Happy 2026! My name is Shani Khoo Parsons, and I’m the founder and current director of Critical Distance Centre for Curators.

On this 13th day of a brand new year, I thought it might be nice to reintroduce myself and share some background on why I started a not-for-profit devoted to critical curatorial practice and inquiry.

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I moved to Toronto at the end of 2008 with my family after nearly a decade living and working in New York, and during my first few years in Canada, I focused on nurturing my young son — and my own growing interest in curating, my curiosity sparked during my time working with curators at museums and galleries in New York. By 2013, with Jasper entering elementary, I decided to take a chance on this little dream, opening a not-for-profit project space for curatorial experimentation in the newly repurposed school that became Youngplace.

Emerging from conversations with both professors and peers I met in the curatorial program at OCADU, this space, which I named TYPOLOGY, was conceived from day one as a platform for guest-curated projects. As such, it was never intended to be about me or my own topical interests, but rather as a way to connect with the local curatorial community in collaboration and conversation on critical approaches to curating and exhibition-making.

Between 2013 and 2016, TYPOLOGY supported 14 exhibitions, 3 screening programs, 2 book launches, and an event series; participated in its first two art book fairs, and produced our first public art billboard in collaboration with local and international guest curators and artists at all levels of professional development.

Following a full-house roundtable discussion with local curators in 2016, the demand for our platform became clear, and we renamed the space Critical Distance Centre for Curators to underscore our curatorial mission and dedication to supporting critical inquiry and experimental practices.

And the rest is history — a history we’ll be revisiting and celebrating throughout our Lucky 13th year even as we continue to pursue new directions for Critical Distance! Whatever the future may bring, it’s the collaborations, conversations, and connections that this work makes possible which in turn make this labour of love still so worthwhile after 13 years— and I hope — worthy of your support as well.

If you agree that Toronto’s dedicated space for curators is worth supporting — a place to gather, learn with each another, develop new projects, and level up your professional practice in collaboration with the artists and audiences we both work with and serve — please consider supporting our LUCKY 13 crowdfunding campaign so we can continue to support critical curatorial research and production both impactfully and sustainably.

We’re adding new perks each month so check out our LUCKY 13 Donation Page for updates — and whatever you can contribute, I sincerely thank you for showing up for CDCC!

With gratitude,
Shani