The Contact Photography Festival takes over Toronto each May, and, as always, there is a lot to see and do in Ossington Village.
The theme for 2014 is Identity, of the photographer and the subjects. Exhibits exploring the theme of identity are plentiful in galleries, event spaces and out on the streets.
The festival officially launches May 2nd with a party at nearby MOCCA. This Friday from 7-10PM, stop by the Queen West contemporary art museum for the party and to see the exhibits, Material Self and Self Portrait of the Artist as An Other. Contact is the largest photography event in the world. Lucky you: you don’t even have to travel far to experience it. In addition to the launch party, talks and exhibits happen all around our neighborhood, on Ossington, Dundas West and Queen West.
Participating local galleries include Ossington’s O’Born Contemporary, hosting The Rift from Dominic Nahr, and the Dundas West Gallery TPW, with a multi-media presentation from Tris Vonna Mitchell called Capitol Complex.
On Dundas, swing by Loop Gallery for the Aquaphilia exhibit, with photos from large scale water parks and aquariums around the world. Queen West galleries in the festival include Stephen Bulger Gallery and Paul Petro Contemporary Art. Many of the gallery exhibits also include artist talks. Check the schedule for details.
Contact Festival exhibits are not confined to art galleries. Full of Beans, a coffee shop on Dundas, has an open exhibition of photos by local photographer Matthew Kudelka from the CNE, Midway. Also on Dundas West, the festival has overtaken billboards along the strip in an exhibit of Dana Claxton’s photos called Indian Candy.
This is a very far-reaching festival, so don’t stop with this very small list here. Almost everything is free, so check out the Contact Festival and explore the city through photographs.
