mercer Member’s Exhibition […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Christof Migone
22 November 2008 12am - 12amPlease join us Saturday 22 November at 3PM to hear Christof Migone discuss his exhibition Disco Sec, on view at Mercer Union until 29 November. Christof Migone is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and writer. He co-edited the book and CD Writing Aloud: The Sonics of Language (Los Angeles: Errant Bodies Press, 2001) and his writings […]
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Gwen MacGregor & Sandra Rechico in conversation with Dan Adler
24 October 2008 12am - 12amFriday 24 October 7 PM Gwen MacGregor and Sandra Rechico discuss their exhibition Maps in Doubt with curator Dan Adler.
PAST EVENT
KNOCK ON WOODS: A Roving International Artist Residency arrives in Toronto!
23 August 2008 12am - 12amClosing reception and video presentation: Saturday 23 August at 8:00PM Artist talk /w Yvette Poorter & former residents to follow at 8:30PM PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING PRESENTATION OF KNOCK ON WOODS IN TORONTO IS TAKING PLACE AT THE FOLLOWING OFF-SITE ADDRESS. POTLUCK / BYOB!: 571 College Street, but guests are advised to use the […]
PAST EVENT
LISGAR LAST CALL
26 July 2008 12am - 12amMercer Union’s Summer Closing Party Saturday 26 July, 9PM til late This is your last time to get messy on Lisgar. You know all your friends will be here. Come. NO COVER CHARGE ‘n CHEAP DRINKS! FREE DREGS BAR! with DJs Nine ’til Ten Isabelle Noel Alex Wolfson Kevin Hegge
PAST EVENT
Round 9: The Art Club vs. Mercer Union
21 June 2008 12am - 12amSaturday 21 June, 1:30PM FREE The Parkdale Art Club students will offer their thoughts and perspectives on Anne Fauteaux’s and Ana Teixeira’s exhibitions, and lend their eyes and ears to the audience. MAMMALIAN DIVING REFLEX PRESENTS Parkdale Public School vs. Queen West 10 Rounds In this corner we have: the Kids, 647 of them. A […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: LAYNIE BROWNE and SINA QUEYRAS
6 March 2008 12am - 12amPlease join us for the next edition of the Test Reading Series:
PAST EVENT
PINK SLIP
22 February 2008 12am - 23 February 2008 12amINTER-OFFICE MEMO: PINK SLIP A Naughty Office Party at Mercer Union Pleasure before Business… Friday, February 22nd Doors at 9PM $5 cover before 11 PM / $7 after On Friday, February 22nd Mercer will abound with naughty secretaries, salacious CEOs, water cooler gossip, office cubicle shennanigans, and other completely inappropriate workplace behavior. DJs K-Tel & […]
PAST EVENT
Pollinator Series: Hive Study for room and solo performer
20 February 2008 12am - 12amSarah Peebles Wednesday February 20th, 2008, 9pm Pollinator Series: Hive Study for room and solo performer is a quasi-improvisational, quasi-chance performance piece/installation transforming the Mercer Union gallery space into a sonic honey bee hive featuring sounds of masses of bees recorded inside glass jugs and hives, cicada, and airplanes. Using material initially recorded over several […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: Susan Holbrook and Camille Martin
14 February 2008 12amTest Reading Series February 15, 2008 at 8pm Please join us on Friday February 15th at 8pm for the TEST READING Series featuring Susan Holbrook and Camille Martin. Biography Susan Holbrook teaches North American literatures and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor. She has just co-edited The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson: […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series
23 January 2008 12am - 12amPlease join us on Wednesday January 23rd at 8pm for the TEST READING Series featuring Phil Hall and Michael Maranda. PHIL HALL was born in 1953 and raised on farms in the Kawarthas region of Ontario. He attended the University of Windsor in the 70s, where he received an MA in English and Creative Writing. […]
PAST EVENT
Wyrd Visions at Mercer Union
7 December 2007 12am - 12amWyrd Visions at Mercer Union Friday 7 December, 9PM FREE Colin Bergh’s Wyrd Visions will take you on a psychedelic journey through a dark forest filled with droning elven music. Using repetition as its base, Wyrd Visions is essentially stripped down trance music. Songs are composed of chanting and ostinato guitar melodies that reference Scandinavian […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: OANA AVASILICHIOAEI and ANGELA CARR
29 November 2007 12am - 12amThursday November 29th, 2007, 8:00 p.m. OANA AVASILICHIOAEI is a poet and a translator from Romanian and French to English. Her first book of poetry, Abandon (Wolsak & Wynn), appeared in 2005. Her translation of a selected poems of the Romanian poet Nichita Stanescu, Occupational Sickness (BuschekBooks), appeared in 2006. Excerpts from a work just […]
PAST EVENT
HALLOWEEN PARTY – Saturday October 27th, 9pm
27 October 2007 12am - 12amGet on Board Mercer Union’s Spaced-Out Hallowe’en Bash MOTHERSHIP Saturday October 27th, 9pm Funk and new Wave Sounds by DJ Major Tom Colin Bergh DJ Noah’s Arkweld plus late-night iPod Djs Kelly Mark, Zin Taylor and Alex Snukal $5 Before 11:00pm, $8 After Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street (one block SW of Queen and Dovercourt) […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: Trevor Joyce and the Max Middle Sound
25 October 2007 12am - 12amThursday, October 25th, 8 pm: Trevor Joyce and the Max Middle Sound Project. Co-founder of the New Writers’ Press in Dublin, Trevor Joyce has published eleven volumes of poetry, including The Poems of Sweeny Peregrine (1976), his working of the middle-Irish Buile Suibhne, and stone floods (1995), which was nominated for the Irish Times Literature […]
