12 Degrees is an architecturally innovative, low-rise condominium on Beverley St. in the Queen West/Grange area that opened in 2015. With its iconic black granite twisting stack design, 12 Degrees joins the array of landmark buildings in the surrounding area, including Will Alsop’s OCAD Sharp Pavilion, Frank Gehry’s Art Gallery of Ontario, and Uno Prii’s Gallery Tower. The 12 Degrees lobby echoes the exterior of the building, bringing the black granite exterior inside for one wall that anchors the elegantly designed two-story volume. 

When I moved into 12 Degrees in 2015, our spectacular lobby was an echoing empty space begging for art to animate it. I was elected to our first Board of Directors in 2016 (I am still a Board member ten years later), where we engaged in ongoing discussions about the lobby. Given my professional background as a curator and critic, having worked in the international film and art world for many years, and as a professor at OCAD University, I led Board discussions on our lobby, eventually determining to convert it into an art gallery. I developed a plan for 12 Degrees to activate our lobby with public exhibitions of contemporary works by Canadian artists, with a commitment to inclusivity and diversity. With modest financial support from the condominium to cover hard operating costs, including art transportation, installation, insurance, publicity, and launch receptions, I took on the unpaid role of curator and administrator of the gallery, producing 4 original exhibitions annually.
12 Degrees Art launched in early 2017 as a non-profit, non-commercial space with an exhibition of 7 paintings by acclaimed Anishinaabe Saulteaux visual artist Robert Houle, who had a second exhibition here 9 years later with selected works from his retrospective at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Since our inauguration, we have staged 23 solo exhibitions and 5 group shows, exhibiting works in a wide array of media by 46 contemporary Canadian artists, from established to emerging, including photographer Patricio Dávila, sculptor Kristina Guison, ceramicist/painter Mitsuo Kimura, muralists Z’otz* Collective, collagist/painter Hazelle Palmer, textile artist Lindy Fyfe, site specific installation artist Colette Laliberté and digital media artist Judith Doyle. We recently held an exhibition and silent auction of 15 historical silk-screened Cuban film posters to raise funds for humanitarian aid for the people of Cuba, where we welcomed Cuban Consul General Víctor García Sánchez to discuss Canada-Cuba relations. We have also held 3 Community Makers group exhibitions featuring work by 12 Degrees residents. In 2019, I was joined by designer Patricia Pastén as volunteer Assistant Curator, and together we have kept up the demanding but rewarding creative work of maintaining 12 Degrees Art as a thriving art space.

12 Degrees Art is a unique and successful presence in the merged ecology of Toronto arts and condominium worlds. We offer artists access to a professional exhibition space and services that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive, a career-changing experience for many emerging artists who have been able to use their curated show here as a launch pad for further exhibitions and public exposure. For 12 Degrees residents, we benefit from meeting and speaking with artists, and from living for extended periods with contemporary artworks that we get to know intimately, that inspire and question us daily, connecting us to expanded visions of life and meaning. For the larger Queen West/Grange community, the gallery offers free, ready public access to artists/contemporaries that enhances our strength and vitality while asserting the inestimable value of art and artists in shaping worldviews. And finally, the 12 Degrees art and architecture speak to each other in an elegant discourse, a rare win-win-win-win situation.

If you would like to know more about our gallery, you can follow our Instagram account, @12degreesart. If you would like to join our mailing list, DM me on Instagram. Stay tuned for our upcoming exhibition opening in mid- September titled “NIGHT/SHIFT”, a sculpture/drawing/textile site-specific installation by Toronto artist Xavi Allen. 

David McIntosh, 
Curator, 12 Degrees Art

Art That Enriches Our Community

We are very fortunate to have  Dr.David, our Resident Director and Curator, whose creativity and passion for art continually bring beauty and character to our lobby. Through his thoughtful selection and placement of artwork, our lobby walls have become an ever-changing gallery that is regularly admired by residents and visitors alike.

As Property Manager, I also had the special opportunity to have a piece of artwork from my own family displayed in the lobby, made possible through David’s wonderful curatorial work. It was a meaningful experience and a beautiful example of how art can create connection and a stronger sense of community.

We are truly fortunate to have Dr. David as part of our community and appreciate the creativity and warmth he continues to bring to our shared space.

Vera Musaraj, Property Manager
 

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