Local work in this year's artist project in Toronto

More than 250 artists will be exhibiting their work at the 17th annual Artist Project, April 11 to April 14 at the Better Living Center at Toronto's Fairgrounds.

The event provides an opportunity for Canadian artists to exhibit and sell their work.

The works of local artists Jay Soule and Jake Kimble stand out here.

Soul, whose brand is Chippewar, is from the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in Ontario. This is his fourth appearance on the show.

“I see it as an opportunity to promote and sell my work, meet other artists and meet collectors,” Soule said. “It's a way to get my work in front of the non-native community. Most of my work is well known within the local community, but not much outside of it, unless it's an allied community.”

His vision and creativity can be seen in paintings, clothes and various products.

“I make pop art with an indigenous twist. I worked between painting and installation, clothing and tailoring,” explained Soule, adding that he began his career as a tattoo artist.

The exhibition will feature a mix of pieces, including several painted skateboards, movie posters, paintings and neon signs from a series he's been working on.

“(These) pop culture products are indigenous,” he said of his current collection.

Soule was close to the world of art from an early age. He describes his approach as atypical.

“It's always been about rebellion and pushback against social norms and the status quo. “I mean, I was probably considered anti-colonial before there was a word or phrase that was as clear as it is today,” he said.

Kimble is a multidisciplinary Chippewa artist based in Treaty 8, who uses photography as a means of self-care, self-repair, and rejection of gender ideology.

It shows an installation piece that includes a series of photographs that are about 16 feet.

“It's very exciting to show this piece of mine called 'My Guardian Angel is Tired,'” said the two spirited artists. “It's always such a gift to be able to highlight Indigenous or Two-Spirit Indigenous art.”

Each of the photos on display represents a part of her teenage years, “dealing with themes such as adolescence, moving to the big city, sexuality, shame, sexual abuse and addiction”.

Each of the photos has a self-portrait element with materials such as dirt, honey, bubbles, sugar and snow.

“Each one represents a profoundly different chapter in my life, in my youth,” Kimble said. “There are five photographic prints mounted on foam core and then mounted…layered on top of each other but attached to the wall.”

Kimble has always had a passion for photography. He tried different paths in the performing arts stream before returning to his first love.

“Most of my photographs are based on self-portraiture, because I use the camera as an autoethnographic tool to understand my identity, my place in the world, what I'm feeling, what's happening. So the camera helps me bring out whatever I'm feeling from my body, and it helps me visualize it literally, and then it makes it easier to process,” he said.

As a visual contemporary artist, she wants to be authentic in telling her story and own the role of being an indigenous artist. An art project is an avenue that sustains her focus by allowing her guests and peers to tell her story.

“What I'm hoping for in this show, or what the goal is, or what this work does, is what I like to do in most of my work (is) encourage others to explore and be honest. I hope to encourage them to tell themselves and their stories as authentically as you know them…but also with a little lightness, a little playfulness, and a little humor. Because we all have really dark stories, and this piece addresses my growing personal intensity.”

Soule and Kimble's work can be toured with curators throughout the event.

The April 10 opening night will feature a live DJ for guests to enjoy a little dance action, as well as a performance by multimedia visual artist Pixel Heller, who will dazzle the crowd with the masquerade character Moko Jumbie.

Fashion Toronto will also host a runway show with designer pieces available for purchase after the show at the new FAT boutique.

For more information or tickets to the event, visit www.theartistproject.com.