Art Zoo Studio, a new project by 253469, opens with a weekend group exhibit on Saturday October 19, from noon – 6 p.m. and continues Sunday October 20, noon – 6 p.m. in Toronto’s west end. Promoting the avant garde, the known and the underground, Art Zoo Studio is a place for art enthusiasts and the public to gain access to bi-monthly group exhibits and non-traditional performance workshops. Art Zoo Studio is also a full time working studio for creating and is genuinely dedicated to working with a diverse range of challenging artists and art forms.
253469 opened as an art space at Bloor and Lansdowne in 2009 under the direction of Wesley Rickert. Numerous group events focused on screening art films, window installations, the exhibition of 2D work, art video projection and performance events, plus special solo exhibitions by Istvan Kantor, Henry Benvenuti, Wesley Rickert and Kathleen Reichelt. 253469 was a space for pure art experimentation and became an art community platform for “an interdisciplinary art space not ruled by commerce, academia, politics or common sense.” Since closing the first location in 2011, 253469 has produced events such as the international art film and video screening at the Trash Palace in 2012 and most recently the “Spell of the Hippodrome” – a theatrical duration / intervention project part of the very unofficial 2013 Nuit Blanche.
The first group exhibit includes contemporary sculpture, work on canvas, mixed media, work on paper, ceramic art, photography, video art, audio recordings and found objects. Participating artists include Kathleen Troy, Henry Banger Benvenuti, Istvan Kantor, Kenneth Laing Herdy, David Bateman, Caroline Mosby, Char Da Silva, Alexandria Pellegrino, Kelly Wray, Alpha Couple, Robert Ezergailis, Erin Murphy, Kathleen Reichelt, Wesley Rickert and Ashley Zarowny. Exhibit continues October 20, noon to 6pm.
Art Zoo Studio is a 253469 “umbrella without the hat” project and will be open for art exhibits, special events and by appointment.
Art Zoo Studio is located at 1 Wiltshire Avenue, Unit 132, Toronto, at Dupont and Symington.