Dear Members and Friends of The Ministry of Artistic Affairs,
It is with sweet sadness that we write to you today to announce that The Ministry will be going on hiatus for an indefinite time period, starting today.
After three years of successfully programming fun social and educational art events in the community, we have decided to end our programming as a result of time considerations and competing interests. As the Co-Founders and Co-Directors of The Ministry, we speak with one voice in a massive thank you to everyone who participated. During our series of 40 events, we met so many amazing people, enjoyed incredible access to the spectacular local art community, experienced some of the best art to ever be created in Toronto, and made terrific new friends. Special thanks to all of our dedicated members and the artists, curators, writers, dealers, and collectors who partnered with us to make our events so special.
We have decided to put The Ministry into deep freeze for very positive reasons. Because of great changes taking place in our lives, as Directors we feel that it is best to wind the program down rather than try to continue without our full attention and commitment.
As many of you already know, Randy Gladman is expecting his first child in May and needs to step away from his Ministry duties for the next little while to focus on his family. He promises to continue to participate in the local art scene as much as possible but felt that he would not be able to dedicate himself to event programming and managing our blog.
Simon Cole will continue his role as Director of COOPER COLE. The continued growth of this gallery and its increasing participation in international art fairs is demanding increasing attention. Simon is also entering his second season as a Director of Spectrum Art Projects, a not-for-profit organization that uses murals and public art initiatives as tools to empower individuals and reshape neighbourhoods.
Noah Earle will continue working within the arts community as a Partner in Able, a design studio providing creative direction and graphic design for galleries, artists and organizations.
For all of our dues paying members, please note that in the next week you will each receive an individual email containing the details of refunds for the unused portion of your membership fee. All refunds will be paid promptly via email money transfer or Paypal credit card reimbursement.
On Saturday February 16 2013, between 4 – 6pm we will be hosting a farewell party, open to everyone, to celebrate 3 years of The Ministry. The party will take place at COOPER COLE where Simon Cole will discuss his gallery’s current exhibition featuring a selection of young artists from New York City. Glen Baldridge, Colby Bird, Patrick Brennan, David Kennedy-Cutler, Sam Moyer, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, and Ryan Wallace explore ideas of materiality and process through photography, collage, painting, and sculpture. These artists are all enjoying impressive success in their careers with participation in important institutional exhibitions around the world. We hope you all come by to hang out, share contact info, and celebrate what we accomplished together.
We hope that you will all continue to take an active interest in the Toronto art scene and support our local galleries, institutions and artists. If you have any specific questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact any of us. We hope to stay in touch with all of you!
Thank you so much,
Simon Cole, Noah Earle and Randy Gladman
Co-Founders and Co-Directors
The Ministry of Artistic Affairs
