A unique community experience of art, saunas and sweating
March – April 2023Harbourfront Centre
TORONTO, February 1, 2023 /CNW/ – Art + Sweat: Prepare for the heat at Public Sweat.
The creative team behind Art Spin embarks on its latest iteration of innovative art in alternative spaces by introducing Public Sweat, a participatory sweat experience and contemporary art platform. This unusual context for engaging with art invites visitors to immerse themselves in the shared values of sweat bathing practices around the world: community, connection and care. Public Sweat will be held from From March 15 to April 23, 2023at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto. Visit Public Sweat website to book a session and find out more.
Public Sweat is a unique combination of art, sauna culture and sweating. Indoor and outdoor experiences will include lounges, a café, a cold rinse and a multi-disciplinary array of contemporary art programs to be experienced while guests sweat in artist-designed sweat-bathing structures. The structures will serve as both public artworks and inclusive public spaces where visitors are invited to leave their everyday armor at the door and share a moment of self-care and community care.
“There are many beautiful elements common to sweat-bathing cultures around the world, in particular we wanted to bring a sense of social connection with Toronto through this project,” said Rui Pimenta, co-director and co-curator of Art Spin. “We’re always interested in placing art in unique spaces, and the fact that Public Sweat is created by artists and surrounded by art creates an exciting entry point for bathing in sweat,” he added Lane Hinton, co-director and co-curator of Art Spin. “Visitors are invited to bring their bathing suits and towels, as well as a sense of curiosity.”
The artists were commissioned by Art Spin to design and build sweat-bathing structures that function both as a standalone piece of art and as a usable hot space. Confirmed artists for Public Sweat to date include: Simon JonesSHEEEP Studio, Christy Pearsonand Chris Foster.
Abandoned Splendor from Simon Jones brings together her passion for the history of film, video, sculpture and electronics, with an interest in the nature of perception to create a cinematic sauna experience in a form inspired by the industrial wood burners of the Victorian era. “My sauna, Abandoned Splendorpositions these former industrial giants as spaces of contemplation, loss and wonder,” says Jones, whose design will be enhanced through an intimate soundscape by a collaborating artist Mitchell Akiyama.
garmabeh from SHEEP references to ancient Iranian baths, which were an important social environment for centuries before the introduction of piped water. garmabeh creates a structure of complex geometries and materials to make a space that speaks to the four main temperaments of traditional Iranian medicine; hot, cold, dry and wet. SHEEEP is an experimental studio from Reza Nick and Connor Stevensworking at the intersection of community, culture and architecture.
Geospheric sweat bath from Christy Pearson connects bathing, utopian communities and the DIY spirit. Pearson, artist and architect, is the author of Bathroom architecture: body, landscape, art (MIT Press 2020) and her extensive travels around the world in search of different bathing practices led to her designs that combine architectural geometry with rich natural materials.
Mobile pot from Chris Foster combined his interest in the social possibilities associated with sauna culture along with his expertise in building saunas to transform a used utility trailer into both a sauna and a vessel for other levels of arts programming. The design of Foster’s nomadic mobile wood sauna includes a built-in video screen and sound system to allow for further artistic interventions and collaborations.
Single ticket prices to Public Sweat range from $20-35 with options to purchase tickets for 4 multi-visit passes. Single ticket early bird pricing available (limited quantities).
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FOR ART SPIN | Since 2009, Art Spin has activated decommissioned sites and unique public spaces to produce ephemeral projects, curated exhibitions and bicycle-led art tours. Site-specific programming, across disciplines in alternative spaces, is at the heart of their curatorial methodology and their desire to make audiences more engaging, while reimagining the possibilities of public art in the process. Art Spin is behind some of the of Toronto the most exciting contemporary art events, including the upcoming/future festival in Ontario venue in 2016 and the city center exhibition area for Nuit Blanche in 2019, along with a whole range of projects and exhibitions; Holding Patterns, Tower Automotive Building Exhibition and the Kajama tall-ship art tour to name a few.
Public Sweat’s partner venue is the Harbourfront Centre. Public Sweat receives financial support from: Government of Ontario; Canada Council for the Arts; the government of Canada; The Ontario Cultural Landmarks Fund, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports; on City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario; and Waterfront Toronto.
MEDIA GALLERY
SOURCE Art Spin
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