Urban Field Speakers Series
2020 Programme
Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the fifteenth season of the Urban Field Speakers Series. Programmed by Scott McLeod and Gerald McMaster, this international lecture series brings together an array of global and local participants, including artists, architects, curators, designers and scholars, who offer unique perspectives on the role of art in transforming the experience of the city. Moderated by a host of local luminaries, past series have featured presentations by such erudite speakers as Rosalyn Deutsche, Theaster Gates, Candice Hopkins, Paul Chaat Smith and Rebecca Solnit, among many others.
The upcoming season includes the following events:
January 28, 2020, at 7:00 PM
Michael Snow and Janine Marchessault
The venerable Canadian artist and filmmaker screens his latest film, Cityscape, in conversation with the film’s commissioner and professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts at York University. Please note that this is a Tuesday-night event.
February 13, 2020, at 7:00 PM
Fadi Abou-Rihan
Scott McLeod, moderator
The writer and psychoanalyst speaks about the relationship between war and play through the work of British psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott and the infamous photographs taken by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib. Moderated by the founding director of Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art.
March 24, 2020, at 7:00 PM –– CANCELLED
Amar Kanwar and Kajri Jain
The Indian artist and filmmaker speaks about his work, from his earlier poetic documentary films to his most recent foray into poetic narrative cinema, Such a Morning. In conversation with the associate professor of Indian Visual Culture and Contemporary Art at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Please note that this is a Tuesday-night event.
May 5, 2020 at 7:00 PM –— CANCELLED
Shannon Bool
Anne-Marie St-Jean Aubre, moderator
The Berlin-based, Canadian artist speaks about her works, such as Promiscuous Rooms, that offer an implicit critique of architecture and urbanism by engaging with the relationship of gender to power. Moderated by the curator of contemporary art at the Musée d’art de Joliette. Presented in partnership with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival. Please note that this is a Tuesday-night event.
July 30, 2020, at 7:00 PM
Eszter Szakács and Naeem Mohaiemen
The Hungarian curator speaks about the grand initiatives and tragic misfires that characterized the visual art world’s attempts at transnational solidarity during the Cold War. In conversation with the Bangladeshi artist within the context of his exhibition of Two Meetings and a Funeral and their forthcoming publication Solidarity Must Be Defended. Presented in partnership with The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. Please note that this is a free online event with a suggested donation of $5.00. Please register in advance through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/91035314075
Admission Fees
Tickets are available in advance through Eventbrite. Single tickets are $12 for regular admission, and $8 for students, seniors and Prefix Photo subscribers. A limited number of tickets will be held for purchase at the door beginning thirty minutes in advance of the event. Unless otherwise indicated, all events take place on Thursday evenings at Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 124, Toronto.
For inquiries, please contact Sebastián Benítez, Director of Programmes, Acting at programmes@prefix.ca or T 416-591-0357.
Acknowledgements
For the presentation of the Urban Field Speakers Series, Prefix ICA gratefully acknowledges the support of its staff, volunteers and patrons, and the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council with funding from the City of Toronto.