From 1890 to 1979, the Humber College Lakeshore Campus was a psychiatric hospital. Reflecting on the complex legacy of their school, Humber College students consider access by engaging in creative workshops and collaborations with community members. Artists from Among Friends Community Mental Health Program and Workman Arts held creative sessions for students on wellness, mental health, disability, housing and food security. Creating reactionary artworks, Humber students and their community collaborators present artefacts, installations, and drop-in workshops to enliven critical debates on social and systemic barriers, while providing a space where art and access can collide. This community-engaged project explores the deep relationship building at the critical intersections of art, education, community, and access-oriented programs, particularly around mental health and questions of livability.
The Humber Art Commons is an accessible facility; ASL and exhibition attendants will be present.
Co-presented in partnership with Humber College, Humber Galleries, Among Friends Community Mental Health Organization, and Workman Arts.
The Toronto Biennial of Art Co-Relations Program is made possible with the generous support of the TD Bank Group through its corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment.
Image caption: Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, 2018-ongoing. Courtesy of the artist.
Bio
Art in Access – Cole Swanson (born in Calgary, AB, Canada; lives in Toronto, ON, Canada) and Anne Zbitnew (born in Dartmouth, NS, Canada; lives in Toronto, ON, Canada) have co-developed and led a number of community-based art collaborations at Humber College, Toronto and within their extended communities. Art in Access brings communities together to make art and respond to questions of access in art education. The second-iteration at Humber College works to build an accessible arts program that is rooted in community-building.