#bunker2

Building off of my second journal entry, I would like to take this opportunity to explore another initiative that facilitates art education - the artist-run centre. Although the term “artist-run” is often thrown around far to casually these days (most artist-run centres are not actually run by artists, answer to a board of directors, receive federal funding, and operate under strict guidelines) there are still many independently operated ventures whose sole aim is to accommodate the growth and development of local artists.

Bunker 2 is a self-identified “contemporary art centre” that operates out of a refurbished shipping container in Toronto’s west end. Under the artistic direction OCAD alumni Matthew Kyba, the centre takes a collaborative approach to realising exhibitions by inviting artists to approach the space and create an “intervention”. Bunker 2 emphasises artistic agency and actively facilitates creative autonomy and experimental research.

Like Terry Finnigan’s Tell us About It project, Bunker 2 offers participants an open-ended concept that allows for subjective interpretation, contemplation, and execution. The nature of the Bunker 2’s mandate allows for artists to pursue work of a personal significance, with little to no boundaries there to determine their course of action.