Akin

. For the second year in a row, we’re opening up Akin Davisville for Doors Open Toronto 2026! 224 Merton Street | Saturday May 23rd | 10AM–5PM | Free! Come check out Akin Davisville’s diverse group of artists working in painting, illustration, textile art, sculpture, mixed media, and more. During Doors Open, guests are invited to tour the studios, meet the artists, and learn about their creative practices through informal talks, demos, and in-studio displays. For more information visit the Akin blog (link in bio). Admission is free, everyone is welcome! Photo of Akin Davisville Artist Studio @mykahcdc #DoorsOpenTO #OpenStudio #AkinDavisville

We are also pleased to host a Networking Event for artists and organizations on May 29, 2026, as part of HAPPENING Multicultural Festival. This gathering will bring together arts organizations offering valuable resources, opportunities, and information for immigrant, newcomer, refugee, and emerging artists. It is an opportunity to connect, learn, and build meaningful relationships within the arts community, while supporting artists in navigating and growing within the sector.

. Meet Akin Davisville’s Talented Artists: Introducing Nancy Ospina ( @oruga.lab ) Nancy Ospina is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Toronto. Her practice engages drawing, painting, performance, and participatory processes to explore memory, perception, and the emotional traces of lived experience. Her work reflects on presence, transformation, and personal narratives, creating contemplative spaces for reflection and connection. Alongside her artistic practice, Ospina works in art education with a focus on introducing contemporary art to children and families. She designs and facilitates process based workshops that encourage experimentation, critical thinking, and the development of individual visual language, fostering inclusive environments where art becomes a tool for dialogue and creativity. During the Akin Davisville Open Studio, Nancy will be offering a family-friendly portrait collage workshop through Oruga Creative Lab @oruga.lab , inviting children and families to explore and creativity through playful artistic experimentation. See more of Nancy’s work on her website nancyospinar.myportfolio.com and instagram @oruga.lab See Nancy’s work in person, and participate in her family-friendly workshop on May 23rd when we open the studio to the public for this city-wide event! Nancy will be set up on the 2nd floor of the studio. Location: Akin Davisville, 224 Merton Street Dates: Saturday, May 23rd 2026 Open Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM What to Expect: Open studios, artist meet-and-greets, artwork on display, family-friendly activities. Can’t wait to see you there! @doors_opento #AkinDavisville #DoorsOpen #TorontoArtists

. Meet Akin Davisville’s Talented Artists: Introducing Miles Forrester (@milesimilessimisleslime ) Miles Forrester is a poet who works in multiple media living in Toronto/Tsi tkaran:to. He volunteers at Toronto Zine Library where many of his chapbooks are displayed: including Hippocamp (a collaboration with Alex Hood) and Zugzwang, which is based on a bi-annual workshop he hosts in the space. At Akin, he has been assembling zines from his ongoing project, Slow Town, which maps his adventures through a town that's like this one, but slower, and considers all the possibilities and problems it would come with, eventually. See more of Miles’ work on instagram @milesimilessimisleslime Join us on May 23rd when we open the studio to the public for this city-wide event! Miles will be selling zines: $10 for 1, $15 for 2. Salon and readings will be conducted in Miles' studio on the second floor intermittently between 10am – 1pm Location: Akin Davisville, 224 Merton Street Date: Saturday, May 23rd 2026 Open Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM What to Expect: Open studios, artist meet-and-greets, artwork on display, family-friendly activities. Can’t wait to see you there! @doors_opento Image Descriptions: Slide 1: Miles Forrester (Illustration by Alex Hood), Pillars of Slow Town XI/VIII, Saddle Stitched Zine, 5.5 x 8.5, 2026 Slide 2: Poem from Pillars of Slow Town XI/VIII Slide 3: Poem from Pillars of Slow Town I/XIV Slide 4: Artist photo (photo credit Lucida Photobooths) Slide 5: Miles Forrester (Illustration by Alex Hood), Pillars of Slow Town I/XIV, Saddle Stitched Zine, 5.5 x 8.5, 2026 #AkinDavisville #TorontoPoets #

