Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival launches at MOCCA!
Canadian Premiere of the Archive of Modern Conflict! Recent Work by Michael Snow!

TORONTO, Ontario, May 1, 2013 – The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is pleased to launch the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival 2013 with two of the festival’s ten primary exhibitions: Archive of Modern Conflict: Collected Shadows and Michael Snow: The Viewing of Six New Works in our galleries from May 2 – June 2, 2013. The festival launch and the public opening reception will take place on Wednesday May 1, from 7 – 10pm.

Collected Shadows provides a rare glimpse into the Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC), challenging us to reassess the very foundations of how we visualize the past and present. Through unexpected juxtapositions and associations across time periods, geographies, techniques, and subject matter, the exhibition presents wonderfully eccentric salon-style arrangements that cohere into rich stories when they come together on the gallery walls. Collected Shadows is curated by Timothy Prus, organized by the AMC, London, and co-presented by MOCCA and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

MOCCA also presents Michael Snow: The Viewing of Six New Works, for our widely acclaimed National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art program. With The Viewing of Six New Works, Snow presents a series of high-definition videos created with touchscreen-capture software that recorded his gestures. The six-channel installation traces the movements a viewer’s eyes might make as they gaze upon images on the wall. Michael Snow: The Viewing of Six New Works is organized by MOCCA and National Gallery of Canada, and presented in conjunction with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

The CONTACT public installation in MOCCA’s courtyard this year is a large-scale mural by Tel Aviv- based artist IIit Azoulay. In Tree, For, Too, One (special edition), what appears to be a logical grouping of real items displayed on a wall soon reveals itself as a complex, photographic image depicting seemingly unrelated objects. Gathered from her excavation of a demolished building in Israel, Azoulay’s photomontage presents an image born from destruction within a site that is ultimately destined for redevelopment. 
Presented in partnership with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival with support from Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc.

Quotes:

• Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director, Scotiabank CONTACT Festival
  “There is a provocative relationship between the three CONTACT presentations at MOCCA, which highlight the act of looking at images and their relationship to the viewer. Contrasting elements of history and technology, darkness and light, density and subtlety, each of them challenges us to consider how we interpret images, as their meaning shifts with time, place, and circumstance.”

• David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, MOCCA
  “We’re very pleased and excited to be collaborating with two of our regular program partners, the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and the National Gallery of Canada to be bringing this recent work by Michael Snow, one of Canada’s most internationally-renowned artists, to audiences in Toronto.

Links / URLs

• Learn more about Collected Shadows
• Learn more about The Viewing of Six New Works
• Learn more about the NGC@MOCCA program
• Learn more about Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

Tags / Keywords

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA, National Gallery of Canada, NGC, NGC@MOCCA, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Archive of Modern Conflict, AMC, Collected Shawdows, Michael Snow, The Viewing of Six New works, llit Azoulay, Tree, For, Too, One.

About the National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art 

The National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is a three-year program that sees the two institutions co-organize and co-present a series of exclusive exhibitions in MOCCA’s newly-renovated project space, drawn from the NGC’s exceptional contemporary art collection. These include the presentation of single works, new acquisitions or full-scale exhibitions designed to complement MOCCA’s existing programming. Learn more about theNGC@MOCCA program.  

About the NGC http://www.gallery.ca/

The National Gallery of Canada at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is generously supported by AXA Art Canada, Cineplex Media, World MasterCard^® and The Ouellette Family Foundation. The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is grateful for the patronage of THE ART DEPT., a leadership circle of MOCCA patrons.

About MOCCA

The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999, with the mandate to exhibit, research, collect, and promote innovative art by Canadian and non-Canadian artists whose works engage and reflect the relevant stories of our times. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to the West Queen West Art + Design District in downtown Toronto, in the heart of one of North America’s most dynamic arts communities and functions effectively as a nucleus of energies for cultural production and exchange. Since 2006, MOCCA draws 40,000 visitors annually.

All programs and activities of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art are supported by Toronto Culture, the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, BMO Financial Group, Cisco Canada, The Hal Jackman Foundation, individual memberships and private donations.

