The Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival usually takes place throughout the month of May in venues across Toronto, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival is adapting this year. As of April 1, the official festival website will present highlights of the full roster of exhibitions originally planned for the 2020 festival.
A message on the website from the Contact staff and board of directors says, “As the global health crisis has rapidly transformed how art is experienced, Toronto’s 24th annual Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival continues to be adapted, day by day, to reflect the challenges of this reality.”
The organizers are using the website to acknowledge the efforts of everyone involved including Canadian and international artists. Normally the lens-based works are presented in a diverse array of exhibits at galleries, public sites and alternative venues across Toronto. Of course, due to the pandemic, these sites are all closed for the foreseeable future.
“We very proudly present all of these initiatives on this website and within the festival’s catalogue,” says the message on the website.
The festival is also hoping that it will be able to unfold the physical exhibitions across the city once public safety is assured and venues reopen over the coming months.
The website features the 28 core exhibitions from both Canadian and international artists, as well as featured exhibitions which focuses on selected lens-based projects. There is also a section for open call exhibitions which are photo-based initiatives that were drawn together from an open call for participation. In total, there are about 150 exhibitions on the website to explore from the comfort of your home, with some works being made available to the public for the first time.
Each featured work also notes the venue name where it will be displayed once permitted by public health protocol, though no dates are listed as that is still unknown.
Artists whose works are featured on the festival website include local artists such as Aaron Jones, Ebti Nabag, Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker, and more.
The message on the website concludes with, “This year’s festival is dedicated to all of those in the arts who have been affected by COVID-19. We hope that these challenging and uncertain times will ultimately strengthen society, one that values creativity as a vital part of life experience.”