. Introducing Sadaf Solei (@studiosolei ) Sadaf Solei is an Iranian-Canadian multimedia artist based in Toronto. Working across ceramics, photography, and drawing. Her practice explores themes of memory, self-discovery, and the quiet emotional weight of everyday life. Through Studio Solei, her evolving ceramics practice brings together functional forms, recycled materials, plants, and light—creating objects that hold both utility and a sense of play. Rooted in a deeply intuitive process, her work reflects a search for balance, care, and connection through the act of making. During the Open Studio event, Sadaf’s ceramics and art will be for sale out of her studio. See more of Sadaf’s work on her instagram @studio.solei Join us on May 23rd when we open the studio to the public for this city-wide event! Sadaf’s work will be displayed and for sale on the lower level of the studio. Location: Akin Davisville, 224 Merton Street Date: Saturday, May 23rd 2026 Open Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM What to Expect: Open studios, artist meet-and-greets, artwork on display, family-friendly activities. Can’t wait to see you there! @doors_opento Image Descriptions: Slide 1: Drawings in a group shot. The world within, Conte, 2025 Slide 2: The criminal hands, Still images from a 20sec video art about self-censorship, 2023 Slide 3: The path to the liberation, Drawing and digital photography, inspired by the bravery of people during Women.Life.Freedom movement, 2024 Slide 4: Asymmetry, Flower Vase and oil lamp, Ceramic, 2026 Slide 5: Flower vase, Flower Vase, Ceramic, 2026 #AkinDavisville #TorontoArtists #OpenStudio

. Meet Akin Davisville’s Talented Artists: Introducing Tanya Murdoch Tanya Murdoch (@seeing.things.clearly ) is a painter as well as a collaborative multi-media artist and storyteller; she spent the 1990s at art school in BC (at Camosun College) and Nova Scotia (at NSCAD) and the rest of the decade in Japan working as a teacher, artist and video editor, including 4 years at Reuters TV. She has shown in galleries, juried shows and film + video festivals in Canada and Japan, and continued video production work in Toronto since moving here in 2000. She has also served as Visual Artist-in-Residence at Davisville Elementary School, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Heliconian Club. Tanya currently works as a freelance video producer, runs clothing swaps and workshops with her eco-art collective www.Works-in-Progress.ca, and draws all the time, always curious about new approaches. During the Davisville Open Studio event, Tanya will be painting in the shared space. She is happy to do 5 minute portraits for people who want to sit. See more of Tanya’s work on her website . Tanya also currently has work up locally, a show called "Being" in At Origin Coffee, 687 Mt Pleasant Road and downtown as part of the "World in a City" show at the Heliconian Club in Yorkville, 35 Hazelton ave. Join us on May 23rd to see Tanya’s work in person when we open the studio to the public for this city-wide event! Location: Akin Davisville, 224 Merton Street Date: Saturday, May 23rd 2026 Open Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM What to Expect: Open studios, artist meet-and-greets, artwork on display, family-friendly activities. Can’t wait to see you there! Image Descriptions: Slide 1: Photo of the artist Tanya Murdoch with her current work in bg (photo credit Kevin Murdoch) Slide 2: Tanya Murdoch, Uncharted, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in, 2026 Slide 3: Tanya Murdoch, Harpist with the Soul of a Cellist, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 in, 2026 Slide 4: Tanya Murdoch, Nape, watercolour on paper, 12 x 9 in, 2024 Slide 5: Tanya Murdoch, Brood, oil on canvas, 12 x 12 in, 2025 #AkinDavisville #OpenStudio #TorontoArtists

. Meet Akin Davisville’s Talented Artists: Introducing Kelley Munro Kelley is an abstract artist who loves to deconstruct and insinuate with her paintings! Colour is very much a big part of her art! See more of Kelley’s work at her instagram @dogit_kelleyrmunro Come take a look at Kelley’s work in person on May 23rd when we open the studio to the public for this city-wide event! Location: Akin Davisville, 224 Merton Street Date: Saturday, May 23rd 2026 Open Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM What to Expect: Open studios, artist meet-and-greets, artwork on display, family-friendly activities. Can’t wait to see you there! @doors_opento #AkinDavisville #TorontoArtists #OpenStudio

