Photos from the Opening of Constructions of Femininity by Ingrid Mida at loop Gallery

Installation Shot, Constructions of Femininity by Ingrid Mida
Photo by Patricia Njovu 

Ingrid Mida at Opening Reception Loop Gallery, May 26, 2012
Photo by Patricia Njovu

A Peak into the Gallery

Selected installation shots of Constructions of Femininity show a sampling of my work on display at Loop Gallery, Toronto.

Just prior to the opening an elderly man banged on the window, pointed at the sculpture called Isobel (named after Lord Stanley's daughter who played hockey), and asked me "What does this mean?" Not wanting to give him a long explanation, I simply replied: "Women used to play hockey wearing long skirts and it helped stop the puck". He said "Good" and continued on his way. One of the most amusing parts of this installation is watching the reaction of people passing by. I often see people stop dead in their tracks, point and then peer inside the window. It is literally a traffic stopper. Drop by the gallery if you can. The show at loop runs until June 17, 2012.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Constructions of Femininity

My art show/installation Constructions of Femininity at loop Gallery opens on Saturday, May 26, 2012. Work on this project has been underway for more than a year, and has happened in fits and spurts as I've juggled a myriad of research papers, speaking engagements and other things. It has been one of the busiest years of my life and at times I've wondered why I took on so much. I didn't know how I would juggle it all and I've been tempted to walk away this opportunity more than once, but my biggest fan and supporter, my husband, believed that I could do it and would not let me quit.

Constructions of Femininity is an exploration of the artifice of feminine dress and identity. This work juxtaposes the extreme silhouettes of 18th century dress with the armour of the modern day hockey warrior and was inspired by young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power. Hockey equipment has been transformed with feminine signifiers of ribbon, sequins and beading paired with silhouettes such as a romantic tutu or panier made out of armour-like mesh.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for May 2012?

May will be a hectic month, with the opening of several must-see exhibitions:

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute in New York on May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the affinities between Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada will be considered. Taking inspiration from Miguel Covarrubias's "Impossible Interviews" for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, curators Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda have orchestrated conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their work. 

The exhibition will feature approximately ninety designs and thirty accessories by Schiaparelli (1890–1973) from the late 1920s to the early 1950s and by Prada from the late 1980s to the present, which have been selected from from The Costume Institute's collection, the Prada Archive, and private collectors. I'll be attending the press preview on May 7th and writing a review for Fashion Projects. 

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum 2012

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto presents Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection beginning May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the work of Roger Vivier, one of the 20th century's most important shoemakers, will be displayed for the first time in North America. Loans from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have been obtained to create a full picture of the work of this master shoemaker. I will be attending the opening party for this event on May 8th.

Armide by Opera Atelier, Photo by Bruce Zinger 2012

The spectacular production of Lully's Armide by Opera Atelier travels to Versailles, France and opens on May 11, 2012 in the Palace's Opera Royal for three performances. Shall we meet in Versailles or perhaps in Paris?

My upcoming exhibition at loop Gallery in Toronto opens on May 26, 2012. Constructions of Femininity is an exploration of the artifice of feminine dress and identity. This work juxtaposes the extreme silhouettes of 18th century dress with the armour of the modern day hockey warrior and was inspired by young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

My Upcoming Show at Loop Gallery

My upcoming exhibition at Loop Gallery in Toronto is entitled Constructions of Femininity and will run May 26 - June 17, 2012. In this exhibition, I explore the constructs of feminine dress and identity through photography, sculpture and textile works.

In this piece called "Samantha", hockey equipment has been transformed with feminine signifiers of ribbon and sequins and paired with a romantic tutu made out of armour-like mesh. The hockey-themed sculptures have been created to honour the young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for October 2011

Saena Afternoon Scent Collection

October is chock-a-block with fashion and arts related events:

October 1-2: This is the last weekend to see The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibition is a celebration of the 30 years of visionary and groundbreaking fashion creations by Jean Paul Gaultier under the premise that there is no singular standard of beauty. The exhibition will move on to venues in Dallas (November 13 - February 12, 2011) and San Francisco (March 24 - August 19, 2012). My review of the show can be read on Fashion Projects here.

