Deborah Turbeville, Asser Levy Public Bathhouse, New York, for Vogue (New York), 1975, black and white chromogenic print. The Image Centre, Gift of Eric Berthold, 2017 © Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection
The Image Centre announces its 2024 exhibitions lineup, featuring Deborah Turbeville, Ken Lum, and Lee Miller
Dec. 12, 2023
Highlighting pioneering female photographers as well as the work of one of Canada’s most prolific conceptual artists, the exhibitions cover fashion photography, family snapshots, news and war photography, among other genres.
Toronto, Canada — Today The Image Centre (IMC) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) announces its lineup of photography and new media exhibitions for 2024, with a notable focus on pioneering female photographers Deborah Turbeville and Lee Miller.
The IMC’s upcoming winter exhibition season kicks off with a public opening party on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 7:30–9:30 pm.
A series of engaging public programs are on offer this upcoming season, including artist conversations, panel discussions, and exhibition tours. Visit theimagecentre.ca/events for more details.
Admission is always free.
Winter 2024
Exhibitions on view: January 17–April 6, 2024
Opening reception: January 16, 2024, 7:30–9:30 pm
Otherworldly: Deborah Turbeville Photographs explores the innovative career of American photographer Deborah Turbeville (1932–2013), from her major fashion commissions of the 1970s to the more personal projects of her later years. Widely credited with evolving the editorial genre of fashion photography into an art form, Turbeville de-emphasized the clothed figure in her pioneering compositions, whose often-decaying settings contribute to the photographs’ dreamlike aesthetic. Curated by Denise Birkhofer, the exhibition presents more than 40 photographic works from The Image Centre’s collection.
Talashi (Arabic for “fragmentation,” “erosion,” “disappearance”), on view on the Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall, is a video composition made up of personal photographs entrusted to French artist Alexis Cordesse by refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, ongoing since 2011. Cordesse’s long, patient process of amassing intimate snapshots of family celebrations and quotidian activities challenges the never-ending flood of tragic and violent images produced and widely disseminated by the mainstream media. Curated by Gaëlle Morel. Public program supported by the Consulate General of France in Toronto and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Reopening after a holiday break, Stories from the Picture Press: Black Star Publishing Co. & The Canadian Press presents more than 35 stories about historic events and personalities to illuminate how photojournalists and press agencies worked together to document the news and distribute images for publication throughout the 20th century. Curated by Paul Roth, Gaëlle Morel and Rachel Verbin. With support from media sponsors The Toronto Star and blogTO.
Spring/Summer 2024
Exhibitions on view: May 3–August 3, 2024
Opening reception: May 3, 2024 (more details to follow)
Scotiabank Photography Award: Ken Lum showcases seminal series along with new works by the 2023 Scotiabank Photography Award winner. Lum is internationally known for his conceptual approach, particularly his various signature series of photographic portraits paired with concise, slogan-like written texts. The artist’s humoristic and impactful practice investigates the relationship between language and representation in the public space. By doing so, Lum critically challenges social hierarchies and dominant narratives related to identity, class, and gender, always at play in capitalistic and postcolonial societies. Organized by The Image Centre, presented by Scotiabank, in partnership with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
Hypervisibility: Early Photography and Privacy (1839–1900) traces the interrelated and overlooked histories of photography and privacy in the nineteenth century. From the outset, the medium triggered both excitement and concerns about heightened visibility, and carried various risks and rewards based on gender, race, class, and disability. Guest curated by Sarah Parsons and Frances Dorenbaum. This exhibition draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Clarissa Tossin’s Streamlined: Belterra, Amazônia / Alberta, Michigan occupies the IMC’s Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall. In the video, Tossin pairs scenes of nearly identical Ford Motor Company towns, located in different parts of the world. While the left side of the video moves across Belterra, a rubber-plantation village in the Amazon forest, the right shows Alberta, a sawmill town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Both were built in 1935, to produce rubber and wood for mass manufacture of Ford’s Model T in the United States. Streamlined offers a subtle inquiry into the history of globalized production and its material and social residues. Guest curated by Noa Bronstein.
In Dimension: Personal and Collective Narratives is a group exhibition comprising works by emerging artists who participated in the recent workshops Representation as You (2021) and Refaced: Photography and Collage (2023), facilitated by the IMC’s Poy Family Youth in Focus program. Guest curated by Bryce Julien. On view in the IMC’s Great Hall.
Fall 2024
Exhibitions on view: September 11–December 7, 2024
Opening reception: TBC (more details to follow)
Lee Miller: A Photographer at Work (1932–1945) offers a rich and complex portrait of American photographer Lee Miller during one of the most intense and productive chapters in her professional life. Amidst the myriad challenges facing professional women at the time, Miller was simultaneously a renowned portrait photographer running her own studio in New York (1932–1934); a photographer for perfume and cosmetics brands in fashion and advertising (1932–1945); and a war correspondent for the British edition of Vogue (1942–1945). Curated by Gaëlle Morel.
The Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall features a commission from the Toronto Biennial of Art, guest curated by Dominique Fontaine and Miguel A. López.
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The IMC showcases the work of current students and recent alumni from Toronto Metropolitan University in the Student Gallery, with six exhibitions per year. Also on view is From the Collection, a rotating display highlighting works from the IMC’s permanent collection.
All dates and details are subject to change. Please check theimagecentre.ca for the most current information.
We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario for their support. Please join us to celebrate the impact of this funding at the launch of our winter exhibition season on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 7:30–9:30.
About The Image Centre
The Image Centre (IMC) is Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography. Established in 2012 at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the heart of the city, the IMC welcomes visitors to explore the intersection of photography and culture. Through compelling exhibitions and engaging public programming, the IMC showcases work by emerging, renowned, and anonymous photographers, past and present. With a growing collection of nearly 400,000 photographic objects and an innovative scholarly research program, the IMC is also a vibrant hub for the preservation and study of photography. Learn more at theimagecentre.ca.
About Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly known as Ryerson University, is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education. Urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the University is home to more than 46,000 students, including 2,900 Master’s and PhD students, 4,000 faculty and staff, and 225,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit torontomu.ca.
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Media Contact
Kristen Dobbin, The Image Centre
kristendobbin@torontomu.ca