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On Exiting
A Community Discussion about Withdrawals, Off-Ramps and Forced Departures

🗓️ Thursday, April 23rd, 2026
📍 Gallery TPW
⏰ 6PM-8:30PM

With presentations by Aisle4, Gendai and Luis Jacob

This roundtable discussion and community workshop is aimed at defining and disentangling different forms of exiting that we are witnessing taking place amongst artists, cultural workers and curators working in Toronto. These forms of leaving, refusal and forced departure are especially impacting those who are working from anti-racist, decolonial, queer, trans and feminist frameworks, and who speak out against the genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli state, who often pay the price for this work through acts of censorship and dismissal.

Members of collectives Aisle4 and Gendai will discuss the troubling rise in non-disclosure agreements in the cultural sector, and off-ramps out of arts institutions, respectively, followed by substantial time for community discussion. A key outcome for the event is the building of a timeline of events, physically on paper, of exits, withdrawals, and departures in the Toronto art world, and the collective organizing that has emerged in response to these troubling trends. Luis Jacob will act as a respondent, helping to summarize key themes and outcomes and direct us towards next steps.

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Free, but spaces are limited.

Please note: as of April 20, this event is at capacity. We are now accepting names on a waitlist. People on the waitlist will be admitted on a first come, first served basis at the door.

🔗 Sign up for the waitlist through the link in our bio!

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“On Exiting” is a part of You Can Always Just Leave, a research project into forms of feminist refusal led by Gabrielle Moser, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) with organizing support from EMILIA-AMALIA, Dana Prieto and Liz Ikiriko.

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Please enjoy a small selection of my favourite moments from the last year in the pumice-verse. Exhibitions and events are like diamonds, their glimmer and shine is a product of a long relational process of refinement, distillation, and compression. As we say goodbye to 2025 and the pumice raft gallery space on Ryding avenue, I’m happy to share some images not of the diamonds but of the matter that matters and the people that made it all happen. Long live Pumice Raft and stay tuned to see where it floats in 2026!

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Take a look at a few images from last weekend’s 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙨 event—the third event as part of 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢. Publics built off of a context of increased privatization in the arts as established in 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙨 and 𝙁𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙨, exploring, this time, the multi-valenced and shifting understanding of the public.

Presenters included: @saganmacisaac and @_aisle4 (Emily Fitzpatrick, Shannon Linde, Patricia Ritacca)

Check out the link in bio for audio and photo documentation of this event. Video documentation coming soon!

Hosts: Top Top Projects (@toptop.projects)
Live Event Score: Adrian Gordon Cook (@adriangordoncook)
Photos by: Brittany Carmichael (@britcarmichael)
Video Documentation: Miles Rufelds (@milesrufelds) and Daniel Froidevaux (@coldofthevalleys)

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Don’t miss 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘀 coming up this Sunday JAN 12th from 2:00pm-5:00pm at @toptop.projects! Featuring presentations by @saganmacisaac and @_aisle4. Register at the link in bio!

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺 investigates notions of public and private space, the geopolitics that underlie them, and their impact on the arts–funding, institutions, and artists’ professionalization. Undercurrents Forum consists of thematic presentations, panel discussions and performances taking place at Top Top Projects (165 Geary Ave, Toronto) on October 20th, November 16th, January 12th, and beyond! More video documentation coming soon.

Camera: @coldofthevalleys, @pseudo.blesius, and @milesrufelds
Score: @adriangordoncook

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SUNDAY JAN 12th, 2:00pm-5:00pm: 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙨 is the third event in the 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢, hosted at @toptop.projects. 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙨 builds off of a context of increased privatization in the arts as established in 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙨 and 𝙁𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙨, exploring, this time, the multi-valenced and shifting understanding of the public. Public, as a designation, is used in many ways across various contexts be it public art, community, audience, or government ownership. This is further complicated by the understanding that art and cultural programs in Canada are valued as a “public good.” However, within a paradigm of increased reliance on private and corporate investment in the arts, it begs the question: how does this change our notions of public? Inevitably, these changes inform the work of cultural practitioners.

Curator and cultural strategist 𝗦𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗮𝗰 (@saganmacisaac) and curatorial collective 𝗔𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗲 𝟰 (@_aisle4 ) both have a long history of public engagement by centering meaningful community involvement and representation in their work. In doing so, Sagan and Aisle 4 both emphasize the public in public art. The event will begin with a presentation by Sagan on her work developing public art and cultural programming, offering tangible engagement tactics for artists, architects, and cultural workers. Aisle 4 will then present on their history of public engagement as a form of social practice, emphasizing the time and complexity it takes to work with communities.

Following the two presentations, Sagan and Aisle 4 will return for a panel discussion focusing on the political implications of working in public; as well as, an understanding of politics as inherent to the public itself. Through this discussion we hope to draw out some of the tensions latent within cultural production for the public in the face of greater privatization. Time for audience questions will follow the panel discussion.

