LaunchPAD is VIBE Arts’ Transitional Artist Mentorship Program. The program was built to support our transitional emerging artists in their journey to becoming established arts educators with VIBE Arts.
LaunchPAD is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts.
EVENT – LaunchPAD Exhibition
Whippersnapper Gallery, September 1 – October 3, 2022
5 artists will take over Whippersnapper Gallery for 5 days each. The pieces exhibited are a result of the artists time in the LaunchPAD program.
Learn more about the artists and their work:
Maneesa Veeravel, September 1-5
Sylvie the Artist, September 8-12
The Becoming: Meditations on Existence
Gallery Hours:
September 8, 9 & 12, 10 AM – 2 PM
September 10 & 11, 1-5 PM
Maneesa Veeravel, September 1-5
Split homes and Staggered Bones
Gallery Hours: 12-2 PM & 4-6 PM
Content warning: suicide and intergenerational transmission of trauma
Womb waters distill beneath my eyes, welling and sinking, as it does on my motherless mother. As survivor and creative, I understand the ephemerality of life. Death is not meant to be feared nor idolized when there is no end to infinite beginnings. But grief is ongoing. My installation is an altar devoted to my unheard ancestors and our inner children. Echoes of affirmations soothe our silence. Framed at the centre is a walnut and turmeric stained scarf that has been painted and blockprinted using a mix of brown foundation that failed to mask my family’s shades of brown. Each line and symbol depicts a facet of our generational grief while the hand moulded cobra incense holder and woodburned boxes hold space for our desires. Every word, face, shape and colour in this installation is a practice of devotion. The mixed media carvings of homes act as a reminder of what has been and could be. This foundation of split homes and staggered bones build spiritual portals to my ancestors.
Maneesa Veeravel is an interdisciplinary artist with over a decades experience in arts creation, facilitation and anti-oppressive work. They are a mad, queer, Tamil, gender fluid, survivor born on the stolen, traditional and ancestral lands of the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinabewaki territories. Maneesa’s practice reflects intergenerational wits, wounds and wisdoms as it pertains to land, body and the notion of belonging.
Sylvie the Artist, September 8-12
The Becoming: Meditations on Existence
Gallery Hours:
September 8, 9 & 12, 10 AM – 2 PM
September 10 & 11, 1-5 PM
“Solitude and silence strip away the urgency of time, and one is invited into what is infinite; to experience kairos time or unmeasured time, and leave chronos time or chronological time. In chronos time, moments are measured, but in kairos, one can be swept into the eternal present and infinite possibilities are born” -Celeste Snowber, Embodied inquiry: Writing, Living and Being through the body
The Becoming is a show about being in the world—being mindfully present, bodily present and heart-fully present through holding space for rituals of joy, contemplation and hope in everyday life. Created in solitude during the peak months of the pandemic, this exhibition prompts viewers to think about their relationship to themselves, others and the world around them. How does one process un/expected changes that characterize life on earth? How does one remedy nostalgia they carry for past selves and move forward? The Becoming invites you to be present with yourself. Pause for a brief moment in time, unravel the messy, complicated albeit beautiful parts of simply being alive, and let go of that which no longer serves you—mark by mark, and stitch by stitch, till all that’s left is gold.
Sylvie Stojanovski (a.k.a. Sylvie the Artist) is a multidisciplinary artist, and experience designer whose work explores the myriad of relationships we have with the contemporary natural world—from the transience of reflections on water, to the complexity of memories we hold from childhood. Sylvie creates alongside nature and communities, inviting them to become active participants in the genesis of work. Her process is experimental and iterative in nature—allowing meaning to seed, bud, and ripen over time until it is ready to be harvested. Her art is influenced by the rhythm of the seasons, and grounded in the ethereal beauty of the mundane. Sylvie draws inspiration from the constancy of change that characterizes life on earth. An eco-feminist and embodied learning advocate at her core, she aspires to create biophilic experiences that promote radical connection and collective healing.
Talie Shalmon, September 15-19
Inner World
Gallery Hours: 1-6 PM
Talie Shalmon aims to communicate complex emotions using the limits of two-dimensional media. She uses colour and abstract forms to convey a feeling, attempting to share her inner experience with the viewer without using words. The drawings are created in the moment, while the artist is in the particular mood she is trying to communicate, then the composition is planned and the colours selected to express the many facets of that feeling. The paint is applied in a freeform fashion, allowing the colours to intermingle and overlap, echoing the nature of human emotions; they are layered, multifaceted, and not so easily defined.
These works also explore the theme of control versus the absence of control in the art-making process, as well as the fear and relief associated with letting go. For an artist who typically prefers controlling the creative process, these paintings present the challenge of leaving room for chance along the way.
Talie Shalmon is an artist, muralist and arts educator from Toronto. Themes that often emerge from her work include identity and nature, and she works with a variety of media, including painting, digital art and public murals. Talie earned a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Design Research from Carleton University, a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Queen’s University and a Graphic Design Certificate from Humber College. She has exhibited in galleries across Ontario, including Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, the Union Gallery, the Art Gallery of York University, Northern Contemporary and the Military Museums in Calgary. Her murals can be found in public spaces across the GTA.
Nicholas Ridiculous, September 22-26
Ridic’s World
Gallery hours:
September 22, 9 AM – 3 PM
September 23, 10 AM – 10 PM
September 24, 25, 26, 9 AM – 10 PM
Hey, Hi, Hello. This series of pieces spans a year+ of my work in painting, rug-making, sculpture exploration, fashion design, writing and media editing. A fusion of past inspirations and modern skill. Formulating a nostalgic collection of odd and wonderful little bits. My artistry is ADHD, please enjoy the fruit it bares.
The one and only Nicholas Ridiculous is a dynamic catalyst of a creator. A son of fiction and student of story, raised under the neon glow of a boxy television set. As a veteran of the child welfare industry, Nicholas is a shapeshifting wanderer dangling between worlds. Using the windows of reality that pass-by as inspiration for his works in traditional and digital artistry, fashion design, musical creation, and story-telling. An escape artist at best, with no where to go. But in the end, we all just wanna find home.
Follow Nicholas Ridiculous for more: @nicholasridiculous @underbellysociety @dimebagcrew @thelastcandybandit @ridic.rugz
Jason Julien, September 29-October 3
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H E A D S P A C E
I’m a Toronto born self taught artist that has learnt my craft through trial and error and watching other artist practice their craft. My art mediums are drawing, illustrations and sculpture, with a focus on sustainable arts and recyclable materials. I also use markers, watercolour (paints, water, pencil crayons, markers) pastels, charcoal and Inks.
For more information, please contact info@vibearts.ca.