Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter closes at the ROM on Sunday, July 5, 2009. Presented by the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Housepaint is the first exhibition on the subject of street art in a major Canadian museum. Ten colourful canvas houses exuberantly painted by ten of Canada’s leading street artists draw attention to social problems of poverty and homelessness. In addition to the existing works, five artists were asked to respond to the previous installations by each creating a new work in the ICC’s Roloff Beny Gallery and throughout the Museum. The canvas houses will be auctioned online at www.realauction.ca/housepaintforhabitat, with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity Toronto, a charitable organization devoted to the elimination of poverty housing.
Curated by Devon Ostrom of them.ca, the ten framed canvas ‘houses’ form the cornerstone of Housepaint. Originally commissioned for Luminato Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, in collaboration with Manifesto Community Projects as part of StreetScape 2008, the houses were assembled on the former site of Toronto’s Tent City, a shantytown which spontaneously arose – due to soaring rents, cutbacks and a shelter system bursting at the seams – on five acres of undeveloped land on the shores of Lake Ontario. Initially occupied by 17 people in 1998, the community eventually grew to over 200 people until they were suddenly evicted in September 2002, ostensibly due to ground contamination.
The ten Housepaint houses range in size and are scaled approximately to reflect the income ratios of Toronto residents. Created by internationally recognized Canadian street artists Cant, Case, Dixon, EGR, Elicser, Evoke, HVW8, Lease and Other, the structures are covered with original graffiti, stenciling, decorated roofs and other accessories, such as pillars and television antennas.
Throughout the run of the exhibition, the artists Evoke, Other, Elicser, Specter and Fauxreel each unveiled original works that responded to both the canvas houses and the preceding newly commissioned work. Evoke installed his work Expansion/Contraction in January; Other’s Scrap Shack was mounted in February; Elicser unveiled the Hug Me Tree in March; Specter’s Scrap Condo was installed in April; and Fauxreel’s work, The Unaddressed, was mounted at the end of April as it fulfilled a dual commission for the ROM as well as the 2009 Contact Toronto Photography Festival.
Since its December opening, members of the public witnessed the artists at work both in person and online at www.housepaint.ca. The exhibition was complemented by a robust programming schedule, which included an evening with renowned street-nurse Cathy Crowe; a street art film series; a panel discussion examining the interplay between street artists, cultural institutions and the urban landscape; and the Housepaint Family Weekend, where fun, family-oriented activities brought the artwork and theme of Housepaint alive for younger visitors.
Admission to Housepaint is included in general Museum admission: Adults: $22; Students and Seniors with ID: $19; Children (4 to 14 years) $15; Children 3 & under are free. Half Price Friday Nights,presented by Sun Life Financial, take place from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Summer at the ROM offers visitors a wide array of temporary exhibitions, including Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World (opening June 27, 2009); Out of the Vaults: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (on display until October 18); Brilliant Strokes: Chinese Paintings from the Mactaggart Art Collection (on display until September 7); and Wedgwood: Artistry and Innovation (displayed until the end of 2009).