In October 2020, we launched Issue 1 of smART Magazine as an arts publication covering the rapidly evolving immersive industry at the intersection of smart technology and the visual arts. With equal rapidity, our small publication evolved to cover every conceivable corner of the visual and performing arts. Three years later, we are surprised by the scale of our global outlook, the incredible international artists we’ve welcomed in conversations, and the organizations we’ve lent our platform to. We’ve also been deeply inspired by the reception of our ability to balance this international perspective with a consistent championship of the Canadian arts industry. We are likewise very proud of the nomination for Best Arts & Culture Magazine in Canada by the National Magazine Awards, and a recipient of a publishing grant from the Federal Government of Canada—both in our third year in operation. As we wade into the future, and chart a path for our next steps, we’ve realized that now is the perfect opportunity to reinvent ourselves towards becoming what we’ve always been: a big tent for all the arts. As we mark our third birthday, we are changing our name to CANNOPY.
Over the last 12 issues of smART Magazine, we’ve been slowly amassing a library of conversations across 12 creative avenues in the visual and performing arts. Our latest release, Issue 12, is a culmination of the last three years, and a testament to our earnest belief that a broad outlook across the arts is not only possible, but necessary. Where arts education falls short, an arts publication like ours can both cultivate and nourish an omnivorous appetite for the arts.
The 12 series in Issue 12 feature conversations with: visual artists (Studio Sessions); international alternative musicians (Alt.itude); multipurpose performance centres (Hubs & Huddles); Canadian alternative musicians (Homegrown); literary creatives (Arts & Letters); classical musicians (Ensemble); theatre artists (Fourth Wall); jazz musicians (Ellington); filmmakers (In Focus); multimedia visual artists (Materials); dance artists (In Motion); and exhibit venues (Spaces).
As we begin this new path together, we will rely entirely on the support of readers like you for every aspect of our operation. There will be many ways to support what we do: from grabbing our previous print and digital issues, to signing up to our series newsletters as they are announced, to signing up for our visual/performing arts newsletter specific to your city, to sharing our work with your artistic network.
This is new for us, but also exciting—we hope you’re excited too! So grab a seat and join the conversation, there’s plenty of room under our canopy.
from my desk to yours,
Michael Zarathus-Cook | Chief Editor - CANNOPY
WELCOME TO TORVA, PRESENTED BY CANNOPY
TORVA is our biweekly visual arts newsletter for the Greater Toronto Area, bringing you previews, event listings, and reviews of galleries and exhibit experiences.
While our coverage of the visual arts in TORVA will be localized to Southern Ontario, you can subscribe to our Visual Arts Package for a more global perspective. Subscription to our Visual Arts Package gets you three newsletter series — Spaces, Materials, and Studio Sessions — along with exclusive perks in print and digital content.
For a broader view of the performing arts, check out highlights from three of our Performing Arts Package, which includes three newsletters: Hubs & Huddles, Ensemble, and Ellington; along with video podcast episodes, free newsprint issues, and more!
The Way I See | Jan 20 – Feb 10 | TORONTO — Nicholas Metivier Gallery presents Moses Salihou's first solo exhibition at the gallery. There will be a talk with Karen Carter, Co-Founder & Director of Black Artists Networks Dialogue (BAND) and the artist on Saturday.
Sediment | Jan 17 - Mar 23 | TORONTO — The artists in this exhibition re-imagine the archive as these material fragments that may narrate presences, proximities, and solidarities. Featuring Sandra Brewster, Filipa César, Justine A. Chambers, Michael Fernandes, Louis Henderson, Pamila Matharu, and Krista Belle Stewart.
Alexis Cordesse: Talashi | Jan 17 - April 6 | TORONTO — Talashi (Arabic for fragmentation, erosion, disappearance) is a video composition made up of personal photographs entrusted to French artist Alexis Cordesse by refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, ongoing since 2011.
Have a Pomelo | Jan 12 - 24 | TORONTO — Have a Pomelo engages the materiality of the giant citrus fruit, the pomelo. The pomelo is a significant fruit in the Chinese home, finding itself regularly on the spirit table, shared among family members as dessert, or gifted during Lunar Calendar festivals.
We Remain Certain | Jan 9 - Mar 22 | TORONTO — A group exhibition curated by a collective of Haudenosaunee artists, these contemporary works explore Haudenosaunee land tenure and the complex history, treaty agreements, and displacements along the Grand.
Julia Pasila: Sand Sigh | Jan 5 - Jan 3 | TORONTO — The images in Sand Sigh were collected during repeated visits to the shoreline of Lake Ontario, along the southern edge of the Toronto Islands—a dynamic landscape that changes easily with the weather, revealing (and obscuring) natural patterns and material relics.