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Critical Distance Centre for Curators

Critical Distance Centre for Curators fosters critical dialogue and innovative practices in contemporary art through exhibitions, workshops, and events. They support curators and artists, promoting diverse perspectives and enhancing community engagement in the arts.

a convivial reading/writing group for the curatorially inclined. Join us for conversation and co-learning in an informal, intimate, and unintimidating atmosphere this coming Thursday, July 16th from 6:30-8:30pm. For this first session, titled &#39;A contingent curriculum,&#39; we will explore concepts, politics, and practices of improvisation, contingency, catastrophe, and collaboration between curator, artist, and diverse publics in relation to our current exhibition, contemporary painting, and curating more broadly. No prerequisites required to participate. PDFs of selected passages or short chapters from some of the publications shown in this post will be provided to confirmed participants. Reading ahead of the session is encouraged but not required. Additional readings will be introduced for us to consider and respond to in-session. There will be opportunities for writing if desired, and participants may be invited to collaborate on or contribute to publishing initiatives currently under development at Critical Distance. Registration is PWYC, with all proceeds going towards snacks/drinks, facilitation, and materials for participants. Limited spots available, so register soon to avoid disappointment.&nbsp;

Social studies at Critical Distance, Session One: A contingent curriculum

Program Dates / Times / Locations FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2026Evening sessions from 6:15 pm &mdash; 8:00 pm at Theatre Direct&nbsp; SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2026&nbsp;Full day from 10:00 am &mdash; 6:00 pm at Critical Distance Centre for Curators&nbsp;Please note: Saturday programming includes FREE onsite childcare, a shared meal, and hybrid participation options to support caregiver access 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. Developed through an ongoing research-creation initiative, Curating the Village approaches care not only as a subject, but as a force that reshapes how artistic and curatorial work is organized, timed, and sustained. Marked by interruption, exhaustion, and relational obligation, caregiving challenges dominant expectations of productivity, availability, and coherence in cultural labour. While &ldquo;care&rdquo; circulates widely in contemporary arts discourse, it is still rarely accommodated structurally within programming or institutional time. Through short offerings, shared food, and collective discussion, Open Sessions considers what shifts when care is approached not simply as a trending theme, but as a method&mdash;one that foregrounds interdependence, negotiation, and the conditions that make work possible. Curated by Shalon T. Webber-Heffernan

Curating the Village

FILM NOTES is a scent-infused screening series in Toronto presented by writer + curator Dhvani Ramanujam. Each program pairs a scent or a perfume with a different film, its specific notes psychically responding to, and embodying fragments of the selected film&rsquo;s narrative, tone, landscape, mise-en-sc&egrave;ne, or a relationship between characters.<p fr-original-style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";' style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);'> On June 23rd, the program returns for its second screening. Lina Wertm&uuml;ller&rsquo;s 1986 sensuous comedy, Summer Night with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil. A later Wertm&uuml;ller entry, the film features a familiar star (Mariangela Melato as a bronzed blond tycoon) and a familiar theme in Wertm&uuml;ller&rsquo;s work: the crises of class warfare and gender politics distilled into horny sex games.&nbsp;<p fr-original-style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; min-height: 15px;' style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; min-height: 15px; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);'> The scent pairing will be revealed to those who attend the screening in person.<p fr-original-style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; min-height: 15px;' style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; min-height: 15px; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);'> This screening is at 7pm on Tuesday June 23rd, at Critical Distance, located at 401 Richmond St W, Suite 122. All ticket&nbsp;proceeds go towards supporting arts-based programming at Critical Distance.<p fr-original-style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue";' style='margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);'> Poster design by Pegah Peivandi.

Critical Distance Centre for Curators

Past events

Past events

Social studies at Critical Distance, Session One: A contingent curriculum

Curating the Village

Film Notes

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