October 1 from dusk until dawn: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is Toronto's all-night celebration of contemporary art. The menu of activities is too long to recount here, but one of the highlights will be a live performance called SLEEP as part of Gullivers' Rehearsal: Drawing into Performance at Loop Gallery.

until October 5: Paris Fashion Week.  I had two invitations to Paris Fashion Week this year neither of which I could accept.... Sigh! I am intrigued by the work of both of these talented young designers as they seem fresh and vibrant in their own way. I've mentioned Saena before as she appeals to my romantic side. Saena Chun is based in Berlin and creates modernist confections like the gorgeous dress shown above. The other designer who has caught my eye is Andrew Majtenyi who has created an edgy and fashion forward collection inspired by the Medieval trial of Katherina Hetzeldorfer in 1477. I am especially sorry to miss this one since I am currently doing research into how fashion designers reference history.

October 14: I will be giving the keynote address at the Costume Society of America mid-west conference on the topic of When Does Fashion Become Art?

October 17-21: The Spring/Summer 2012 Collections of LG (Toronto) Fashion Week Beauty by L’Oréal Paris will take place in their new home at the David Pecaut / Metro Square.  The SS12 Collections will include more than 40 shows and presentations filled with local talent.

October 20: The launch of my project tentatively titled  The Swing on this blog. I chose to do a creative project for one of my grad courses called Design, Text and Ideas and will be posting regular updates here as part of my progress reports for that assignment. This work takes its inspiration from the 18th century painting by Fragonard which is in the Wallace Collection. I will create a dress sculpture in a post-modern mash up of fabrics and using embroidery or other means as interventions to make the work into a conceptual art piece.

October 29: Opera Atelier’s 2011-12 Season opens with a glittering new period production of Don Giovanni designed by Martha Mann and my friend Gerard Gauci. The new production will be presented October 29, 30, November 1, 2, 4, and 5, 2011, at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto and will also be performed in Columbus, Ohio on November 25 and 27, 2011.

Photo provided courtesy of Saena.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Women of Armour

Women of Armour 3 (Work in Progress) by Ingrid Mida 2011

Sometimes inspiration comes when I least expect it. While doing research into Victorian equestrienne dress this past winter, I came across images of women playing hockey, mountaineering and playing tennis all while attired in cumbersome long skirts, sometimes even with crinolines. I admired the spirit of these courageous women who forged ahead with sport, finding pleasure in movement and play.  I began to contemplate the modern incarnation of such pioneers - young women who play hockey.

With full hockey equipment on, sometimes it is hard to tell that there is a girl or woman underneath and a  glimpse of a ponytail might be the only clue. After chatting with two young women who just happen to be talented hockey goalies, I was astonished by how much these girls love the game. Girls and women don't play hockey with dreams of a professional career. They play hockey for the sense of accomplishment they get from being on a team and for the adrenaline rush of the game. Their femininity is not in question here. They can be girls and hockey players!

I wanted to celebrate the spirit of the young women and girls who play hockey and am working on an art installation for my next show at Loop Gallery (May 2012). In the photo above, you can see an early work in progress from this series Women of Armour. (If you look closely, you can just barely see where the light catches the rows of sequins that I've begun to sew onto the pads, making it into an object of exquisite beauty and femininity.) The hockey padding has become the dress bodice and a mesh crinoline serves as the skirt, demonstrating how far we have come along the road to embracing our power as women.

In the exhibition, I also hope to include a series of photographs of young women hockey players, capturing the beauty of these powerful and gifted athletes. But first I need to find some! If you know any Toronto-based women hockey players who would allow me to photograph them or any women hockey players (from anywhere in the world) who would tell me more about their passion for the game, please forward this post to them along with my email fashionismymuse@gmail.com.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Vestiaire/Cloakroom by Lorène Bourgeois at Harbourfront Centre

Blitz child II by Lorene Bourgeois, 2011

Lorène Bourgeois: Vestiaire/Cloakroom opened at the Harbourfront Centre, Project room last night. In this show, Lorène presents a series of large-scale drawings and a video, based upon the subject of clothing and its relation to the human body and head.

