This year-long project, part of our YYZUNLIMITED program, consists of a series of four audio tours of the built environment around YYZ. These tours are informal, meandering conversations, offering a casual but analytic inquiry, beginning at YYZ and moving out from there. Each lasts approximately an hour and can be encountered in two ways: 1) listen to them as you walk the route 2) in the comfort of your own home. Taking YYZ as the point of departure, the walks extend the mode of attention of the gallery into its surrounding contexts, seeking to draw attention and add complexity to the experience of public space.
Audio
For the first of these walks, NORTH, Thorpe and Court are joined by architects and artists Scott Sørli and Flavio Trevisan.
* Please note that approximately 8 minutes into the tour, what is describe as Richmond and John should be corrected to Richmond and Peter.
The second tour of the area surrounding YYZ, EAST, features a conversation with Michael McClelland and Phillip Evans from ERA Architects. The walk begins at 401 Richmond, heading east to the business district, and then back to Spadina. The conversation focuses on contemporary and historical aspects of Toronto’s built environment.
The third walk, SOUTH, features a conversation with transportation engineer Margaret Briegmann and architect James Brown. The tour begins at 401 Richmond, heading south to the lake in honor of the approaching summer.
The fourth tour, WEST, features a conversation with Scott Sørli and Flavio Trevisan about YYZ itself (with thanks to Deborah Wang and Will Elsworthy).
Artist Bios
David Court
David Court is an artist and writer living in New York. He has exhibited solo and collaborative projects across Canada and in New York, with current and upcoming projects for Printed Matter (with Josh Thorpe) and the 2011 CAFKA Biennial. David was involved as a contributor for the publication ‘Gordon Lebredt: Nonworks 1975 2008,’ co-published by the Center for Contemporary Canadian Art and Plug In Editions. He has written reviews and catalogue texts for publication in Canada, China and the US, including C Magazine, Fillip, and Art Papers. In 2008 he participated in the residency Making Artistic Inquiry Visible’ at the Banff Center. David holds a Masters in Visual Studies from the University of Toronto (2009) and a BFA from NSCAD University (2006).
Josh Thorpe
Josh Thorpe has a Master’s in Visual Studies from University of Toronto and he teaches at Ontario College of Art and Design and U of T. His work has been shown in Canada, the US, and Europe. Thorpe’s involvement in publishing has produced interviews, articles, and books, including Dan Graham Pavilions: A Guide publish by Art Metropole and Gordon Lebredt: Nonworks 1975 2008, co-published by the Center for Contemporary Canadian Art and Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. He lives in Glasgow, UK.