Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art

Toronto’s Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art is an increasingly influential player in our city’s cultural scene. Through the operation of an art gallery, a photographic and digital arts magazine, and a monthly speaker series, Prefix explores the transformative role that art plays in our urban environment.

The mastermind behind Prefix Institute is writer and photographer, Scott McLeod. Feeling that there was no proper platform for Anglo-Canadian photography, McLeod founded the Institute in 1999, in a tiny shared studio in Toronto’s cultural hotspot, 401 Richmond St.

One year later, the first issue of Prefix Photo was released, edited and published by McLeod himself. In keeping with the stated mission of the Institute – to foster “the appreciation and understanding of contemporary photographic, media and digital arts” – this high-quality photography magazine showcases film, video and digital artists whose work explores the “infinite possibilities of change, development and growth.” Though portfolios and essays often come from international contributors, Prefix is especially interested in encouraging submissions of new or previously unpublished work from all cultural regions in Canada. The magazine has won numerous awards for everything from art direction and photography to writing.

4 covers of Prefix Photo issues

 

For his latest venture, McLeod has partnered with Janine Marchessault, founder of The Visible City Project, a centre for research and colloquia on the role of the arts in urban development (www.visiblecity.ca). Together they have created the Urban Field Speakers Series. By examining how creative practices can transform and even improve the experience of life in a city, this monthly lecture series is a perfect illustration of the Prefix Institute’s mandate. Now in its third season, the series has played host to academics, artists, and curators from around the world.

In February of this year, the series was visited by Peter Weibel, chairman and CEO of ZKM Centre for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. He spoke on the democratization of art and artistic experience through media technology. More recently, Iara Boubnova, Curator of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Sophia, talked about urban change in a society of transformation. Among those still to come in 2008 is Hal Foster, professor of Art and Archeology at Princeton University. He will discuss the problems he sees in contemporary art, architecture and design.

McLeod made a conscious choice to showcase speakers from outside of Canada: “We set out quite deliberately to make this an international series, so we invite speakers from everywhere and we pair them with local moderators. Our role is very much about forging relationships between people in Toronto and people from other cities.” The idea is that Canadian moderators will engage their guests in such a way that it will reveal how their ideas and practices can be applied to Toronto.

Now in its third season, the series has become something of a triumph for Prefix. Line ups outside the gallery stretch down the hallway, and events are almost always sold out (tickets go for $8 at the door; $5 for Prefix Photo subscribers, students and seniors).

“Toronto is changing and changing quite rapidly,” says McLeod. “This change could be for the better or the worse, and there is a responsibility for cultural institutions to be engaged in that process.”

Prefix is a frontrunner in the shaping of Toronto’s artistic landscape, and with the Speakers Series, it has shown just how important the appreciation, understanding, and critique of art is to the creative and overall identity of a city.

Although McLeod remains cautiously optimistic, he admits that Prefix is inspiring people: “Toronto is already doing a lot of what is right, and I hope that Prefix, as a relatively new institution can contribute to this process of growth and evolution.” By all accounts, Prefix has already made an enormous contribution, and in the process, has become a sine qua non institution of artistic Toronto.

Visit Prefix at www.prefix.ca

Alex Bowron

- Alex Bowron currently works for the City of Toronto’s Planning Department where she encourages bicycle use in the city. She has long been involved in issues of urban community development, and is now pursuing an education in Fine Art.

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