This event will feature an accompanying score by @adriangordoncook

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Now available on blackflash.ca: “Silencing in the Sector” by the Aisle 4 Collective @_aisle4

This essay by the Aisle 4 Collective shares findings from their ongoing research project into the role of non-disclosure agreements: legal agreements designed to protect intellectual property and trade secrets that are increasingly leveraged to silence employees from speaking about workplace conflicts or misconduct.

Read this essay on blackflash.ca through the 🔗 in our bio, or in your copy of BlackFlash Magazine issue 41.2.

Video Description: A flickering yellow and orange neon sign of a smiley face with an index finger in front of the mouth in a silencing gesture.

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Thank you to @theartnewspaper.official and @hadani_ditmars for publishing a feature on my work Flatbread Library at the @torontobiennial. There is a distinct joy seeing one's work written about with such detail and care ✨💛 Link to full article in bio.

@miguelopez1
@dofontaine
@aeartcentre
@emeliechhangur
@sunnykerr
@kelbyjames_
@izzyaltoe
@laidman_ryan_art_life
@galerienicolasrobert
@_aisle4
@materiaabierta
@zoepinecones
@le19crac
@mariafilliou
@gracegloriadenis
@palestinebakeshop

📷 @tonihafkensheid @viaramileva

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BlackFlash issue 41.2, “Labour”, is hitting newsstands and mailboxes this week!

Substantive editor for this issue, Alison Cooley, shares that “in this issue of BlackFlash, contributors reckon with these varied dimensions, tropes, traps, and gaps in the representation of labour from multiple perspectives.”

This fall issue features writing and artwork from Anahita Akhavan, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Crystal Mowry, Laura St. Pierre, Aisle 4 Collective, Sarah Cullen, Neil Price, Louie Palu and Sioban Angus. Renew your subscription through the link in our bio to get a copy of BlackFlash issue 41.2 straight to your mailbox.

Cover Image: Documentation of a MOTHRA residency, October 2019. Photographer: Sarah Cullen.

BlackFlash is grateful to @canada.council and @saskarts for funding the production and dissemination of this issue. Three children use brightly coloured paint on a large, white sheet of paper hung on a white wall. Overlaid red text reads “BlackFlash”, and black text lists the contributors to the issue.

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This year's curatorial residency program will start in a month. There is no intention in it, but this year’s team is strengthening the women’s side. Meet the girls! ✨

EMILY FITZPATRICK

Emily Fitzpatrick is a curator based in Toronto. Recent work involves temporary public art projects rooted in social practice and feminist perspectives on digital sustainability and survival. She has extensive experience working within Toronto’s artist-run centres and public institutions including Images Festival, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Gendai Gallery, and Art Metropole. She has contributed to such publications as Canadian Art, C Magazine, Peripheral Review and CAROUSAL Magazine. Emily is currently the Artistic Director at Trinity Square Video (Toronto) and a member of the curatorial collective Aisle 4.

#easttopics #eastcall #curatorialstudies #curatorialresidency #artcurator #contemporaryartcurator #eastcall2022 #youngcurators

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lettuce heart battle

reflecting on days and metrocards passed

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Collective as School Workbook by @gudskul x @a_g_y_u consists of text and image-based games revolving around the
idea of art collective dynamics. It is adapted from ‘Collective as School’, Gudskul’s latest
iteration of a knowledge-sharing and mapping module conceived as a tool to explore forms of
collectivizing know-how.
...

Initially, we were supposed to be in Toronto this summer/fall for planning and brainstorming the
future Knowledge Garden festival, with our collaborative partners of artists, collectives,
musicians, curators, writers, researchers, and professors in Toronto. This project was to
exercise collective values and pedagogical approaches as an artistic practice, but with current
situations happening globally we need to think of other ways to interact and maintain the
momentum of the project/residency at a distance.

The idea of a workbook came up when we tried to find an alternative to frustratingly ineffective
large group virtual meetings, and the 11 hour time difference between Jakarta and Toronto. To add to this, our internet connections here in Jakarta, Depok, and Bogor is often too unstable for
conference calls, one of our members even has to go to his roof to get a signal for our meetings!

Therefore, we’re thinking of converting virtual space into non-real-time conversations using
text and image, pen and paper!
We imagine that this book could be a long reflective process to finish, aligned with current rhythm of global situation. They can share about their existing
collective, space, initiative, community, group, or anything that they consider as a collective work
that fits the context of this book. They may be participating as a member of an established
collective, an informal one with ‘loose’ membership, or they may be neither of these but are
involved in collective activities as part of their daily life. By doing so, hopefully, we can together
reap a richer understanding of what collective work is, though we're working apart from different hemisphere. Until we meet again!

#JKTxGTA #KnowledgeGarden #Mustibisha #CollectiveAsSchool

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still fueled by 🧀

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