Curating the Village: Open Sessions

June 26, 2026 - June 27, 2026

Curating the Village: Open Sessions is a two-day gathering of artists, curators, and cultural workers exploring caregiving as both a lived experience and a working condition. Spanning rest, performance, workshops, and conversation, the program brings together perspectives on caring for children, parents, elders, neighbours, the dying, and broader communities.

Curated by
Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan

Featuring
Indu Vashist / Mark Reinhart / Jeneen Frei Njootli / Tender Again / Ebru Winegard / Margaret Evans  (Balancing Act) / Una Janicijevic / Michelle Wilson / Rahaf’s Kitchen / Janet Hinkle / Zoë Heyn-Jones & Amanda White / 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective / Ragamalika Mohanraj / Renée Anne Bouffard-Mcmanus / Heather Frise / Shira Leuchter / Yanaminah Thullah / Regatu Asefa / Sandra Dusabe / Delilah Edouard Williams / Maryna Salagub / Sasha Singer-Wilson

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Making Otherwise: on sustaining creative practice in the face of precarity

March 27, 2026 - March 27, 2026
Critical Distance is pleased to present Making Otherwise: on sustaining creative practice in the face of precarity Date & Time: Sunday, May 31, 2026, 4-6 pm Curated by Ingrid Jones through the Collaboratory for Black Poiēsis curatorial fellowship at University of Toronto, Making Otherwise convenes an intimate roundtable bringing together artists and culture workers whose practices span installation, performance, sound, and socially engaged practice. For this session we are pleased to welcome actor and playwright Lara Arabian; curator, cultural producer and educator, Andreann Asibey; and artist and educator, Amy Wing-Hann Wong.  Each guest speaker will offer a short presentation  as an opening into collective conversation on  how they have sustained their artistic process in a moment defined in part by digital…Find out more
Karl Beveridge,Van Gogh’s Ear, digital photograph, 2025

Not/For the Money: A celebratory book launch with Embassy Cultural House

April 30, 2026 - April 30, 2026

Critical Distance and the Embassy Cultural House are pleased to announce a celebratory book launch for Not/For the Money, an online exhibition featuring works by artists and cultural workers examining themes related to money, capital, and value. Featuring contributions from Ron Benner, Karl Beveridge, Lily Cho, Matthew Dawkins, Holly English, Soheila Esfahani, Kelly Greene, Jamelie Hassan, SF Ho, Michael Maranda, Alistair MacKinnon, Patrick Mahon, David Merritt, Mohamed Monaiseer, Sheri Osden Nault, Wanda Nanibush, Shelley Niro, Claudia Sambo, Ruth Strebe, and Jeff Thomas, the Not/For the Money exhibition catalogue will be available for perusal and purchase, alongside artists’ multiples, postcards, and prints by Anahí González, Incé Husain, and others, and a full complement of past publications by ECH. 

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Hard Feelings: A Somatic Workshop Series by Indu Vashist

March 31, 2026 - April 28, 2026
Critical Distance is pleased to present Hard Feelings: a somatic workshop series led by Indu Vashist. The full series comprises 5 workshops in total for $120 CAD and includes the following: Session 1 is a two-part workshop taking place over two hours. For the first hour, we will discuss the structural reasons why the art world is shrinking. Arts Councils on every governmental level are oversubscribed and underfunded. This is resulting in far fewer artists receiving funding and fewer places to showcase work. Without this systemic analysis, individual artists experience rejection from the granting or showcasing system as social rejection. These emotions can trigger a physical response. We literally feel rejection as pain.  In sessions 2–5, Indu Vashist will lead…Find out more

LUCKY 13!

December 13, 2025 - August 31, 2026

This year, Critical Distance is turning 13, and while some might call it an “awkward phase,” we’re choosing this moment to celebrate how lucky we’ve been over the past 13 years.

It’s been our good fortune to collaborate with over 350 guest curators, artists, and co-presenting partners on 70+ exhibitions and curatorial projects, 30+ public art billboards, and well over 100+ art and educational events including screenings, performances, workshops, field trips, talks, and tours since opening our doors in 2013!

As we look ahead to our next 13 years, we’re asking for your support to keep the momentum going. If Critical Distance has ever supported, engaged, challenged, enriched, or inspired you, now is a great moment to give back. As a small arts organization facing real sustainability barriers, every dollar makes a huge difference in helping us continue to both provide, and thrive.

Click HERE to DONATE NOW!

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