The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is pleased to partner with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival to bring two unique exhibitions to the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent.

Although distinct in context and scale, both exhibitions, which run May 1 to July 12, explore the materials, craft, culture, history, and infrastructure of our urban landscapes in ways that surprise, delight, and cast a new light on their subject matter.

In addition, the Spotlight Lecture featuring Carrie Mae Weems — presented by the University of Toronto’s Art Museum and CONTACT in collaboration with the Daniels Faculty — will take place May 4 at 4:00pm in the Daniels Faculty’s Main Hall. Click here to purchase your ticket to the lecture.

Back/Fill, featuring work by Guelph-based artist Susan Dobson, explores the detritus of Toronto through images of construction debris dumped at the Leslie Street Spit — the five kilometre-long artificial peninsula and wilderness reserve known as Tommy Thompson Park. Featuring a massive panoramic mural adhered to the north elevation of the new Daniels Building in between two sloped earth walls, Dobson’s images reveal layers of rubble, creating the illusion that the area has been backfilled with material culled from 1 Spadina’s recent construction and renovation. With large-scale photographs also mounted inside the building, the project raises questions about the cyclical nature of the built environment’s material character, with its phases of demolition, construction, preservation, and renovation.    

Featuring work by Geoffrey James, Toronto’s first Photo Laureate, Working Spaces | Civic Settings: Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana traces the work of the brilliant, but little-known architect Jože Plečnik (1875-1957), whose transformation of sites in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, created a series of remarkable civic settings, infrastructural projects, and buildings. Made with a hand-held camera, James’ images avoid the rigid conventions of architectural photography, capturing Plečnik’s idiosyncratic architectural expression, from intimate details to the urban-scale. Presented in the Daniels Faculty’s new Larry Wayne Richards Gallery, still photographs and photographs on multiple digital screens show the everyday use of Plečnik’s highly successful social spaces.

The opening reception for both Back/Fill and Working Spaces | Civic Settings: Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana will take place Thursday, May 9 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Registration will be required for this event. Reserve your ticket on the registration page.

Back/Fill
May 1 – July 12
Curated by Bonnie Rubenstein and Laura Miller
Daniels Commons, 1 Spadina Crescent
Opening reception: Thursday, May 9, 6:00pm
Exhibition hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm

Working Spaces | Civic Settings: Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana
May 1 – July 12
Curated by Laura Miller
Larry Wayne Richards Gallery
Opening reception: Thursday, May 9, 6:00pm
Exhibition hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm

Spotlight Lecture: Carrie Mae Weems
Saturday, May 4, 4:00 – 6:00pm
Daniels Building, Main Hall, 1 Spadina Crescent
$15 and $8 for students/under-waged
Presented by the Art Museum at the University of Toronto and CONTACT