ICC at the ROM presents Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter

Canada’s first major museum exhibition of street art opens December 13, 2008

On Saturday, December 13, 2008, the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter, 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, over the course of the exhibition, five artists will respond to the previous installations by each creating a new work in the ICC’s Roloff Beny Gallery. Curated by Devon Ostrom of them.ca, Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter will be on display until Sunday, July 5, 2009, when the canvas houses will be auctioned, with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity Toronto, a charitable organization devoted to the elimination of poverty housing.

"This evolving exhibition illustrates the ICC's commitment to presenting provocative exhibitions on current cultural issues," says William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO. "The ROM is pleased to collaborate with this group of exciting young artists and give them the opportunity to share their art and social concerns with ROM visitors."

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. One house includes a memorial to all the people who have died on the streets of Toronto due to lack of shelter since 1987.

Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter, will strive to amplify voices that are often marginalized, and distill the collaborative spirit and spontaneity of street art,” says ICC guest curator, Devon Ostrom. “For an established organization such as the ROM to commit to an evolving process with uncertain ends – let alone involving street artists – is truly amazing and a rare opportunity for Toronto to gain insight into a world-wide art movement.”

True to the street art genre, this powerful presentation will expand over time. Every few weeks through the run of the exhibition, the artists Evoke, Other, Specter, Fauxreel, and Elicser will each unveil an original work that responds to both the canvas houses and the preceding newly commissioned work. The first artist in this series, Patrick Thompson / Evoke, will still be working when the exhibition opens to the public, and will continue to paint for several days in the gallery, inviting visitors to observe and interact with him.

“This moving exhibition addresses many interesting issues, from homelessness and poverty in Toronto to the legitimacy of street art and graffiti in a museum context,” notes Francisco Alvarez, Managing Director of the ICC. “With the addition of new commissioned works, we hope to engage young people, activists, people with low incomes and the general public in an ongoing dialogue about the legacy of Tent City, as seen through the eyes of some of our finest street artists.”

Details on the new works added to the installation will emerge throughout the process. The public will be able to witness the artists in progress both in person and online at www.housepaint.ca.

The exhibition also includes a viewing station, presenting a rough-cut videographic documentary, Subtext (2008), by Toronto filmmaker Eric Weissman. Focusing on Tent City’s residents over an eight-year period until the present, Subtext provides an unabashed view of Tent City’s inhabitants’ attempts to achieve a mainstream lifestyle. A second documentary, Freshpaint (2008), produced by Jacob Okot and Jon Riera, provides insight into Housepaint’s original artists and the in-situ installation at Tent City.

Participating artists (full biographies available):

Case (Ryan MacKeen) directs music videos for a variety of musicians, notably Eminem, The Arcade Fire, and Megadeth. Using the alias Case, he has become an internationally respected graffiti artist with works in Montreal, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and Ottawa.

Cant4 (Amanda Marie) has been actively involved in the visual arts community for over a decade and has shown in over 40 gallery shows across Canada and North America. Women are still a minority in the world of urban art and she is one of three women artists participating in Housepaint.

DSTRBO (Dan Buller) is one third of Heavyweight Production House (HVW8), formed in 1998 in Montreal, a group of like-minded artists and designers known for live painting events. His work is characterized by highly resolved portrait studies.

EGR (Erica Gosich Rose) is a trained illustrator who uses pop culture and social references in her works. Her characteristic use of feminine motifs has made her a pioneer in the world of street art.

Elicser (Elicser Elliot) is arguably Toronto’s best-loved graffiti artist. A frequent collaborator with other artists, his work consists of free formed collages, often using cartoon-like characters.

Evoke (Patrick Thompson) has been involved in graffiti art around the world since 1994. His working process, dubbed “mistakism”, allows him to explore dream-like scenes of the “in-between” places of Canada’s landscapes, peopled by imaginary characters.

Fauxreel (Dan Bergeron) has installed photographic images on the streets of Toronto, London, New York, Vancouver and Montreal. Last June, his giant murals, also commissioned by Luminato, literally humanized Regent Park, Toronto’s oldest subsidized-housing project. Fauxreel’s installation in Housepaint is co-presented by the 2009 CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival.

Gene Starship (Gene Pendon) is also a member of HVW8. He discovered graffiti and mural painting in 1983 and began painting “live” in 1992. Since then he has performed installations worldwide alongside well-known musicians and DJs and exhibited in several museums and galleries.

Lease (Lisa Mansfield) is a Toronto artist best known for her highly refined stencil work and commercial photography. Her work has been featured in galleries across Canada and the US.

Other (Derek Shamus Mehaffy) has been painting on walls and trains throughout the world for 20 years. He considers himself to be an “adult contemporary graffiti artist”.

Royal / Dixon (Juan Carlos Noria) is a former professional figure skater who turned to graffiti art, postering and skateboarding. Today he is best known for his live painting performances, with different styles created under his two pseudonyms.

Specter (Gabriel Reese) combines graphic and photographic elements, often with humour and irony, to create unique murals and sculptural installations in unexpected urban settings.

Housepaint: Phase 1 was commissioned by

Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity in Collaboration with Manifesto Community Projects.