PAST EVENT
Terrible Noises for Beautiful People
27 September 2007 12am - 28 September 2007 12amTerrible Noises for Beautiful People Presented by the Misha Glouberman School of Learning Visitors will be invited into a vacant commercial space next door to Mercer Union, where they will make sounds with each other. Terrible Noises is part of Nuit Blanche and runs from sunset Saturday night till sunrise Sunday morning. PLUS: From 1:00 […]
PAST EVENT
Instant Coffee: Sunday Nook Dinner
23 September 2007 12am - 12amMERCER UNION presents Sunday Nook Dinner Sunday September 23, 7 pm Join Instant Coffee for Sunday dinner and conversation in the Nooks. Limited Seating – 24 only – please RSVP* to Mercer Union by Friday, end of day. Featuring delicious comfort food by Les Louises Catering, complimentary wine or beer with your meal, and a […]
PAST EVENT
SEAN BONNEY and FRANCES KRUK
20 September 2007 12am - 12amThe Test Reading Series returns for the fall with readings by SEAN BONNEY and FRANCES KRUK Thursday, 20 September 2007, 8:00 p.m. SEAN BONNEY’s selected poems, Blade Pitch Control Unit, were published by Salt in 2005. Since then he has produced Document:Hexprogress, Black Water and an ongoing set of versions of Baudelaire. His work has […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union Poster Project
9 September 2007 12am - 12amThis summer Mercer Union commissioned a series of four colour posters from artists Adam Chodzko (London), Janice Kerbel (Don Mills/London), John Lurie (New York City) and Euan Macdonald (Los Angeles/Toronto). The posters are not available for sale, but will be posted around the city in the coming weeks. Watch for them.
PAST EVENT
Art-Book Fair and Sale
19 August 2007 12am - 12amArt-Book Fair and Sale Sunday August 19th Noon to 5pm Mercer Union 37 Lisgar St (one block SW of Queen and Dovercourt) Free Admission Publishers, dealers, artists and authors including Art Metropole, Apollinaire’s Bookshop, The Art Gallery of York University, Bywater Brothers Editions, Coach House Books, Mercer Union, Parasitic Ventures Press, YYZ Books and many […]
PAST EVENT
Brian Joseph Davis CD Release Party
3 August 2007 12am - 12amBlocks Recording Club Summer Release Party! Featuring Brian Joseph Davis and Katie Stelmanis Friday, August 3, 9PM, FREE Please join the Blocks Recording Club to celebrate the release of Brian Joseph Davis’ “The Definitive Host.” The Definitive Host collects the work of sound artist Brian Joseph Davis into one, oversized package, including: Ten Banned Albums […]
PAST EVENT
Dorit Chrysler – Theremin Performance and Workshop
29 July 2007 12am - 12amSunday July 29th, 8pm Invented 1919 by Russian electro physicist Lev Sergejewitch Termen, the Theremin generates sound without being touched. Notoriously hard to play, it is one of the first electronic instruments and inspired the creation of synthesizers in future generations. Dorit Chrysler made her musical debut at age 7 at the Graz Opera and […]
PAST EVENT
Clothing Swap
1 January 1970 12amMERCER UNION’S SECOND EVER CLOTHING SWAP: The Mind-Blowing Legacy of Extreme Awesomeness Continues… Sunday, July 15, 6pm Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street FREE Sort of almost one year to the day after last year’s triumphant Clothing Swap, Mercer Union is pleased to once again present an exercise in the mutual appreciation of that which garbs […]
PAST EVENT
Anitra Hamilton: Beater
27 June 2007 12am - 12amWEDNESDAY JUNE 27th at the MOCCA (952 Queen Street W) at 8pm sharp. Anitra Hamilton’s Beater, is a defunct automobile covered in colourful tissue-paper pom-poms and converted into a festive piñata – complete with nacho chips, salsa and tequila- which blindfolded participants are invited to smash with sledgehammers. Part of the group show Seducing Down […]
PAST EVENT
Stephen Parkinson
12 May 2007 12am - 12amSaturday, May 12, 9pm Toronto-based musician, Stephen Parkinson studied composition with Rudolf Komorous, John Celona, Michael Longton, Owen Underhill and Roger Reynolds. He is a founding member of The Drystone Orchestra, an active member of the Toronto improvised music scene, and plays with the experimental salon orchestra Marmots. His piece Desires Are Already Memories is […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: Sandra Alland and Kate Greenstreet
11 May 2007 12am - 12amFriday May 11, 7:30 pm Sandra Alland is a writer, multimedia artist and activist. She has published and presented her work in Canada, the US, Mexico, Bermuda, the UK and Spain. Sandra has two full-length collections of poetry: Proof of a Tongue (McGilligan Books, 2004) and Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007). She is currently and perpetually […]
PAST EVENT
ICE STORM PARTY
13 April 2007 12am - 12amWhat Happens at Mercer Stays at Mercer Spring is here! Come out of hibernation and shake what your momma gave you at Mercer Union’s ICE STORM party on Friday, April 13th! The gallery will be transformed into a swingin’ 70s bachelor pad with bean bag chairs, mood lighting, disco balls and 70s cinema. Enjoy custom […]
PAST EVENT
Terrible Noises for Beautiful People
28 March 2007 12am - 12amTerrible Noises for Beautiful People: Misha Glouberman’s Birthday Party. Improvised sound event. Make noise with other people, then have cake. Latvian House 491 College Street Friday March 28th Doors 7:30, show 8:00 sharp. Tickets $12 at the door, $10 online and at Soudscapes. For more information visit www.schooloflearning.org/birthday/