For ongoing news, please go to http://www.mocca.ca/media-centre

About Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
CONTACT, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1997 and granted charitable status in 2011, is generously supported by Scotiabank, BMW Group Canada, Nikon Canada, Torys LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc., Pattison Outdoor Advertising, Vistek, Hewlett-Packard Canada, Kronenbourg, Cutty Sark, Transcontinental PLM, 3M Canada, Four By Eight Signs, Beyond Digital Imaging, Toronto Image Works, Superframe, The Drake Hotel, The Gladstone Hotel, Santa Carolina, The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s Magazine, Toronto Life, The Grid, and BlogTO.

CONTACT gratefully acknowledges the support of Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Celebrate Ontario, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, the Mondriaan Fund, and the Hal Jackman Foundation.

CONTACT fosters and celebrates the art and profession of photography with an annual festival in May and year-round programming in the CONTACT Gallery.

Media Contacts
For more information on MOCCA or to interview a MOCCA spokesperson or artist, please contact:
Fayiaz Chunara Head, Communications and Marketing | 416.395.7490 | fchunara@mocca.ca

For more information on CONTACT or to interview a CONTACT spokesperson or artist, please contact NKPR:
Lisa Kwong | 416.365.3630 x242 | lisa@nkpr.net

Donates Proceeds of Award to Toronto Artist Shary Boyle

Toronto, Ont., April 13, 2013 – Earlier this evening, The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and BMO Financial Group presented Partners in Art (PIA), the volunteer-based not-for-profit group of contemporary art supporters with the $25,000 MOCCA Award in Contemporary Art 2013 during a gala event at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto this evening. The biennial award was established by MOCCA in 2007 to honour Canadians active in the field of visual arts for innovation, accomplishment or contribution over time, or for a specific project that has national or international significance.

Since its inception in 2002, PIA has cultivated key alliances among artists, gallerists, curators, educators, arts organizations, the business community and the public to develop vital and exciting contemporary art projects that promote Canadian art and artists on the national and international stage. As a perfect example of their generous work in support of Canadian contemporary artists, PIA announced that it would be giving the $25,000 prize to the National Gallery of Canada’s Venice Biennale fundraising committee in support of the 2013 Canadian artist representative, celebrated Toronto-based artist Shary Boyle.

Each guest at the gala received a limited edition artwork created specifically for the occasion by Ms. Boyle. By hosting the 2013 MOCCA Award gala at the Art Gallery of Ontario – the recipient of PIA’s first institutional gift – MOCCA pays tribute to the collaborative spirit of Partners in Art and their remarkable ten years of pioneering philanthropy.

Quotes:

• David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, MOCCA:
  “As MOCCA itself has been a leader in developing strategic and wide-ranging partnerships and collaborations across Toronto and Canada, we feel an affinity with the spirit of partnership that defines Partners in Art. By donating their Award to MOCCA’s institutional partner, the National Gallery of Canada, in support of Shary Boyle in Venice, Partners in Art demonstrates here tonight, before our very eyes, the reciprocal and exponential power of partnership.”

• Gilles Ouellette, President and CEO, Private Client Group, BMO Financial Group – Presenting Sponsor of the MOCCA Award:
  “Since 2002, Partners in Art has been an important supporter of contemporary art in Canada – benefiting countless artists and cultural organizations in the process. Their generous support of Shary Boyle shows all of us yet again why the members of PIA are worthy recipients of the 2013 MOCCA Award.

• Yvonne Fleck and Mimi Joh, Co-Chairs, 2012-14, Partners in Art (PIA):
  “PIA has lots to celebrate during its tenth anniversary year and receiving and ‘re-gifting’ the MOCCA Award in Contemporary Art to Shary Boyle was especially important to the organization. As we look ahead to the next ten years, PIA plans to continue to build on its current work as well as undertake a greater role in advocacy, with a goal of influencing public policy around contemporary visual arts and supporting our cultural legacy both in Toronto and nationally.”