"Recently, I have been exploring the territory of head and face protection, including gas masks and military helmets. I am interested not only in the social and utilitarian functions of these artifacts, but also in their qualities as physical objects - the way they frame or envelop the body, and the way they disclose or conceal the human form.

"Isolated from their original context, these objects seem to oscillate between functionality and theatricality, between absurdity and threat. It is this tension, the moment when the function of clothing slips into something less recognizable, that I wish to investigate."

Lorène Bourgeois lives and works in Toronto. Her work in drawing, painting, and printmaking has been exhibited across Canada, as well as in France, Korea, Russia, and the United States. A member of Loop Gallery and Open Studio in Toronto, she teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University.

Lorène and I are friends and I admire her work very much. We will be having a show together at Loop Gallery in May 2012.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

How do you define success?

My show "All is Vanity"at Loop Gallery has come down and the month long roller coaster ride is coming to an end.

Opening reception All is Vanity 2011

People have asked "was the show a success?" and I don't know how to answer that.  Is success measured in sales? accolades? media coverage?  I sat down and wrote out my wildest art show fantasies:

1. The director of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Matthew Teitelbaum, would come to the opening.
2. My work would attract the attention of the critics and be published in the national newspaper declaring my work "Best of".
3. I would have a tv interview.
4. At least one piece of my work would be purchased by a corporate collection.
5. The show would sell out.

Opening reception All is Vanity, 2011

While it seems to be a list of impossibilities, all of these things have actually happened to me at one point or another during my art career. And while I recognize the improbability of such events recurring, how do I then define whether or not the show was a success?

Oscar Wilde once said "When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss Art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money." But, defining one's success as an artist in terms of money is a losing proposition, especially during a recession.  And so this week, I reread the book Art Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. While the authors offer no easy answers, they do point out "that courting approval, even that of peers, puts a dangerous amount of power in the hands of the audience. Worse yet, the audience is seldom in a position to grant (or withhold) approval on the one issue that really counts - namely, whether or not you're making progress in your work. They're in a good position to comment on how they've moved (or challenged or entertained) by the finished product, but have little knowledge or interest in your process. Audience comes later. The only pure communication is between you and your work." (pg 47)

Having a gallery show is akin to standing naked in a room of strangers, friends and family. I survived that, did the Artsync tv interview, was asked to speak at the American Costume Society conference about art and fashion, and I made progress in my work by producing hauntingly beautiful images that conveyed a narrative. What comes next, I'm not really sure. But there are times that I don't care what the definition of success is and just want to be a ski bunny.

Snowmass Mountain 2011

Inspired by Lillian Bassman

It's a Cinch: Carman by Lillian Bassman, New York Harper's Bazaar, 1951

John Galliano once described Lillian Bassman's photographs as "painterly strokes of light". Her use of abstraction, dynamic composition, and manipulation of exposure in her photographs of women are hallmarks of her signature style. Lillian Bassman was a leading fashion photographer for magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar from the 1940s through the 1960s. In more recent years, she has photographed campaigns for Galliano, Neiman Marcus, New York Times Magazine, among others.



In 2009, the book Lillian Bassman Women was published featuring 150 of her best images. It was a little over a year ago that I discovered Lillian's work and wrote a post about her book. Since I'm not much of a techie, it was her example that encouraged me to finally master Photoshop and take advantage of its incredible power to manipulate images to a painterly effect. If she could master Photoshop at the age of 84, then it didn't seem like I had any excuse not to follow her lead!

I recently discovered the Slate Gallery Guide listing for the first show of Lillian Bassman's work in Canada which opens on Thursday, February 10th at the Izzy Gallery. This show called Women features eleven works of this iconic fashion photographer and runs until Thursday, March 3rd.

Ere we shall meet again
by Ingrid Mida 2010

At my most recent exhibition of work All is Vanity (at Loop Gallery until February 13, 2011),  my photos were compared to to Bassman's, a comparison that I felt honoured by. When I wrote my artist statement for the show, I included photographers Cindy Sherman, Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville as having inspired me when I should have put Lillian Bassman's name at the top of the list!

