Botanical Art Bus Tour

Hop on the bus to see three GTA exhibitions that explore agriculture and botany through different artist projects. After a guided tour of Botannica Tirannica at Koffler Arts, the bus departs for guided tours of Steelcase Art Projects' CORN = LIFE: THE POWER OF NAMING at Industrial Arts and Art Farm at the Doris McCarthy Gallery. While at Industrial Arts, celebrate the opening of the new exhibition Face / Waste.

The program begins at Koffler Arts (180 Shaw Street) at 12 noon, with the bus returning at end of day (estimated to be 5:30 pm).

Space limited, registration is required. This program is free and light snacks will be provided. The gallery spaces are wheelchair accessible, the shuttle bus is not. This is primarily a walking program, with opportunities for seating and rest on the bus and in most of the gallery spaces. If you have accommodation needs, please let us know through the registration form or contact dmg.utsc@utoronto.ca.

The Steelcase Art Projects program is outdoors and will take place rain or shine, so please dress according to the weather.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONS

Koffler Arts
Botannica Tirannica
Work by Giselle Beiguelman

The North American debut of Botannica Tirannica, by Brazilian artist Giselle Beiguelman, explores the intertwined histories of botany, taxonomy, prejudice, and colonialism. To ground this exploration in a Canadian context, Beiguelman teamed up with two experts: Dr. Jonathan Ferrier, a Mississauga, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Biology professor at Dalhousie University, and Isaac Crosby, a Black/Ojibwa knowledge keeper and agriculture expert. The exhibition includes an indoor and outdoor garden, a soundscape by Brazilian composer Gabriel Francisco Lemos, and three series, one in video, that make use of artificial intelligence to explore this topic.

Steelcase Art Projects @ Industrial Arts
CORN = LIFE: THE POWER OF NAMING
Works by Ron Benner and Jeff Thomas
Curated by Yuluo Wei

Industrial Arts Sculpture Garden 2024 presents a unique fusion of two artists’ visions that interweaves living native plants with evocative historical imagery, a tribute to Indigenous peoples’ agricultural and cultural heritage. At its heart lies a striking white-purple trellis, an homage to the 1613 Two Row Treaty-–a foundational agreement between Dutch settlers and Jeff Thomas’ Haudenosaunee ancestors. Ron Benner plants a rich tapestry of culturally significant native American plants and corn, which grow to embrace the structure. Thomas’s photographs connect deeply with Benner’s garden and serve as personal and collective contemplation on the environmental and societal ramifications of broken promises. Reflecting the spirit of the Two Row Treaty, both artists contribute to the garden with a sense of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.

Also on view is Steelcase Art Projects' Face / Waste, a group exhibition that explores the the social and ecological imagination, practices, and open narratives associated with waste. The exhibition invites audiences to turn toward, and face the waste created by each of us, every day, with honesty.

Doris McCarthy Gallery
Art Farm
Works by Futurefarmers, Shannon Gerard, and Outdoor School
Curated by Amish Morrell

Art Farm explores the vital intellectual, critical, and creative work that farmers and artists do, forms of alternative world-making that includes activism, education, and nourishment. During the exhibition, the gallery will operate as a living site for building relationships between urban farmers, campus communities, and our wider Scarborough audience through three core artist projects by Futurefarmers, Shannon Gerard, and Outdoor School. Students and members of the public will be invited to participate in workshops, talks, tours, and other programs that will expand on and further contextualize the exhibition, including Art Farm Stand activations with artists and farmers including It’s Giving Farm, Ate Kay’s Farm, and Alexandra Gelis.