September 21 – December 1
The Flatbread Library is a long-term research project focused on the political and social significance of the tandoor, a large clay oven used in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa for over ten thousand years. The project originated from an artist’s visit to Pakistan with his father.
Created in collaboration with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the project includes a large-scale sculpture in the form of a flatbread library representing a diverse map of Toronto through a collection of flatbreads obtained from various bakeries across the city. Based on the different types of bread, the artist has shaped a work that reflects the migration histories that have contributed to the city and explores the cultural and political connections created by this staple food.
Co-commissioned and co-presented by the Toronto Biennial of Art and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, with residency support from the Stonecroft Foundation for the Arts.
Bio
Sameer Farooq (b. 1978; he/him) is a Toronto-based artist of Pakistani and Ugandan Indian descent. With a versatile approach that shifts between photography, documentary film, sculpture, and anthropological methods, he investigates strategies of representation to expand the ways through which museums have looked at the past. He works to redress the role of exhibition and collection-based practices by building community-based models of knowledge production. Farooq has held exhibitions at institutions around the world including Venice Architecture Biennale (2023), Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden (2023), Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff (2023), Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax (2023), Galerie Nicolas Robert, Toronto (2023), Fonderie Darling, Montréal (2022); Koffler Gallery, Toronto (2021); Lilley Museum, Reno (2019); Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (2017); Institute of Islamic Culture, Paris (2017); Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2016); The British Library, London (2015); Maquis Projects, Izmir (2015); Artellewa, Cairo (2014); and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2011). Reviews dedicated to his work have been published by Art Forum, Canadian Art, The Washington Post, BBC Culture, Hyperallergic, and Artnet.
Location
- Accessibility
The Auto BLDG, 9th Floor
- Accessible entrance
- Accessible washrooms
- Elevator
- AODA-compliant building
If you require automatic doors to access our exhibition space, please enter through the back entrance of 158 Sterling Road and take the elevators located in the southwest vestibule to the 9th floor.
If you require assistance entering the Toronto Biennial on Tuesdays between 10am – 6pm or Wednesdays-Sundays between 10am – 11am, please call 416-530-7474 or enter through the back of the building.
Parking: Located at 152 Sterling Road in the Hines Parking Garage, just west of the museum. This is an underground parking lot. Hourly and daily rates apply.
Note: When exiting the parking lot, please use stairwell D for the most convenient access to the Auto BLDG.
- Getting There
The Auto BLDG, 9th Floor
By subway: The Auto BLDG is a 10-minute walk from both Lansdowne Station and Dundas West Station.
By streetcar: The Auto BLDG is a 5-minute walk from the closest streetcar stop at Dundas St West and Sterling Rd. This can be reached by the 505 Dundas and 506 Carlton streetcars.
UP Express: The Auto BLDG is a 10-minute walk from Bloor Station, which is two stops on the UP Express from Toronto Pearson Airport and one stop from Union Station.
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