In the beginning, before the printing press, printmaking was not considered an art form but a medium of communication. Now a highly regarded form of contemporary artistic practice, artists apply many of the same techniques used hundreds of years ago for their own brand of visual expression. Open Studio (Studio 104) has offered space, and equipment, for this to happen since 1970 and has grown from a two artist operation in a storefront on Queen Street West to a facility that services approximately 150 practicing artists in a new home at 401 Richmond. Open Studio is regarded as a successful model for printmaking centres illustrating the necessary ingredients needed to create a viable and supportive facility for artists.
The Studio was started by American Artists Barbara Hall and Richard Sewell who immigrated to Canada from a tumultuous Vietnam War era America. As printmakers, they invested in the tools of their trade and decided to open up their use to a wider community of artists. Because of the expense and size of the equipment necessary for printmaking, artists are rarely able to have their own printing studio and this is part of what makes Open Studio such a valuable resource. It also stimulates a unique collaborative work environment, as Open Studio’s Director Heather Webb explains, “One of the things that’s special about printmaking and working in a production studio, is having a collaborative space. An Artist working with their peers, sharing ideas and techniques, breeds a community and a support system that you don’t necessarily get if you’re a painter in your own studio. Open Studio has a really strong community.”
With three distinct galleries, visiting artist residencies, a growing scholarship program, and about 250 students attending education programs each year, Open Studio is a bustling hub. The artist-run centre hums along due in no small part to a limitlessly talented staff and a membership of artist stakeholders who not only use the facility to produce art, but volunteer their talents to fundraising initiatives. “People are always astounded that artist-run centres exist and how much they do and add to the vitality of the arts in the city. Everything we do at Open Studio is two pronged: one to support professional artists, and two to educate. Fundraising is also a huge part of what we, and all artist-run centres, have to do to survive. We’re pretty proud of our history of being able to self-support ourselves to a large degree and rely on our membership and volunteer base to make that happen.” The centre has had great success with their artist playing cards – a deck of cards each printed with an original work donated by an artist member. The first deck was made to raise funds for Open Studio’s move to 401 Richmond and was such a hit that they recently produced the second edition. For Toronto’s first Nuit Blanche, they made a set of five buttons, again using original artwork, that have been very popular.
The main gallery, called the Open Studio Gallery, shows ten juried shows each year chosen from as many as eighty submissions from artists internationally. Open Studio’s artist members are given space in the George Gilmour Members’ Gallery for a solo show every two years. The gallery spaces are also used to showcase work from artists participating in one of Open Studio’s scholarship programs such as the brand new Donald O’Born Family Scholarship, named after a long time board member who recently stepped down from the board and created a fund to be allocated to an emerging artist in the first three to five years of their career. This is added to Open Studio’s existing scholarships; one for a graduating student from a printmaking program (Don Phillips Scholarship), and one for an artist member looking to do a long-term project (Nick Novak Scholarship). Although each of the scholarships are a fantastic way of cultivating talent in printmaking, the Don Phillips Scholarship is especially exciting, as Heather says “it is often the student’s first professional exhibition and critical writing about their work, which is a great way to transition them from being a student and into the professional world.” The third gallery is the Print Sales Gallery selling work by artists from coast to coast. The three galleries shows are always mounted in tandem to provide a glimpse of the richness and variety of contemporary printmaking.
Open Studio’s archives can be considered the organization’s hidden treasure. A standard practice for printmaking centres is to maintain an archive of artists work as a record of what was produced in the facility. The Studio is given a “shop proof” by the Artist to be kept in the archives and Open Studio’s collection dates back to their inception in 1970. Heather is very proud of the archive: “Any big name from Canadian contemporary art has likely come through the studio and is in our archive. Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, Roland Poulin, Janet Cardiff, you name it we probably have one of their works.” The Studio showcases the archive for school groups, education classes, and art appreciation groups, but hopes to find a way to bring this stellar resource to a wider audience. Currently, they are working to get all the pieces in the collection entered in a database so they know what they have. As the Studio’s fortieth anniversary approaches in three years, this treasure may find its way to a gallery near you in a touring exhibition, so watch out for it.
Open Studio Staff (left to right): Director Heather Webb, Print Sales Manager/Archivist Astrid Ho, Studio Technician Justin Labaine, Technical Director Jill Graham, and Associate Director Bridget Indelicato.
