Vtape

Happy International Workers Day from Vtape!

To celebrate May Day, and to put the focus on the pressurized situation in the arts, Vtape is featuring Clive Robertson’s Artists’ Union Rally, March 16, 1985 as our May Video of the Month. This tape is a condensed document of the rally that took place in Toronto in 1985: the Independent Artists’ Union (IAU) responded to cultural funding cuts to the Canada Council and the CBC handed down by the Progressive Conservative Party, in particular Marcel Masse from the Department of Communications. The rally included a march through the streets by over 800 artists and cultural supporters and concluded with speeches and presentations at the St. Lawrence Centre. The IAU was active from 1984 to 1989 with 700 members at its peak, transforming artists’ living conditions through advocacy for a living wage.

With the arts currently under increasing pressure from funding cuts, censorship, right-wing cultural backlash, and techno-cultural fragmentation, we recognize that this is nothing new. We have faced these conditions before and by organizing and working together, have been able to carry on doing the critical and fundamental work of independent art-making.

If you are in Regina, you can still see works by Clive Robertson and other 2025 Governor Generals Award winners, on at the Mackenzie Art Gallery until May 3rd!

🎞️ Now streaming on Vtape.org
🌐 Link in bio

Image Credits: Artists Union Rally, March 16, 1985 (1985) by Clive Robertson

We’re here to please you, Baby | Deirdre Logue, E. Jane, Renèe Helèna Browne, Zhongyao Wang

Curated by Kiera Boult for

Co-presented with Vtape, InterAccess, Inside Out, 7a*11d, and Ed Video Media Arts Centre

APRIL 11 | 3:00 pm
📍Innis Town Hall | 2 Sussex Avenue
Screening

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘝, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦, '𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺' 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴, 𝘒𝘪𝘬𝘪, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢: 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦.

Please join us after the program for a conversation with Kiki and Riss Sean Cruz, and find tickets for the program on our website.

Image: Sacred Disease, Renèe Helèna Browne (2019). Video still.

Vtape is excited to unveil the total overhaul of our front foyer! Thanks to the tireless efforts of Submissions and Communications Coordinator Claudia Edwards, our entrance has been transformed from an unwelcoming de facto storage space into a mini-gallery of sorts for the exhibition of titles from our collection, alongside a poster wall showcasing the history of video art in Toronto. Come on by and check out our video of the month, screening 10am-5pm, Monday-Friday. This month’s title is Maha Maamoun’s Shooting Stars Remind Me of Eavesdroppers (2013), with a new video to rotate in each month. Thank you, Claudia, for decluttering and improving our space!