This week on the podcast we talk with Kenneth Montague, Curator & Owner of Wedge Gallery about the upcoming 'Ninety-Six Hours of Wedge: A Retrospective Exhibition and Book Launch' featuring an incredible line up of African Canadian/American photographers.

Opening Thursday, May 31st from 6-10 pm. Exhibition continues on June 1-3 from 12 noon-5 pm. Location: The Burroughes building 639 queen street west. Some of the photographers (like Jamal Shabazz) will be in a attendance.



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The Arts Now is a weekly podcast about the Toronto arts scene hosted by Ella Cooper and Amil Niazi.

The blogTO Contact Flickr Forum aims to feature some of the most intriguing images taken by fellow Torontonians and submitted to the special blogTO @ Contact pool. Submissions are welcome right up until the end of May!

This sampling of eclectic images, regardless of whether or not they individualy demonstrate the Contact festival's "constructed image" theme, do collectively form a unique "constructed image" of our thriving city, through the eyes and words of our readers and Flickr pool members.

Comments and questions for or by the photographers are always welcome!

Links to full-sized images after the jump...

I've always had an odd fascination, and yes, even an appreciation for Toronto's dwindling modernist structures. As much as I can completely understand how someone might view a building like Robarts Library at U of T as a clumsy and bulky monstrosity, there's a part of me that can't help but recognize that it still represents an amazingly important time in the evolution of our city. Toronto was no stranger to the Brutalist style after all. Yes i know, it's a gigantic concrete peacock... but it's our gigantic concrete peacock dammit!

Though the exhibition does not actually include Robarts Library, Mid-Century Icons still offers an eclectic and definitely nostalgic look into the modernist boom of not only Toronto, but urban Canada as a whole.

The blogTO Flickr Forum is a weekly dialogue for Torontonians and is based on their photographs and the stories behind them.

These images were recently submitted to the blogTO Flickr pool. The people that took the photographs have been invited to participate in discussions about them here. Anyone can start! Don't be shy!

Here are some general starter questions for all nine photographers:

Where/when was it taken?
Is there a story within or about your photograph?

1. The Death of Spiderman by Word Freak
2. NMS Nathan Phillips Square Pillow Fight 54.jpg by JaMmCat
3. Polly Esther vs Lynn Somnia by mikeghenu
4. Oh Canada! by kompot.photo
5. photojunkie much? by tanjatiziana
6. Brian With Joint by danepstein
7. Such Great Heights by MCXL5
8. sakura at sunset by syncros
9. Untitled by forever_7887

Earlier this week I wandered into the back gallery at Well and Good. The CONTACT exhibit, Second Glance, has been showing there since May 3rd. I'd heard good things from some friends who were there on opening night, and when I finally found some time to check it out for myself I wasn't disappointed.

Although it's a group show with contributions from Talia Shipman, Luna Simic, Claudio Bianchi, Che Kothari and Sammy Rawal, the photos that really grabbed me were from local, self-taught digital photographer Tobias Wang.

This week on the podcast Amil flies solo and interviews Lukas Geronimas and Niall Mclelland on their upcoming show Fighting at LE Gallery (1183 Dundas Street West) from May 11th to June 3rd.


Listen | Download the podcast
iTunes | Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
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