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A few people sitting around a table looking at images in an art gallery
Fig. 1

Collaboration. A Potential History of Photography (opening night), 2018 © Clifton Li, Ryerson Image Centre

Collaborate with us at the Ryerson Image Centre

Jan. 31, 2018

This season, the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) invites visitors to take an active role in its new exhibition, Collaboration. A Potential History of Photography. This experimental show suggests that photography—a medium traditionally understood as one dominated by singular creative adventurers—is better defined by collaboration and interaction. Designed to be open-ended, Collaboration invites visitors to participate in the reshaping of photographic meanings through an expansive program of conversations, encounters, and workshops.

Organized by guest curator Ilana Shamoon with Christine McLean, these talks, tours and workshops are presented in partnership with a variety of community partners, including Black Artists’ Networks Dialogue (BAND), The RUDE Collective, the University of Toronto, OCAD University, Gallery 44, Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts, and many others. All events are free and open to the public, and take place at the RIC unless otherwise noted. No registration is required.

Collaboration is an innovative new project by Ariella Azoulay, Wendy Ewald, Susan Meiselas, Leigh Raiford and Laura Wexler, and a partnership of Brown University, University of California, Berkeley, Ryerson University and Yale University. The RIC’S presentation of Collaboration is supported by The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, New York, and by media sponsor Toronto Star. Events are subject to change and new ones will be added. The public is asked to visit ryersonimagecentre.ca/exhibition/collaborate for updated information:

Wednesday, January 31, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
In Conversation with Karla McManus 
Join McManus and her Ryerson class (Curation and Exhibition) in the exhibition

Wednesday, February 7, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
In Conversation with Karla McManus 
Join McManus and her Ryerson class (Curation and Exhibition) in the exhibition

Thursday, February 15, 4:30 – 6:30 PM 
In Conversation with Blake Fitzpatrick 
Join Fitzpatrick and his Ryerson class (Documentary Media) in the exhibition

Thursday, February 22, 12:00 PM
Position paper by Brian Sholis
Join Sholis, Executive Director of Gallery TPW, as he presents a position paper on the exhibition, followed by a Q&A and discussion 

Wednesday, February 28, 3:00 – 6:00 PM
In Conversation with Karla McManus  Join McManus and her Ryerson class (Curation and Exhibition) in the exhibition

Thursday, March 1, 5:00 – 6:00 PM
In Conversation with Karla McManus  Join McManus and her Ryerson class (Theories of Photography – Contemporary Topics) in the exhibition

Tuesday, March 6, 1:30 – 3:30 PM
In Conversation with Matthew Brower 
Join Brower and his University of Toronto class (Curatorial Practice) in the exhibition

Tuesday, March 6, 3:15 – 6:00 PM
In Conversation with Vid Ingelevics
Join Ingelevics and his Ryerson class (Idea of Photography) in the exhibition

Friday, March 9, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
In Conversation with Karla McManus 
Join McManus and her Ryerson class (History of Photography II) in the exhibition

Sunday, March 11, time TBC
In Conversation with Dayna Danger
In partnership with the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective, artist Dayna Danger will discuss her practice with two of her regular collaborators

Wednesday, March 14, 6:00 PM
Artist talk with Alia Youssef
In partnership with Gallery 44, Youssef will present her talk "Can I have a say in this narrative"
In her presentation Alia Youssef will discuss the representation of Muslim women from pre-9/11 to present in western media. Specifically, the role of Muslim women in that narrative, and the steps Muslim women are now taking to change that image through artistic collaboration. She will focus on her involvement in the 2017 Muslim Girl x Getty photography campaign and her personal photographic, video, and text series titled The Sisters Project. The series counters negative stereotypes of Muslim women by showcasing the inspiring stories of women across Canada.

Sunday, March 18, 12:00–5:00 PM
Gallery talk and workshop with Collaboration team members, Susan Meiselas and Wendy Ewald

Wednesday, March 21, 6:00 PM
RUDE Collective Panel Discussion moderated by Hana Jama
Panelists include Riya Jama, Merray Gerges, and Joshua Vettivelu 

Sunday, March 25, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
BAND Panel Discussion Part I*
Panelists include: Diane Liverpool, Solana Caine, and Al Peabody 
Location: BAND Gallery (19 Brock Ave)

Tuesday, March 27, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
In Conversation with Gabrielle Moser 
Join Moser and her OCAD University class (Screens and Digital Imagery) in the exhibition

Wednesday, April 4, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
BAND Panel Discussion Part II at the RIC
Panelists include: Diane Liverpool, Solana Caine, and Al Peabody