CONTACT 2013: May is Photography Month in Toronto
The 17th annual CONTACT Photography Festival is bigger than ever, with an overwhelming range of workshops, symposia, films, installations, events and book signings, and of course, photography exhibits.
This year's theme, 'Field of Vision', takes us in many fascinating directions, both photographically and geographically.
There are primary exhibitions at MOCCA (The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art), the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ryerson Image Centre and other locations. Smaller venues are all over the city, notably in the Junction, the west end neighbourhood which boasts the highest concentration of shows in the city. That's good news for me, it's close to my house!
In the 'Open Exhibitions', over 1500 artists can be seen at over 124 venues. So much to see, so little time! I realized that I needed to plan my viewing.
I looked through this year's CONTACT catalogue and started to choose some exhibits to visit. Many of the photographers' names were unfamiliar, but there were also some of my favourites. I've always admired the work of the late Arnaud Maggs, the winner of the 2012 Scotiabank Photography Award.
According to the Globe and Mail, I'm not the only one needing some guidance for navigating the Festival. Here's an article which helps narrow things down.
To help me decide what to see, I also thought I'd look at some of the photography books we have here at the library. Here are a few beautiful books about the photographers in this year's show.
Don't forget that you can check out Museum and Arts Passes (MAP) with your library card, for free admission to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum. If you're interested in creating your own images, the Digital Design Studio at the Toronto Reference Library can help.
So start planning your CONTACT 2013 experience! Visit their website online, or pick up this year's CONTACT catalogue or come to the Arts Department on the 5th floor of the Toronto Reference Library to browse through our copy. Enjoy the show!
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