Message to Japan

I live in a part of the world where life-threatening natural disasters are rare, so my grasp of what it is to live with a more present possibility of such things occurring is only precarious. When the terrible tsunami struck Japan in 2011, like many people, I was not sure how I could best help in any meaningful way, and I did what I could. As news coverage about the incident and its ramifications has waned in international news converage, I am left wondering how life goes on in the affected areas. I often say that with my art practice, I am aiming to participate in wider discussions, not just about art, but also about being, but I do not know what it means to send out this work to you as a very, very small gesture of connection on my part. All I can think to hope for is that it is…something.

Artist information

Katie Bethune-Leamen is an artist and sometime art writer currently based in Toronto. She holds a BFA from Concordia University (Montreal, QC), and a MFA from the University of Guelph (Guelph, ON). She has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Canada, the USA, and Europe. Recent solo exhibitions include Shiny, Object, Person (Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto) Older, Sadder, And All In White This Time (Latcham Gallery, ON) and Dazzle Shizzle (MKG127, Toronto). She has recently participated in residencies in Fogo Island (NL), Reykjavik (IS), Toulouse (FR), and Venice (IT), with ones upcoming at the Ilulissat Art Museum (GD) and the American Museum of Natural History (NYC). Her writing has appeared in Canadian Art, C Magazine, and Border Crossings.

Official Website: Katie Bethune-Leamen

Message to Japan

My thoughts have been with the people of Japan in this time of deep sorrow.  I wish you courage and strength, recovery and renewal.

Artist information

Juliana Pivato is an artist and performer living in Toronto. She completed her MFA in Sculpture at School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BFA in Studio Arts at Concordia University in Montreal. Juliana has had solo exhibitions at Division Gallery in Montreal, at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie Ontario and has been featured in numerous group exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Italy. This fall she will be teaching at OCAD University in Toronto.

Message to Japan

We are thinking of you.

Artist information

Josh Thorpe is an artist and writer whose interest in art stems from the simple act of sitting with friends, observing the world. Recent and upcoming work includes exhibitions or special projects in Toronto, Winnipeg, New York, and London. Articles and interviews have been published by Canadian Art, Border Crossings, and the Power Plant, and in 2009 Art Metropole published Thorpe’s first book, Dan Graham Pavilions: A Guide. In 2011, Thorpe was a finalist in the Toronto Friends of the Visual Arts Artist Award and was elected to the Sobey Art Award Ontario Long List.

Official Website: Josh Thorpe