PAST EVENT
Cornelia Lauf Artists Books Lecture
25 March 2007 12am - 12amPlease join us on Tuesday March 25th, at 7pm, for an informal lecture by curator and Artists’ Books publisher Cornelia Lauf. Born in Germany and based in Rome, Italy, Cornelia Lauf is a curator and editor of Artists’ Books. She has curated exhibitions or published works by or about Maurizio Cattelan, Liam Gillick, Wim Delvoye, […]
PAST EVENT
TEST READING SERIES: Stuart Ross and Rod Smith
16 March 2007 12am - 12amTest Reading Series Friday March 16, 7:30 pm: Stuart Ross and Rod Smith Stuart Ross is a Toronto fiction writer, poet, editor, small-press publisher, and creative-writing instructor who has been active in the Toronto literary scene since the mid-1970s. He sold 7,000 copies of his self-published poetry and fiction chapbooks in the streets of Toronto […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: M. NourbeSe Philip & Hugh Thomas
24 January 2007 12am - 12amJanuary 24, 7:30 p.m. M. NourbeSe Philip is a poet, novelist, and short story writer. Originally from Tobago, Philip completed a Master’s degree in Political Science as well as a degree in law, both at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario. She practised law for seven years in Toronto, before giving it up […]
PAST EVENT
The Test Reading Series is pleased to present a bilingual reading
7 January 2007 12am - 12amNicole Brossard + Barbara Godard and Sharon Harris (biographical notes below) Wednesday 7 February, 7:30 p.m. Montreal-born NICOLE BROSSARD, poet, novelist and essayist, twice Governor General Award winner for her poetry (1974, 1984), member of l’Académie des lettres du Québec and of La société royale du Canada, is one of Quebec’s most celebrated authors. For […]
PAST EVENT
TEST READING SERIES: Fiorentino and Pettet
12 December 2006 12am - 12amThe next installment of the Test Reading Series features the ever charming Jon Paul Fiorentino and a rare Toronto reading by British ex-pat New York Schooler Simon Pettet (it might even be the first!). Tuesday December 12, 7:30 p.m. JON PAUL FIORENTINO and SIMON PETTET Mercer Union, A Centre for Contemporary Art 37 Lisgar Street, […]
PAST EVENT
FM3 and Polmo Polpo
8 October 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us at 9pm on Sunday October 8th for performances by FM3 (China) and Polmo Polpo (Toronto). This event is FREE. Founded in 1999 by Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian, two active members of the Beijing music scene, FM3 are considered pioneers of electronic music in China. Known for dedicating prime space for “live” […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: Diana Fitzgerald Bryden and Jason Christie
23 September 2006 12am - 12amMercer Union presents: Test Reading Series: Diana Fitzgerald Bryden and Jason Christie Saturday September 23, 7:30 p.m. Curated by Mark Truscott Admission: PWYC ($5 recommended, all of which benefits the readers) Each monthly installment of Test features two poets, each of whom reads for 30-40 minutes. The readings are followed by a brief question and […]
PAST EVENT
Music In Alternative Spaces #10: Isabelle Noel
16 September 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Saturday, September 16, 2006, 9PM, at Mercer Union FREE For the tenth in our series of 10 Music In Alternative Spaces concerts, Isabelle Noel plans to develop a series of video murals with music, based on the theme of icons and notions of Canadian cultural identity, circa 70’s, and plans to compose […]
PAST EVENT
Garage Sale
5 August 2006 12am - 12amMercer Union’s Third Annual Garage Sale Saturday, August 5, 8am-4pm Purge then Splurge: Mercer Union is preparing for our huge third annual Garage Sale. We are currently accepting donations of books that have been read, CDs that have been ripped, clothes tha have been out-grown, equipment that has been upgraded, furniture that no longer fits, […]
PAST EVENT
Clothing Swap
30 July 2006 12am - 12amMERCER UNION’S FIRST EVER CLOTHING SWAP Sunday, July 30, 2pm Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street FREE Bring the good, the sad, the polyester. Here’s how it works: You come with clothing to swap – one item or thirty, whatever you want to exorcise from your closet. Come when the swap starts. Put your items into […]
PAST EVENT
Music In Alternative Spaces #9: Friendly Rich Marsella and The Lollipop People
15 July 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Saturday, July 15, 2006, 9PM, at Mercer Union FREE For the nineth in our series of 10 Music In Alternative Spaces concerts, Friendly Rich Marsella will create, a unique orchestration, a truly distinctive and strange style of cabaret music with The Lollipop People, a blend of several talented musicians, each coming from […]
PAST EVENT
monochrom lecture and performance
13 July 2006 12am - 12amPress Release: The Blackwood Gallery and Mercer Union present: monochrom: “We’re great together, the liberal society and it’s enemies” A lecture/event at Mercer Union, 8pm, Thursday July 13th, 2006 Free Admission monochrom from Vienna is a collective, operating worldwide, that deals with technology, art, context hacking and philosophy and was founded in 1993. monochrom is […]
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces #6: Colin Clark
