Portfolio Review Exhibition Award goes to Ian Willms

At the CONTACT 2013 Portfolio Reviews, Ian Willms presented two extensive documentary projects that he has been developing for the last few years. As Long as the Sun Shines looks at the effects of Canada's oil sands extraction on the residents of indigenous reserves of northern Alberta, and Why We Walk explores the Mennonites' history of pacifism and persecution by retracing their migration path across Europe. 

The jury was highly impressed by Willm's intimate documentary photography focused on social issues, which is enhanced by his nuanced use of colour and evocative approach to black and white. As a result of the award, Willms will mount a solo exhibition in the CONTACT Gallery in early 2014. See his work at www.ianwillms.com

Reviews
Saturday May 4 & Sunday May 5, 2013
The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen St. W. Toronto
10am – 5pm 

Curators and directors, art dealers, publishers and photo editors are brought together for two days during CONTACT to review portfolios of established and emerging artists, with a focus on documentary, photojournalism or photo-based art practices. 

This is an important event for artists with projects at advances stages of development who are seeking opportunities for publishing and exhibiting nationally or internationally—as well as looking for guidance on conceptual approaches or career development advice.

Portfolio Night
Saturday May 4, 7 – 9pm
Artists and photographers participating in the two day event are given the opportunity to share their work in an open forum with reviewers and invited local professionals. 

Cocktail Reception
Sunday May 5, 5 – 6pm
The program will conclude with a cocktail reception in the Melody Room at the Gladstone Hotel, with the annoucement of the Portfolio Reviews Award winner. 

*Please note that due to limited space, all submissions will go through a selection process to ensure a high caliber of work is presented in this program.

The 2013 reviewers Include:

Sheyi Bankale, Founding Editor, Next Level Magazine, London
Lise Beaudry, Director, Gallery 44 – Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto
Jon Davies, Assistant Curator, Oakville Galleries, Oakville
Jens Friis, Assistant Director & Editor, Museet for Fotokunst & KATALOG, Odense, Denmark
Karen McQuaid, Curator, The Photographer's Gallery, London
Veronique Terrier Hermann, Founding Editor, Else Magazine, Musée de l'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
Caroline Hunter, Deputy Photo Editor, Guardian Weekend Magazine, London 
Stuart Keeler, Curator I Director, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga
Natalie Matutschovsky, Senior Photo Editor, Time Magazine, New York
Daniel Neuhaus, Photo Editor, Toronto Life, Toronto
Robert Pledge, Founder, Contact Press Images, New York
Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director, CONTACT, Toronto
Aura Seikkula, Independent Curator, Helsinki 
Poppy Shibamoto, Photo Editor, Monocle Magazine, London
Andrew Tolson, Photo Director, Maclean's, Toronto
Meeka Walsh, Editor, Border Crossings Magazine, Winnipeg

One artist will be awarded with a solo exhibition presented at the CONTACT Gallery. This award, chosen by a jury of international professionals in the field of photography, recognizes outstanding work presented at CONTACT’s  Portfolio Reviews. The program was created to support and advance the careers of talented emerging photographers. The award includes a solo exhibition fee, production support from Toronto Image Works, and a $1000 rental gift certificate from Vistek.

Guillaume Simoneau - Love and War
CONTACT Gallery January 17 – March 2, 2013
 

Guillaume Simoneau was born in 1978 in Lévis, Québec and currently lives and works in Montreal. He began his studies in art after completing a diploma in applied science. Today, his work centers mostly on transitional spaces within universal themes. His most recent body of work, Love and War was shortlisted for both First Book Award and European Publishers Award For Photography. The series was also headlining the Daegu Photography Biennale in Korea this past September curated by Karen Irvine from the MoCP Chicago. Simoneau is currently working on the publication of Love and War with Dewi Lewis publishing in the UK. The publication is scheduled for 2013.

 simoneauguillaume.com

Jesse Louttit - No Roads  
Toronto Image Works Gallery
January 19 – February 16, 2012
 

Jesse Louttit is a photographer who lives and works in Toronto. His large format landscape images often reveal the traces of human existance in the environment. His work has been featured in PDN, Applied Arts and Report on Business and has been exhibited at Pikto and the Boiler House for CONTACT 2011. The Harbourfront Centre presented a series of No Roads in the Photo Gallery from January 28 to April 15, 2012. 

jesselouttit.com

Jonathan Taggart - The Friction of Distance: The Lillooet River Valley 
CONTACT Gallery
January 19 – February 16, 2012
 

Jonathan Taggart is a photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a founding member of the Boreal Collective of Canadian photojournalists. His photography has been exhibited internationally, has been featured in the New York Times Lens Blog and Applied Arts Magazine, among others. He was nominated for the National Magazine Award (Photojournalism, 2010) and PDN30 (2012), and is a three time Ontario Arts Council grant receipt. Taggart spends his volunteer time as a photography instructor at Vancouver’s Urban Native Youth Association.

jonathantaggart.com

Alex Kisilevich
Toronto Image Works Gallery
February 23 – March 4, 2012

Alex Kisilevich is a photo-based artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. He is a recent graduate of the MFA program in Visual Arts at York University and holds BFAs in Music and Photography from York University and OCAD University, respectively. Kisilevich’s photographs have been featured in publications such as Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward and BlackFlash Magazine. His work has been exhibited internationally and was recently shown in a solo exhibition during the Lianzhou Photography Festival 2011 in China. Kisilevich is represented by Angell Gallery in Canada.

alexkisilevich.com

Henrieta Haniskova
I Am Elvis
The CONTACT Gallery
January 31 to March 5, 2011

Henrieta Haniskova was born and raised in socialist Czechoslovakia. Settling in a new home across the ocean at the age of 19, she spent her first paycheck on a used Olympus SLR. What started out as a hobby Haniskova studied at the Toronto School of Art, Ryerson University and assisted a number of commercial photographers in Toronto. Currently working as a commercial photographer, she has traveled the world with her camera. Her photographic project documenting 50 Elvis Tribute Artists in Collingwood has received much acclaim. In 2008 her work was a Featured Exhibition at the CONTACT Photography Festival. The same body of work earned her 3rd place in the Lucie Awards, New York and will be published in the Canadian Geographic this summer. For more information, visit: www.henrietahaniskova.com

henrietahaniskova.com