My TV Interview by Artsync

I remember love II by Ingrid Mida 2010

I was a bit nervous as I sat down to watch Artsync TV on Friday night wondering how my interview from last weekend's opening of my show All is Vanity at Loop Gallery would turn out.  I was pleased with the outcome, but even better was the reaction of my teenage boys who told me they were impressed. As anyone who is the mother of teenagers would know, that is not an easy feat!

Thanks to the Artsync production team for making me look good!  If you would like to see the tv interview clip, click on the link here or
http://www.artsync.ca/opening-ingrid-mida/

All is Vanity continues its run at Loop Gallery until Sunday, February 13, 2011. The gallery is located at 1273 Dundas Street West in Toronto, just east of Dovercourt. To read excerpts of my Question and Answer session at the gallery, click over to the loop gallery blog here or http://loopgallery.blogspot.com/2011/01/q-with-ingrid-mida.html.

The Opening: All is Vanity

All is Vanity Installation Shot

It was a bit of a blur but I'm happy to report that there was a great turnout at the opening of my show at Loop Gallery yesterday afternoon. The tv crew from Artsync arrived a little before 2 pm to film a short interview. I wish I could remember what I said and am hoping that I sounded reasonably coherent. I had no idea whether to look at the tv camera or the interviewer and fear that I might have looked a little shifty eyed!

JJ Lee and Ingrid Mida at Loop Gallery

I had a fantastic response to my work. People seemed to be quite taken with the mysterious, haunting and fairy-tale quality of the photographs. But more important to me than the many compliments I received was knowing that my work evoked a response in those who had previously lost someone they loved. With each photograph in the series representing a step in the cycle of grief, several people either teared up as I spoke or told me that they had been on this journey. This meant that my work had emotional power, a significant marker in my development as an artist.

The show continues at Loop Gallery until February 13, 2011. I will be at the gallery on Saturday, January 29th at 3 pm for a Question and Answer session moderated by installation artist, teacher and friend Lyla Rye.

Ingrid Mida and Lyla Rye at Loop Gallery

All is Vanity

Oft shall death and sorrow reign (Versailles) by Ingrid Mida Digital C-print 2010, 16x20 framed

All is Vanity is the translation of the latin Vanitus Vanitum, a biblical reference to the transitory nature of life. This theme conveys the vanity of pursing earthly pleasures and accomplishments in the face of certain death and is the underlying premise for my upcoming show at Loop Gallery which opens on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

In this photographic series suggesting the haunted gardens of Versailles, I attempt to convey the journey and emotions of grief. Inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman, Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville, I have used soft focus, movement and filters to evoke a terrible kind of beauty. This series of ten black and white photographs pose the question of whether beauty and death are facets of the same experience.

The image above, entitled Oft shall death and sorrow reign, was taken in the gardens of Versailles,  a place which represents the pinnacle of vanity and excess. This photo is symbolic of an apocolyptic moment when life changes in a heart beat.  Catapulted into a journey of grief, you become a member of a club that you never wanted to join.

My familiarity with loss and death has given me a deep appreciation for the fragile and temporal nature of life. And creating beauty is a means by which I have cheated death. In the past, some of my work has been criticized for being too pretty and too impersonal. This work is anything but, and represents a big leap in my growth as an artist. Dark and haunting with me as the subject of many of them, it is about me, but not about me. The journey of loss and grief is a universal experience. 

All is vanity by Ingrid Mida 2010, Digital C-print,  28x34 framed,

I will be present at Loop Gallery for the opening reception on Saturday, January 22 from 2-5pm. Sometime that afternoon, Artsync TV will be interviewing me for a segment on their show!

I will also speak about my work during a Question & Answer Session at the gallery on Saturday, January 29 at 3pm, moderated by Lyla Rye. The show runs until February 13, 2011. For more information, please check the loop gallery blog or website.

My Fantasy Fashion Calendar for 2011

A new year always holds so much promise and potential. This is my fantasy calendar for the first half of 2011.

