Summer feels like it has finally arrived and we are excited to open our newest exhibition!

Join us Thursday, May 28th from 7 - 9pm for the opening reception of Michelle Wilson's exhibition, Those in Glass Houses...

This summer we are featuring a series of Media Collab workshops with a focus on sound art and animation. If you missed our drawing on film animation workshop with FRAMES Film Series, then you have another chance to try out drawing on film with artist Mia Buono. Scroll down to find out more, if you want to join a workshop in which you create a sound art piece for a hand crank music box, that can then be transformed into a vibrotactile sculpture in another workshop! 

The Media Collaboratory programming is possible thanks to a London Community Foundation Community Vitality Grant. 

Learn more about the grant on their website: https://www.lcf.on.ca/community-vitality-grant

Forest City Gallery is pleased to announce its next exhibition with local artist, Michelle Wilson. In this exhibition, Michelle investigates an unexpected root of colonial rule: the green house. As a form of environmental control, the green house was a crucial tool for transporting plants and people around the globe. Collaborating with members of her family and sharing their history, Wilson merges personal anecdotes with critiques of the British empire, the trade of exotic flora, and the abduction of children—an incisive commentary on interconnectedness and power. 

Come celebrate Michelle's new work with us on Thursday, May 28th between 7–9pm!

This hands-on workshop is an introduction to composing melodies with music boxes, through the lens of experimental music and computer history. You will learn how to create your own melodies by punching holes into a strip of paper that can be played through a small hand-cranked music box. At the end of the workshop, everyone is invited to perform (and record!) their compositions.

While music boxes are often thought of as children's toys, the technology has a rich history stretching back to the once-commonplace player piano. In this workshop, you will be introduced to this history as well as the use of punch cards in early computing and its relevance to today’s MIDI instruments. We will learn how the music box is therefore simultaneously digital and acoustic, while exploring how we can use these properties in our compositions.

No knowledge of music theory or prior musical skills are required! All materials are provided—if you can use a hole punch, you can make music. Aside from creating short melodies on strips of paper, you will also learn how to make loops; how different materials affect resonance; and the use of tempo as a compositional tool.

Facilitated by Tobias Ewé who teaches at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at University of Western Ontario, and completed their PhD in Art History and Theory at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Their research investigates the history and philosophy of sound art and technology since the Cold War. Alongside their academic work, Ewé has composed and performed acoustic computer music that questions the materiality of digital culture and human-machine assemblages. 

Join us for a workshop where participants will incorporate sound and vibration in order to create their very own felted vibrotactile soft sculpture with artist Leslie Putnam. This workshop involves creating works that encourage multi-sensory exploration and removes the barrier of “do not touch” in artworks. 

Participants will learn how to solder a transducer to speaker wire and connect it to a mini amp. 

In addition, you will learn the skills to felt using foam and wool roving in order to create a small handheld sculpture. When connected to a mini amp, the sculpture will transform into your very own vibrotactile artwork.

All Materials will be provided. However, participants are encouraged to bring a sound piece or music on a jumpdrive/USB Stick to create the sound/vibrational element for their sculpture.

Facilitated by Leslie Putnam, a London Ontario based Artist and Educator.  Putnam’s work includes exhibitions in Europe and in Ontario, her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions including Electric Eclectics, Toronto-(NuitvBlanche and Hard Twist), JNAAG, Museum London and the Canadian Clay and Glass Museum. She has received research, exhibition, and multi and inter arts projects grants from the Ontario Arts Council. As a multi-disciplinary artist, Leslie creates multi-modal sculptures and installations on the premise that sculpture can and should include the ability of access though multiple senses, removing the barrier of “do not touch”created by the limitations of institutions. In 2010 she and David Bobier formed the o’honey collective as a platform for research and creation relating to the natural world.

This workshop introduces participants to Direct Animation -a method of image making that involves scratching, painting, hole punching, collaging, and otherwise modifying either scrap, clear, or black 16mm celluloid film. This type of filmmaking yields flashy and vibrant results, and allows the artist to experience filmmaking in an analog medium without the use of expensive cameras or dangerous developing chemicals.

