1313 Queen West
There is a new artist run centre/gallery-for-hire opening in January. Gallery 1313's greatest challenge will be to live up to its mandate. The gallery is simultaneously committed to excellence and the democratic principles of equality and inclusion. Either democracy will result in a somewhat diluted excellence, or excellence will ensure that some animals on the farm are more equal than others. This philosophical conundrum aside, Gallery 1313 sounds like it will be an asset to the artist community.
1313 is the brainchild of the Parkdale VIllage Artist COllective (PVAC), who have parlayed themselves into 1300 square feet of Artscape's most recent reno - the art deco style former police station @ 1313 Queen Street West. The gallery is set up in prisoner's holding cell, but unfortunately the bars have all been removed.
Call for Submissions
In the spirit of the location, Gallery 1313's first juried exhibition will be titled No Escape. There is an open call for submissions from artists from across Toronto. The jury, which includes Katherine Knight, is accepting submissions until February 1. Decisions will be made by February 7 and the show is scheduled to open March 13th.
Throughout the year, Gallery 1313 will mount 4 PVAC specific exhibitions, and PVAC members will be able to exhibit year round in the members gallery. The rest of the time the gallery will be available as a rental space for fund raising events, or to arts collectives and individual artists.
For more information, or to submit your proposal for No Escape
you can call 536-6778.
words: Janet Hethrington
photos: Phil Anderson