Fashioning Fashion 

I'd begin my tour in Los Angeles to attend  the fifth R. L. Shep Triennial Symposium on Textiles and Dress entitled On Fashioning a Collection: Vision and Viewpoints at LACMA. This event which will be held on Saturday, January 15 begins at 10:00 am and  will focus on the museum's recently acquired collection of European costumes and textiles. Held in conjunction with the exhibition, Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700–1915, currently on view, this daylong program features international scholars Akiko Fukai (Director and Chief Curator, Kyoto Costume Institute) and Pamela Golbin (Chief Curator, Twentieth Century and Contemporary Collections, Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Les Arts Décoratifs, Musée du Louvre, Paris) as well as Fashioning Fashion co-curator Sharon Takeda and other experts in the field. Rounding out the program will be a conversation between curators and collectors as well as presentations by LACMA experts. The symposium is free but tickets are required. Please call 323 857-6010 to reserve a ticket.

My next stop would be at Loop Gallery in Toronto to see my series of limited edition black and white chromogenic photographs on display in a show I called Vanitus Vanitum: All is Vanity.  These photographs reference the transitory nature of beauty and life and seek to portray a journey of grief and acceptance. My opening reception is on Saturday, January 22 and the show runs until February 13.

Chanel 2010

On Sunday, January 23rd, I'd fly to Paris to attend the Spring Summer 2011 Haute Couture designer runway presentations which run from Monday, January 24th to January 27th. Of course, I'd have front row seats at the Dior show on January 24th at 2 pm and Chanel on January 25th at 11 am.

In March, I'd jet back to Paris for the Fall Winter 2011-2012 Ready to Wear runway presentations which run March 1-9th. Then it would be off to San Francisco to attend the opening on March 26th of the exhibition Balenciaga: Spanish Master at the de Young Museum. This exhibition which originally opened at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in New York will be expanded to include more garments from the Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga. The show runs until July 11th.

In May, I'd attend the retrospective of Lee Alexander McQueen's work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This exhibition entitled Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty opens May 4 and will run until  July 31, 2011 and features approximately 100 garments created during the designers 19 year career. Signature pieces such as the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket, and the origami frock coat will be on display along with a selection of garments from the Alexander McQueen archive, the Givenchy archive, and private collections.

This is my fantasy.... It's a full schedule, but I'd make it work if I had to ;)

Last Minute Shopping Ideas at Loop Gallery

Is there anything more original than a gift of art? Loop Gallery is holding a Holiday Small Works Salon by member and invited artists, including moi. Included in the show are two of my pen and ink drawings of shoes!

Soulier de bal 1879 by Ingrid Mida 2010

Soulier Charles IX (1879) by Ingrid Mida 2010

Drop by this weekend and pick up that perfect creative last minute stocking stuffer or under the tree surpise.

Loop Gallery is located at 1273 Dundas Street West in Toronto. For more info visit the Loop Gallery website or blog.


Gallery hours this weekend:
Friday     1 - 9 pm (including opening night party from 6-9 pm)
Saturday 12 - 5 pm
Sunday    1 - 4 pm

The Date Has Been Set

The work is done. 
The date has been set.
The invites have been printed.
The press releases are ready.


All is Vanity
Loop Gallery, 1273 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Opening Reception Saturday, January 22, 2011  2-5 pm
Q&A Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 3 pm moderated by Lyla Rye

In the Woods

Se cachant dans les bois by Ingrid Mida 2010

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I'd post this image. Se cachant dans les bois means hiding in the woods and is one of the works that will be included in my show at Loop Gallery in January.

This is my 350th post and I'm dreaming up a blog giveaway in celebration thereof. I'll be posting details on November 2nd which just happens to be Marie Antoinette's date of birth.

Culture Days

Culture is on this weekend's agenda. There are so many fun and fabulous cultural activities to chose from that it is hard to pick just one!