27 May 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Music in Alternative Spaces #6: Colin Clark Saturday, May 27, 9pm, at Mercer Union FREE The Lions band will play verbal, graphic, and indeterminate scores by John Cage, Colin Clark, Christopher May, Michael Parsons, and Christian Wolff in their own idiosyncratic way. This concert includes the premiere of Staggering Numbers by Colin […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: Stephen Cain and Lisa Robertson Wednesday, May 24, 6pm
24 May 2006 12am - 12amMercer Union presents: Test Reading Series Stephen Cain and Lisa Robertson a launch for Lisa Robertson’s The Men: A Lyric Book (BookThug) Wednesday May 24, 6pm* (Please note early start.) Curated by Mark Truscott Admission: PWYC ($5 recommended, all of which benefits the readers) Each monthly installment of Test features two poets, each of whom […]
PAST EVENT
Yesterduh CD launch and Closing Party
24 May 2006 12am - 12amMercer Union and Wavelength present a release party for: Brian Joseph Davis’ Yesterduh CD Wednesday, May 24th 8:30 PM at Mercer Union, 37 Lisgar St. Toronto, FREE The CD For the month of April, artist Brian Joseph Davis ran a recording studio at the Mercer Union artist-run centre. Passersby were stopped and asked to […]
PAST EVENT
STELLAR LIVING 2006
27 April 2006 12am - 10 May 2006 12amApril 27-May 10, 2006 Location: Givins/Shaw Public School 180 Shaw St., Toronto (North of Queen St. West) Web site and online preview: www.mercerunion.org/SL Stellar Livingis a unique exhibition and auction featuring over 50 designers’, artists’ and architects’ visions of contemporary urban style. More about Stellar LIving
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces #4 and #5: Josh Thorpe and John Mark Sherlock
18 March 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Saturday, March 18, 2006, 9pm, at Mercer Union FREE About his work for the fourth in our series of 10 Music In Alternative Spaces concerts, Josh Thorpe writes: “The Mercer show contains two half-hour pieces. The first, a solo, will involve music boxes, objects, recordings, amplification, and unintelligable text by Gertrude Stein. […]
PAST EVENT
Performance: Awesome
24 February 2006 10pm - 12amPerformance by Awesome The opening reception of Infinity, Etc. begins at 8pm and is followed at 10pm by a performance by the decidedly druid Awesome, who will perform a feedback drenched set to “summon the malevolent and infinite cycle of Tinnitis on the day of the old Roman leap year. The usurper of Judas will […]
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces #3: Doug Tielli
18 February 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Saturday, February 18, 2006, 9PM, at Mercer Union FREE For the third in our series of 10 Music In Alternative Spaces concerts, No Man Band (Doug Tielli) will sing mostly British Isles folk songs through different objects that alter or filter the tone of the voice such as a tea pot, a […]
PAST EVENT
Music in Alternative Spaces #2: Clemens Merkel
21 January 2006 12am - 12amPlease join us: Saturday, January 21, 2006, 9PM, at Mercer Union FREE For the second in our series of 10 Music In Alternative Spaces concerts, Montréal based violinist Clemens Merkel (Quatour Bozzini, Kore, Wandelweiser) will give a rare performance of l’hiver monastique – 70 consolations harmoniques pour violon, a 70-minute work for solo violin, written […]
PAST EVENT
Dirtiest New Year’s Eve
31 December 2005 12am - 12am2006…. The Dirtiest is yet to come…. Saturday, December 31st, 2005: Visit the Dirtiest New Year’s Eve Website: www.dirtynewyearseve.com The Dirtiest New Year’s Eve Party 2006… It’s back. @ Studio 99 (99 Sudbury Street, Toronto) 10PM ‘til daybreak Must be 19 years +
PAST EVENT
Artist Talk: Kristan Horton and Candice Breitz
27 November 2005 12am - 12amSunday, November 27, 4pm (Free) Mercer Union presents artists’ talks by Kristan Horton and Candice Breitz: Kristan Horton was born in Canada in 1971. He studied at Guelph University and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has had an international exhibition career since the late 1990’s including Glassbox, Paris (FR), ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union Music Series, Programme #1: Linda Catlin Smith
19 November 2005 12am - 12amMercer Union presents: Music Series, Programme #1 Linda Catlin Smith plays Rudolf Komorous’ Anatomy of Melancholy Saturday 19 November, 2005, 9PM Mercer Union, A Centre for Contemporary Art 37 Lisgar Street, Toronto (west of Dovercourt, south of Queen) Free Toronto based composer, Linda Catlin Smith, will DJ her own 2-hour version of Rudolf Komorous’ Anatomy […]
PAST EVENT
Test Reading Series: BILL KENNEDY + DARREN WERSHLER-HENRY and JESSICA SMITH
18 November 2005 12am - 12amNovember 18, 7:30 p.m. BILL KENNEDY is the Artistic Director of The Scream Literary Festival and a poetry editor for Coach House Books. He organized the very-much-missed Lexiconjury Reading Series. He also runs Stop14, a new media development company. DARREN WERSHLER-HENRY teaches Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is the author of two books […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union presents The Centre of Attention at the Toronto International Art Fair
4 November 2005 12am - 7 November 2005 12amMercer Union presents The Centre of Attention (UK) at the Toronto International Art Fair, INTERACTIVE 05. The Centre of Attention is curated by Pierre Coinde and Gary O’Dwyer. Its experimental approach stems from an ongoing enquiry into the phenomenon of art production, presentation, consumption and heritage-ization. www.thecentreofattention.org INTERACTIVE 05: Conceived by Thom Sokoloski and Clara […]
PAST EVENT
Garage Sale: Purge then Binge!