This workshop will begin with an introduction to the art form alongside a demonstration of a few techniques. Participants will create an experimental piece of animation where artists can choose whether to engage in precise drawing, swirl paint or scratch wildly, as examples of both kinds of techniques will be demonstrated. 

At the end of the workshop, the instructor will collect the finished films and splice them together to be scanned into a digital moving image and a collaborative film that can be screened at a separate event at Forest City Gallery. Finished animations will also be emailed to participants after the session to share with family and friends!

All materials will be provided. This workshop is open to all skill levels.

Facilitated by Mia Buono, an artist and filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario who focuses on the analog and alternative process medium. Her recent body of work includes direct animation on 16mm using both prerecorded and scrap film (Senses - 2023, Ghost - 2023) and works created without a camera, using the body in place of a lens (Exp. 20 Minutes - 2023). Her most ambitious work of this type to date is FTBP (2023), which she created by hole punching, dyeing, scratching, and collaging 16mm and was exhibited at Maximum Exposure 2024. Mia holds a BFA in Film Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University, and also enjoys photographing and assisting in the facilitation of arts workshops at the Neilson Park Creative Centre.

Elk Paauw continues to make good progress fixing the RISO printer, donated to us by the London Public Library. 

Currently we are reviewing the coloured inks we have: blue, violet, and orange paprika. Elk has been diligently cleaning each drum and making test prints. If you are curious about the repair process, feel free to drop in on Fridays during our open hours of 12-5 to find out more!

Stay tuned for updates regarding the machine repairs & upcoming workshops with the RISO later this summer.

All Skill Levels Welcome!

Are you an artist working with Live & Interactive Art Tools? Do you want to meet other creatives who are too? As part of the Media Collaboratory's Soft Skills Drop-in Sessions we are launching a new Drop-in for people working with software like TouchDesigner, Max/MSP, Resolume, Processing, and more.

Whether you’re into projection mapping, generative art, VJing, or immersive installations, this is your chance to experiment, share ideas, and jam alongside other creatives. Join us at Forest City Gallery for the Media Collaboratory's Live & Interactive Art Tools Drop-in session - a night of discussion, project sharing and networking. 

Bring your laptop, your art practice, or just your curiosity — all levels welcome.

If you have questions or a project you want to share contact us at: collaboratory@forestcitygallery.com

Continuing our Summer of Animation workshops, we have two upcoming workshops this July. Save the date, as registration for these workshops will open mid-June.

👉 July 11 - Learn the basics of stop-motion animation with Adrienne Scott

👉 July 25 - Learn the basics of hand-drawn animation by drawing with green screens with Lianne Zannier.

Screenings:
Online June 15th: Dance and the Video Mirror: The Matthew Speier fonds launching at www.vivomediaarts.com 

More Into: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYxyiIvDUPV/

Art Comp: Opening Night

100 Kellogg Lane

May 29th, 5 - 9:30pm

Summer Launch Party

Museum London

June 11th, 7-10pm 

TD Culture Lab: Artist Talking about grants with Manahil Bandukwala & Tennyson King

Mississauga Arts Council

June 10th, 7 - 8:30pm

Online Via Zoom

Trout Fish Derby

TAP Centre for Creativity

Jun 04,  6:00 - 8:00pm

Natasha Beaudoin: Refracted Realities

McIntosh Gallery

June 4 – July 3, 2026

Opening Reception: June 4, 5:00 - 7:00pm

Eric Allan Cameron: Distant Sun 

McIntosh Gallery

June 4 – July 3, 2026

Opening Reception: June 4, 5:00 - 7:00pm

Jennifer Hamilton: Lamenting Through Objects

Western Visual Arts Center: Artlab Gallery

June 11 - 25, 2026

Opening Reception: June 11, 5:00 - 7:00pm

Curator-in-Residence

Department of Visual Arts, Western University

Deadline: June 1

Call for Applications: Visual Arts Thematic – Future Figurations Residency

Banff Centre

Deadline: June 3, 2026

Program Dates: January 25- February 26, 2027

Joining as faculty for this program are Rajni Perera and Marigold Santos

Request for Proposals: External Collection Review, McIntosh Gallery

Deadline: June 17th

Accessibility Coordinator at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

Deadline: June 8, 2026