Martha Mann, Marshall Pynkoski, Rita Brown
Costumes on Stage
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2010

Costumes on Stage at the ROM:
Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 10 am to 1 pm
This event, presented by the Friends of Textiles and Costume at the Royal Ontario Museum, focuses on the process of costume creation - from the director's original concept to the garment worn on stage. The speakers will be Marshall Pynkoski of Opera Atelier co-artistic director; Martha Mann, costume designer for Opera Atelier's recent production of Marriage of Figaro; and Rita Brown, costumer for the Shaw Festival.  (Note: This event is not a free Culture Day event and advance registration is required at the ROM.)

Bata Shoe Museum

Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 1 p.m.

See a demonstration of traditional Tibetan boot making and a special one day exhibition of Tibetan footwear. There will also be two scheduled guided tours of the museum.

Canadian Art Hop Tour
Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 1 to 5 p.m.
Take a gallery tour around Toronto. Stops include galleries in these areas: Richmond Street West, King Street West/Tecumseth, Queen West, Distillery District, Yorkville, Ossington and Dundas Street West (loop Gallery, of which I am a member will be a stop at 320 pm). To learn more about what's on at loop Gallery, check out the loop Gallery blog, of which I am blogmaster!

Rehearsal of the Canadian Opera Company's Aida at the Four Season's Centre

Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

The public is invited to an orchestra rehearsal of the COC’s new production of Verdi’s Aida. A pre-rehearsal chat in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre gives audience members insight into the opera and the rehearsal process at 6:45 pm. Tickets to Rings 3 and 4 of R. Fraser Elliott Hall will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis on Saturday. 

Culture Days is a cross Canada happening over September 24-26, 2010. It is designed to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. For more information on Culture Days please visit this link.

The Bloordale Alternative Art Fair

Shepherdess in Blue by Ingrid Mida 2010

In Toronto, there is a fall art event where people wait for hours in the freezing cold for the chance to purchase a piece of artwork for $75. But this Saturday, you won't have to wait in line to find a piece of original artwork that makes your heart sing. All works at the Bloordale Alternative Art Fair are priced at $100 or less.

Loop Gallery is one of twenty Toronto galleries and artists that will be displaying their work at the Bloordale Alternative Art Fair (BAAF) on Saturday July 24, 2010. The fair takes place from 1 to 9 p.m.

Participating loop members include:
Tanya Cunnington
Tara Cooper
Elizabeth D'Agostino
Audrea DiJulio
Libby Hague
Linda Heffernan
Jane Lowbeer
Ingrid Mida
Suzanne Nacha
Mary Catherine Newcomb
Maureen Paxton
Barbara Rehus
Yvonne Singer

The BAAF is part of The New Bloor Street Festival. Previously known as Big on Bloor, this years' outdoor street festival is being hosted by the Bloordale Business Improvement Area (BIA) rather than being a joint effort between Bloordale and Bloorcourt BIAs.

For the festival, Bloor Street West will be a pedestrian-only zone between Lansdowne Avenue and Dufferin Street. Head to the west end of the festival for the Bloordale Alternative Art Fair, which takes place between Lansdowne and St. Clarens avenues. The BAAF is flanked by Toronto Free Gallery on the west end and Mercer Union on the east.

Coordinated by local curator Carla Garnet, the BAAF will include special events, performances and gallery exhibitions by artists, curators, art dealers and university art teachers. Art School Continues with teachers and students shared exhibitions tables. Curated projects by major commercial and artist run galleries.

Other fun stuff to see and do at the festival:
At Dufferin there will be an Art Court featuring student artwork by York University and The Ontario College of Art and Design students.

The festival will serve as the launch site of the Bloor Magazine, spearheaded by activist/artist Dyan Marie.

At 6:00 p.m. all the booths along Bloor Street will transform into a giant picnic table replete with table cloth, creating a dinner party banquet right out on the street.

The festival also features two live music stages, licensed outdoor patios, a food court, children's activities, and 300 vendors including not-for-profit organizations, as well as artisans selling jewellery, books and clothing.

Come join in on the fun! I'll be at the Loop Gallery booth from 2-4 pm.

P.S. I'll have four small works available for sale, all from my Revolutionary Fashion series.

Revolutionary Fashion Plate #3 by Ingrid Mida 2010