20 August 2005 12am - 12amSaturday Aug 20 2005 8AM to 12 Noon Location: Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street Toronto, Ontario (Queen Street West & Dovercourt) Purge then Binge! The Mercer Union Garage Sale This Saturday (August 20th) at the ungodly hour of 8am. We are looking for donations of books you’ve already read, music you no longer listen to, […]
PAST EVENT
Party Mercer Party in Venice
11 June 2005 12am - 12amParty Mercer Party Saturday 11 June 2005 23:00 till dawn Università luav di Venezia Convento di San Nicolò da Tolentini Campo dei Tolentini, Santa Croce Vaporetto Piazzale Roma Music by DJ SuperPeakNick + DJ Nis + DJ Ravix First 500 guests will each receive a Rebecca Belmore button produced by C Magazine and Mercer Union’s […]
PAST EVENT
Trip to the Venice Biennale
9 June 2005 12am - 12 June 2005 12amJoin Mercer Union on a trip to the Venice Biennale exclusive press opening from June 9th to June 12th, to support Canada’s presentation of Rebecca Belmore. Prices are per person (early-bird discount no longer available): 7 nights $2,200 CAD, 3 stars, DOUBLE accommodation $3,000 CAD, 3 stars, SINGLE accommodation Trip includes: 1. Airfare (direct flight […]
PAST EVENT
THE EIGHT HOUR DRONE SHOW
29 May 2005 12am - 12amMERCER UNION AND BLOCKS RECORDING CLUB (www.blocksblocksblocks.com) PRESENT THE EIGHT HOUR DRONE SHOW at MERCER UNION 37 LISGAR STREET (QUEEN AND DOVERCOURT) 12 NOON TO 8 PM SUNDAY MAY 29TH, 2005 Blocks Recording Club and Mercer Union present the EIGHT HOUR DRONE SHOW. A fundraiser for Blocks Recording Club, curated and organized by Alex Snukal […]
PAST EVENT
Images Festival Off Screen Closing Party
15 April 2005 12am - 12amMercer Union presents: The 18th Annual Images Festival Off Screen Closing Party @ Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street (one street west of Dovercourt, south of Queen) FRIDAY, 15 APRIL, 2005, 9:30PM Raffle! Raffle! Raffle! Prizes include: Nikon Coolpix 4100 digital camera Cinematheque Ontario dual membership Famous Players movie passes Black Dog Video gift certificates Prefix […]
PAST EVENT
St. Patricks Day Party
17 March 2005 12am - 12amGet Lucky @ Mercer Union’s St. Patrick’s Day Party Thursday March 17, Doors 9 PM+ DJ Luis Jacob The Lollipop People and the dueling fiddlers Door prizes! Green beer! $5 general $3 members (please show membership card) Mercer Union 37 Lisgar Street Toronto ON t. 416 536-1519 info@mercerunion.org
PAST EVENT
Platform: Music in Alternative Spaces
24 February 2005 12am - 12amThursday, 24 February, 2005, 7:30PM at Mercer Union Anne Sulikowski and Jeff Sinibaldi A Mercer Union co-presentation with the Art Gallery of York University The AGYU’s experimental music series continues with a performance by Hamilton-based musicians Anne Sulikowski and Jeff Sinibalidi at Mercer Union. Using computers and sequencers Sulikowski blends and layers drone, ambient fragments, […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture: BGL
13 January 2005 12am - 12amLecture Thursday, January 13, 7 PM Front Gallery: BGL Need to Believe “Junior lives in the city. He is 11 years old and goes to the neighbourhood school. Gilles, his father, is a computer programmer/analyst and his mother Gisèle is a telephone operator for a big company. Just like every Sunday afternoon, they go out […]
PAST EVENT
Platform Performance: AWP, Friday 12 November, 8:30 PM
12 November 2004 12am - 12amJoin us at Mercer Union where Atelier Wundershön Peplum (AWP) and guest musicians Martin Arnold and Matthias Delplanque will perform live, followed by a discussion forum to launch their Spring 2005 TorontoTroll project at Mercer Union. AWP is a Paris-based interdisciplinary collective whose practice integrates visual arts, design, music, architecture, and landscape design. AWP has […]
PAST EVENT
Trip to Havana Biennial, Cuba
30 October 2004 12am - 7 November 2004 12amThursday October 30 – Friday November 7, 2003 SOLD OUT! Join us at the opening of the Havana Biennial for an insiders look at contemporary Cuban culture through a special program of studio visits, gallery tours and events customized by MU. SOLD OUT! Airfare (Lacsa Air), entrance tourist card, accommodation at a local casa particular […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Lecture: Lise Nellemann (Director, Sparwasser HQ / Berlin)
7 October 2004 12am - 12amThursday, October 7, 7 PM (FREE) Lise Nellemann (Director, Sparwasser HQ / Berlin) Offensive für zeitgenössische Kunst und Kommunikation, Berlin and other artist curatorial projects. The Danish artist Lise Nellemann will give a presentation on Sparwasser HQ, a leading Berlin venue for emerging Nordic and International artists. Based on a collaborative process and linked to […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Video Screening curated by Lise Nellemann
5 October 2004 12am - 12amTuesday, October 5, 6:30 – 8:00 PM (FREE) “a complete guide to rewriting one’s own history” Curated by Lise Nellemann (Director, Sparwasser HQ / Berlin) It is uninteresting to think about art; we must instead think through it. Both the work itself and the common exhibition project are thinking machines. Through them, we reflect upon […]
PAST EVENT
Curator Lecture: Dannys Montes de Oca Moreda (Havana, Cuba)
3 September 2004 12am - 12amThe Power Plant and Mercer Union Present >>CURATOR LECTURE: Dannys Montes de Oca Moreda (Havana, Cuba) Friday, September 3rd, 2004, 7PM [Free] Dannys Montes de Oca Moreda will discuss contemporary Cuban art, digitally-based art, as well as a recasting of Cuban art history as it is based in her recent exhibition in Havana. Dannys Montes […]
PAST EVENT
Carnivale
23 July 2004 12amBrad Brace OCTOBER 9 Screening: “Arrival”, 16 mm film at Funnel, Experimental Film Theatre. Painting, Sticks, Photography Canadian Artist, Halifax
PAST EVENT
Beyond the Surface:Performance
9 July 2004 12amSeptember 16, 1980, 8pm. Il Gruppo Di Ricerca Materialistica PRESS RELEASE Extracted from notes by Giancarlo Pagliasso …” The performance deals with the connections between architecture and painting in the 18th century. The most important themes developed concern Neo-classicism, Romanticism and HegeIian dialectics, but there are references to many other cultural “subjects”. (For example, to […]
PAST EVENT
Three on 23: Performance
9 July 2004 12amMarch 23, 1980, 2pm Wendy Knox-Leet: How to Get to Heaven Ted Weir: #2,1980 Missing Associates (Peter Dudar, Lily Eng, Corinne Palmer): Resistance
PAST EVENT
CURATORIAL DISCUSSION: Thursday, June 12th
12 June 2004 12am - 12amAn informal presentation by Kim Simon followed by a directed discussion with select panelists (tba).
