July 23 - 30, 2008

Returning for a 4th fierce year, ARTWHERK! showcases the best emerging queer artists from Toronto and beyond! After 3 years on Church Street, ARTWHERK!’s first show in Kensington Market features mixed media creations from Luis Cisneros, Heather Quinsey, James Ian Morgan, JuliEduard Buxton, Emma Feltham, Hannah Taylor, Matthew Gibson, Project Outpost, James Fowler, Claro Cosco, Matthew Walsh, and Tanja Tiziana; short films by Rusiko Lomatidze and Mark Pariselli; and performances from Lali, Jay Stewart, and Edi Cheung.

ARTWHERK! is a gallery space, a social environment, an activist movement, and a great way to celebrate Pride in Toronto. The move from Church Street to Kensington Market represents a growth upward and a broadening outward for the “queer art collective that could”. Making space at Pride for the "30 and under" demographic tends to be left off the agenda because they are not the most marketable group, and Arts and Culture events do not receive the funding and promotion necessary to compete with the clubs and parties. This year’s collection of artists fills that void with work dealing with themes of fantasy, anonymity, urban exploration, (im)migration, pop culture, and gender.

Founded in 2005 by community leader Christopher Hayden, writer Jai Centeno, and award-winning performance artist Ryan G. Hinds, the ARTWHERK! Collective has emerged as a target destination during Pride Week. Not affiliated with either Pride Toronto or QueerWest Fest, art-loves, activists, and queers young and old have welcomed ARTWHERK! as a unique and exciting event.