Public: Collective Identity | Occupied Spaces

Framing issues and events central to current social and political discourse, the University of Toronto Art Centre (UTAC) and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) present one exhibition in two locations as the focal point of CONTACT 2012: Public.

Ranging from images that capture synchronicity to ones that depict conflict, this international group show explores photography as a key nexus in the the public performance of identity and civic expression of authority. UTAC mounts the Occupied Space section of the exhibition with work by Tarek Abouamin, Ariella Azoullay, Sabine Bitter / Helmut Weber, Benjamin Lowy, Sanaz Mazinani, Richard Mosse and Ai Weiwei. MOCCA mounts the Collective Identity section with work by Philippe Chancel, Cheryl Dunn, Barry Frydlender, Baudouin Mouanda, Jon Rafman, Bill Sullivan and Michael Wolf.

CONTACT 2012: Public explores the evolving ways in which photographs portray social structures, draw attention to political issues and influence collective consciousness. Through a series of primary exhibitions, site-specific installations, lectures and events, the festival will look at how photographs make things public. From traditional street photography to imagery captured on the Internet, photojournalism at the front lines to theoretical research projects, CONTACT 2012 will present works that redefine how we perceive public space and challenge how we comprehend issues of public concern.