PAST EVENT
Platform Lecture by Xandra Eden
8 June 2004 12am - 12amTuesday, 8 June, 7PM @ Mercer Union [FREE] Xandra Eden will discuss her recent projects in relation to accepted conceptions of art history, mutations in popular culture, and the question of reciprocity between artistic and curatorial practice in exhibitions. Xandra Eden is assistant curator for The Power Plant, Toronto. Her recent exhibitions include The Cave […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Living 04….. Better Living
20 May 2004 12am - 12amwww.mercerunion.org/ml Exhibition: Wednesday, 12 May to Thursday, 20 May, Free Auction: Thursday, 20 May, $25 Location: 129 Spadina, 2nd Floor Better Living is an optimistic exhibition in which we ask artists, designers and architects to share their visions of contemporary urban style and their insights of new models for how we live. The responses will […]
PAST EVENT
Reviews: Talk with Tom Folland and Natalie Olanick
24 February 1996 3pmFebruary 24, 1996, 3pm
PAST EVENT
Platform Artist Talk: Morten Goll and Tone Nielson (Copenhagen, Denmark)
13 April 2004 12am - 12amTuesday, 13 April, 2004, 7PM FREE Morten Goll and Tone Nielson will be participating in a residency at Mercer Union in December 2004, when they will present a community-based project. Goll and Nielson will be in Toronto April 7th to 18th for a preliminary research visit to establish contacts and conceptualize their project. For their […]
PAST EVENT
A CURATORIAL DISCUSSION: Dave Dyment, Barbara Fischer, Ben Portis, Michael Meredith
27 March 2004 12am - 12amSaturday, March 27th, 4pm @ Mercer Union [FREE] A short and informal presentation by Dave Dyment (board member and programme committee member, Mercer Union) followed by a directed discussion with select panelists, including: Barbara Fischer (director/curator, Blackwood Gallery), Ben Portis (associate curator of contemporary art, Art Gallery of Ontario), and Michael Meredith (board member, Mercer […]
PAST EVENT
Cocktail/Catalogue Hour 5-8 pm Ghostwriter Launch
19 March 2004 12amCome Savour the Phantasmagoric Tempo of A Sonic Marguerita Launch Thursday January 28, 1999 Ghostwriter essays by Andy Patton, Jamelie Hassan, Mary Anne Barkhouse, Gerald McMaster, Andy Fabo, Millie Chen. Edited by Lorraine Johnson Artists include: Shirin Neshat, John Abrams, Faye HeavyShield, Veronica Verkley, Don Hall, Robert Houle, Charline Boudrewau & Anne Golden, Brent Cehan, […]
PAST EVENT
Book Launch- Accidental Audiance: Urban Interventions by Artists
12 March 2004 12amApril 27, 2000 Cameron House 408 Queen St. West, 7-10pm
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union: ACTIVATING SOUNDSYSTEM: Open System
13 February 2004 12am - 12amFebruary 13th, 9PM (NOTE TIME CHANGE)–Open System Bring your vinyl, cds, dvds and video tapes to Mercer Union Friday Feb 13th to play on Mark Leckey’s custom-made “Soundsystem”. We’ll have two turntables, dual cd decks, video projector (dvd or vhs) and a mic open to deejays, video artists, mic chatterers and anyone who wants to […]
PAST EVENT
Mercer Union: ACTIVATING SOUNDSYSTEM — Stephen Parkinson and Friends: Little-Sounds Systems
6 February 2004 12am - 12amFebruary 6th, 9PM (NOTE TIME CHANGE) [$2.00] — Stephen Parkinson: Little-Sounds Systems Stephen Parkinson’s subtly surreal compositions will be heard through Mark Leckey’s Soundsystem, but just barely. In the first of two resolutely quiet concerts programmed by Martin Arnold (the second will feature Eric Chenaux’s music on Feb. 20), the Soundsystem takes part as a […]
PAST EVENT
ACTIVATING SOUNDSYSTEM: in conjunction with the Soundsystem exhibition is a weekly series of film & video screenings, live & recorded music, and sound-based performances.