Sponsors:

• Presenting Sponsor: BMO Financial Group
• Silver Sponsors: AIMIA, McKinsey & Company, Scotiabank
• Media Sponsor, Newsprint: National Post
• Media Sponsor, Magazine: Toronto Life

Highlights/Key Facts:

Previous recipients of the MOCCA Award include:

• Michael Snow (2007)
• Matthew Teitelbaum, Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO, Art Gallery of Ontario(2009)
• Edward Burtynsky (2011)

Links/URLs:

• For more information on the MOCCA Award: http://www.moccaaward.ca
• Read full text press release: http://www.moccaaward.ca/media-centre
• For more information on Partners in Art: http://www.partnersinart.ca
• View the MOCCA Award / PIA Videos on the MOCCA App or MOCCA’s Youtube Channel

About Partners in Art (PIA)
Founded in 2002, Partners in Art (PIA) is a volunteer-based, not-for-profit corporation of Toronto art supporters with an interest in promoting the visual arts in Canada in two ways: first, by partnering with established arts organizations on collaborative fund-raising projects; and secondly, by furthering members’ own understanding and knowledge of the visual arts through an active education program.The group cultivates alliances among artists, curators, educators, businesses, and the public to develop vital and exciting contemporary art projects that raise the awareness of Canadian art and artists nationally and internationally. In the past ten years, PIA has raised more than $1 million in sponsorship dollars. The group solicits sponsors to fund its activities, organizes fundraising events, and accepts donations from the public.

About MOCCA
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999. In 2005, MOCCA relocated to the West Queen West Art + Design District in downtown Toronto, in the heart of one of North America’s most dynamic arts communities. Our facility is modest in scale, impressive in design, and functions effectively as a nucleus of energies for cultural production and exchange.

For ongoing news, please go to http://www.mocca.ca/media-centre

Media Contacts:

MOCCA
Fayiaz Chunara, Head, Communications and Marketing, 416.-395-7490, fchunara@mocca.ca

Partners in Art
Ethan Pigott, beSPEAK Communications, 416-558-2783, ethan@bespeakcommunications.com or

Eileen Tobey, beSPEAK Communications, 416-540-4047, eileen@bespeakcommunications.com

The artists are compelled by questions surrounding being-ness, performance, and the Other in both films as well as notions of captivity. Tanya Lukin Linklater has developed a physical score derived from gesture, body and subtle movement from both films, accompanied by an interpretation of musical sections chosen from the respective film scores. The editing of select landscape shots from each film (Hudson Bay tundra/sea ice and Japanese sand dunes/ocean) by Duane Linklater provides the backdrop for an installation that investigates questions surrounding authenticity, ethnography, and appropriation.

Using accounts from Arab writers at the time of the crusades and
with a “cast” of 120 individually crafted ceramic puppets, Shawky
effects a collision of traditions. The puppets were made according to
classic Provençal techniques, and the film was shot in the South of
France in a Christian church, but the story being told is on an epic scale,
with episodes spanning from the end of the first crusade in 1099 to the
start of the second almost 50 years later. The use of puppets in the
chronicling of a history of violence, betrayal and intrigue makes the
tales told here intimate and mysterious, but also keeps us at a
distance. There is no attempt to create any illusion of realism or to hide
the strings that manipulate the characters. Rather, the web of strings
refer back to the structural powers that manipulate history, beyond the
control of individuals. Princes, kings, clerics and military men strive for,
gain and lose power in a seemingly endless cycle. But watching these
power struggles from a time gone by brings us as much into the
present as the past, and makes us reflect on how little has changed in
the last 1,000 years.

The AMC’s founding interest in amateur and professional pho­tography from the First and Second World Wars has expanded to include images of all kinds covering a wide range of subjects. Based in the UK and Canada, the archive now includes more than four million photographs. Through unexpected juxtapositions and associations across time periods, geographies, and techniques, Collected Shadows focuses on natural and supernatural themes: earth, fire, air, and water, complemented by divinity, astrol­ogy, and flight. The AMC endeavors to “store, explore, and represent the lost shadows that lens-based technologies have scattered to the wind,” inciting the sense of wonder we bring to our engagements with photography.