15 January 2004 12am - 20 February 2004 12amJanuary 15, 8PM — Performance by Mark Leckey, London, UK: The Genius of the Church. January 16, 7PM — Screening of video works by Mark Leckey: Fiorucci, Made Me Hardcore, 1999; We are Untitled, 2001; Londonatella, 2002; Parade, 2003. January 22, 7PM — Performance by Mathieu Beauséjour, Montreal, Canada , programmed by Dave Dyment. January […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture by ANNE ELLEGOOD Friday November 14, 7pm @ Mercer Union [Free]
14 November 2003 12am - 12amAnne Ellegood received her MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in upstate New York and is currently the New York-based curator for Peter Norton’s collection. Prior to joining the Norton Family Office in April 2003, she was the associate curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art where she organized the […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Guest Lecture by Montreal artist Maria Sheriff
28 October 2003 12am - 12amTuesday, October 28, 2003, 7 pm @ Mercer Union [FREE] Presented by the Art Gallery of Ontario Montreal artist and filmmaker Maria Sheriff will give an artist talk on her project for the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Present Tense Contemporary Project Series, in which she combines sculptural form with the projected image in a new […]
PAST EVENT
Davide Quadrio: Toward A Chinese New Technological Era
14 October 2003 12am - 12amPlatform: Video art in China, with a special focus on the Shanghai art scene, curated by Davide Quadrio. Lecture: Tues., October 14, 7pm (at Mercer Union) Screening: Sat., October 11, 8pm (Latvian House, 491 College Street, Toronto) video programme: Wu Ershan, Open Fire, 2002, 5 min, Beijing Zhao Liang, Untitled, 2002, Shanghai Chen Xianyun, Sorrow […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Guest Lecture: Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy: Collecting, Chanelling
15 July 2003 12am - 12amTuesday, July 15, 7pm @ Mercer Union [FREE] *As part of Platform Programming we have developed “Curatorial Initiatives from Elsewhere,” an international curator’s lecture series that focuses on curatorial perspectives from ‘elsewhere’ for 2003-2004.*
PAST EVENT
If I had a Hi-Fi: 2002, A Palindrome show and sale.
12 December 2002 12am - 21 December 2002 12amLike a snake biting its own tail, we swallow the end of the last palindromic year we’ll ever see. Works by Shinobu Akimoto, Lois Andison, Christine Baigent, Ryan Barrett, Andrea Battersby, Cecilia Berkovic, Christian Bok, Paula Braswell, Aaron Brwer, Adam Brown, Michael Buckland, Crystal Bueckert, Judy Cheung, Carrie Chisholm, Blayne Collins, Timothy Comeau, Tanya Cunnington, […]
PAST EVENT
Roadworks, performance festival and exhibition
13 July 2002 12am - 31 July 2002 12amC. Wells start location: King St. W. at Sudbury St. End location: Kensington Market. Dusk to dawn Begun in 1996 as a component within a larger painting practice that asserts the socio-cultural contribution of the line marker; ‘the hand loves that which is hard’ is an ongoing photo-performance project that involves the re-painting of line […]
PAST EVENT
MERCER LIVING
17 April 2002 4pm - 19 April 2002 11pmFind your Urban Styles… Mercer Union presents Mercer Living, a fundraising auction to support its 2002/2003 programming year of the work of emerging Canadian and international artists. The fabulous Stephen Ranger of Ritchie’s Auctioneers will auction 51 exciting worked for the home and office. Artists participating include Kim Adams, James Carl, Massimo Guerrera, Spring Hurlbut, […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Sentiment Express
9 February 2002 12am - 12amShilpa Gupta Platform: Sentiment Express Co-sponsored by the South Asian Visual Arts Collective @ The Loftus Lloyd Café, 401 Richmond St. W. Lecture with Shilpa Gupta @ The Women’s Art Resource Centre, 401 Richmond St. W. suite 122 Lecture co-sponsored by SAVAC and WARC. …since you are too busy to send a handwritten letter nowadays, […]
PAST EVENT
Stereotactic
1 August 2001 12am - 12am1. Two performers 2. Live video mixing (montage, time and image displacement) 3. The projection 4. The screen 4.The dj Michelle Kasprzak is an artist who processes all manner of moving and still images, often in a performative context. Michelle and collaborator Mike Steventon, as badpacket, regularly create […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture: Matthew Higgs at the Rivoli
7 April 2001 3pmOntario College of Art and Design & Mercer Union present: Matthew Higgs Saturday, April 7, 3:00pm Location: The Rivoli, 334 Queen St West Admission is free Matthew Higgs will present an autobiographical lecture considering the flux and overlaps of his own practice, operating between education, curating, writing and art-making.
PAST EVENT
Screening: British New Wave: Oliver Payne and Nick Relph
6 April 2001 8pmPleasureDome and Mercer Union present: British New Wave: Oliver Payne and Nick Relph Friday, April 6, 2001, 8:00pm Location: Cinecycle, 129 Spadina Ave. (down the alley) Program curator, Matthew Higgs, will be present to introduce the work of these rising British filmmakers. Working collaboratively, Oliver Payne and Nick Relph make films that approximate the language […]
PAST EVENT
No Mercy, Art World Wrestling Federation Championships, Friday April 6, 2001
6 April 2001 12am - 12amHave you noticed how often it seems to be Wrestling Night in Toronto lately? Things have been getting downright down and dirty as the denizens of the art world probe each other’s soft spots. There’s been trash talk and sweet talk, and now it’s time to make it official. It’s time to see […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture: Matthew Higgs at Mercer Union
4 April 2001 7pm - 10pmLecture Matthew Higgs Wednesday, April 4, 2001, 7:00pm Location: Mercer Union Admission is free Matthew Higgs will give a lecture considering certain aspects of recent British Art, exploring the phenomena of the ‘yBa’ (‘young British artists’) and the development of independent artist initiated projects throughout the 1990s, including the work of the artist Jeremy Deller […]
PAST EVENT
Platform: Music Series
23 September 2000 12am - 11 September 2000 12amThe Music Series is set to start this fall with four Saturday night concerts: September 23 Marmots play Martin Arnold, Townes van Zandt, and Sheath and Knife. Featuring: Martin Arnold, melodica and organ Sandy Baron, violin Allison Cameron, keyboards Eric Chenaux, guitars and electronics Ryan Driver, analog electronics Kurt Newman, lap steel and dobro Stephen […]
PAST EVENT
PERFORMANCE: La Manga: Once Upon a Time
8 September 2000 12am - 12amPerformance: Once Upon A Time From August 8 to September 8, the Mexican performance group La Manga will be participating in the first residency program at Gibraltar Point through the support of Mercer Union. This program has been developed by Artscape and members of the Toronto art community to establish an ongoing artists residency on […]
PAST EVENT
The Lonely Lisgar Performance Festival
30 July 2000 12am - 12amSunday July 30, 2000 3 – 7 pm Admission free Mercer Union is pleased to present a Platform event: The Lonely Lisgar Street Performance Festival: an outdoor, afternoon performance happening. Fifteen performance artists or groups will participate in an outdoor festival that will use the surrounding environment and Lisgar Street at our new location. The […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture: Girl as Covergirl: Su-en Wong
7 June 2000 6pm - 9pmLecture: Girl as Covergirl Art Gallery of Ontario Opening: Wednesday, June 7, 2000, 6 – 6:30 pm Lecture in the Ridley Member’s Lounge, 7:30 pm New York based artist Su-en Wong is featured in the fifteenth exhibition of Present Tense, an ongoing series of current work by Canadian and International artists. Su-en Wong’s paintings […]
PAST EVENT
Performance: Elizabeth Cohen: Flesh +1
13 April 2000 8pmElizabeth Cohen: Flesh +1 Performance: Thursday April 13, 8:30 pm This performance explores the ways in which we live on a continuum with the world around us, with the animals and objects in our world. By extending the surface of the body so that we experience our body as “more than”, this work creates a […]
PAST EVENT
Lecture: Francesco Conz.
10 February 1999 12am - 12amFebruary 10, 1999 Francesco Conz maintains an important archive and collection of contemporary art, located in Verona, Italy. He is also a publisher and photographer who worked with most members of FLUXUS since the 60’s. But his range of interest is very much wider than that from concreate sound and poetry to the Vienna Actionists […]
PAST EVENT
Performance evening: Pousse Cafe
17 November 1998 8pmNov 7, 1998 8pm De Leon White Gallery 455 King Street West Featuring: Tanya Mars, Shannon Cochrane, Anne Marie Hood, Johanna Householder, Istvan Kanton, Robert Lee, Jusith Norris, Stephen Rife. Curated by: Louise Liliefeldt and Paul Couillard
PAST EVENT
Performance: Ethnic Talent for Export
11 November 1994 12am - 13 November 1994 12amMexarcane International Ethnic Talent for Export Performance artists Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Live demonstrations of “Ethnic Talents” Lecture: Thursday November 10, 1994, 8pm Internationally acclaimed artists Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña have invented a fictional multinational, Mexarcane International, that markets and distributes ethnic talent world-wide. Clothed in costumes drawn from indigenous and popular cultures […]
PAST EVENT
5 Solo Concerts
1 January 1970 12amOctober 27: Transmythe- Glenn Hilke (percussion) Christiane Bertrand (vocalist) November 3: Joseph Petrie (accordian) November 7: Theodore Gentry (counter tenor) November 10: Salvador Ferreras (marimba) November 14: New World Music- Zulema Clas (vocalist), Ron Allen (saxaphone/wind synthesizer)
PAST EVENT
5 Solo Concerts
2 November 1983 12am - 16 November 1983 12amNovember 2: Gordon Monahan (piano/electronics) November 5: Dan Scheidt (digital synthesizer) November 9: Kathy Duncan (solo flute) November 12: Dick Armin (solo cello/electronics) November 16: Casey Sokol (solo piano)
PAST EVENT
MERCERAMA
18 April 1983 12am - 7 May 1983 12amPerformance: Mercerama Mercer Union will be hosting three weeks of ‘Performance’ by artists, choreographers, musicians, and film-makers. Both the East and West galleries will be given over to interdisciplinary performers from Montreal, Toronto, and New York, providing the opportunity for them to rehearse, hold workshops, and give performances and screenings. These intensive three weeks will […]
PAST EVENT
Five Solo Concerts
24 November 1982 12am - 8 December 1982 12amNovember 24: Owen Underhill (composer plays composer) November 27: Kathleen Solose (piano) December 1: Catherine Lewis (soprano) accompanied by Phillip Tillotson (piano) December 4: Christopher Butterfield (composer/performer) December 8: Richard Sacks (percussion)
PAST EVENT
If You Lived Here You’d Be Home Now
13 November 1982 12am - 14 November 1982 12am(Image: Johanna Householder and Frances Leeming, “If You Lived Here You’d Be Home Now”, 1982). PRESS RELEASE Are your ambitions in tune with the ambitions of your environment? IF YOU LIVED HERE – YOU’D BE HOME NOW a performance by Johanna Householder and Frances Leeming will be presented November 13 and 14, 1982 at 9:00 […]
PAST EVENT
The Drums of India
8 August 1982 12am - 12amMusical performance on August 9th at 9:00pm.
PAST EVENT
Art/Music Series 1982: Peripheral Vision
2 May 1982 12am - 12amAn Open Space Concert of Spheric Music.