. We’re thrilled to welcome Akin Member Janne Reuss’ (@jannereuss ) photo installation, ‘Urban Sky’, to the Akin Vitrine Gallery from May 23rd-31st, 2026. ‘Urban Sky’ is a conceptual installation as part of CONTACT Photography Festival 2026. Find out more about the installation and the artist on our latest blog post (link in bio). Installation photographed at Remote Gallery (@remotegallery ) #jannereuss #contactphotographyfestival #akin

. OCADU Students! Akin will be at GradEx in OCADU’s Butterfield Park on Saturday, May 9, from 10am to 5pm, rain or shine. Come by and chat with us about our studio spaces, locations, and programming. We’ll also be sharing more about our Remote Gallery and the Akin x OCADU Career Launcher if you haven’t heard about it yet. Hope to see you there! #AkinxOCADU

.Learn about Akin Richmond-Bathurst! Location: 579 Richmond Street West Studios: 46 Dedicated studios and 20 Shared Memberships on the Fourth Floor 37 Dedicated studios and 10 Shared Memberships on the Third Floor Features: 24/7 access High ceilings and expansive windows with plenty of natural light Open-concept layout, exposed brick walls and beautiful hardwood floors Elevator access There is a transit stop 190 metres from the studio Art galleries and many amenities in the neighbourhood Located near Dollarama and DeSerres Wifi, utilities and insurance Shared storage facilities Kitchenette access Communal workspaces Common area cleaning Shared memberships available for $82/month Onsite Akin community programming All Akin memberships include 24/7 access (with the exception of Akin Sterling which is open 8am-8pm), wifi, utilities, insurance, shared storage facilities, restroom and kitchenette access, communal workspaces and common area cleaning. Prices include HST. You can view Akin Richmond-Bathurst’s floor plans and see Currently Available studios on our website at www.akin.art (or via the link in our bio). Email us at [email protected] for more information or to book a studio tour! At the time of this posting we have the following Akin Richmond-Bathurst studios available: Shared Memberships: are available for $82/month Dedicated Memberships: RIB3-04: 32 sqft for $226/month (not suitable for ceramics practices) RIB2-05: 42sqft, $270/month, available June 1st RIB2-22: 54sqft, $318/month, available June 1st #AkinRichmondBathurst #Akin #torontostudiospaces

. " I have been a member of the Akin Collective for approximately 10 years. Over this period, I have had the opportunity to work alongside, share with, and feel support from a host of artists in the Toronto community. These artists span disciplines and career stages, coming from diverse communities in Toronto. It has been such a pleasure to be a part of this burgeoning community. The spaces are affordable and offer a huge range in sizes (I have moved around between 4 spaces). The Akin Collective supports artists in so many ways with an extensive network of resources, events and opportunities." – Bernadette Peets, Akin Dupont Member ... Bernadette Peets latest body of work is coming to Remote Gallery: 'Recent Landscapes' April 30 - May 6 Remote Gallery 568 Richmond St W Gallery A ... In my almost 40 years of creating art, I've been on a continuous quest to express my thoughts, ideas and feelings about the world around me with honesty and sincerity. I'm not interested in being defined by a single style; as I want my art to reflect my ongoing growth and evolution as an individual. Trained in drawing and painting, my diverse background as a theatre designer, costumer, and props maker has expanded my skills across various mediums. I adapt my materials and techniques to best suit the subject matter I'm exploring. My work spans sculptural installations like 'Body Count', 3D dioramas such as 'Made in Canada’ and layered mixed media panels in my recent plexiglass layered landscape paintings. I explore subjects ranging from the human figure, objects, landscapes and combinations of all three. I enjoy creating artworks with depth that I explore through painted or physical layers, encouraging viewers to look closely and engage thoughtfully. Vibrant, saturated colors are a a hallmark of my work, used to heighten intensity and evoke emotion. There's often a hidden message in my art, inviting the viewer to see beyond the surface and engage with the deeper meaning of the work.

. Join us for the Akin Monthly Crit Night at Akin Niagara! This is a casual, supportive gathering for Akin members across all disciplines to share works-in-progress, get valuable feedback, and connect with the community. While attendance is free, space is limited, so be sure to register soon! Please note this is a deviation from our usual first-Wednesday schedule and will be on the second Wednesday of the month. This session will be hosted by Sofia Berger, a regular host and Akin Richmond-Bathurst member. Please register to attend using the link in bio. Thanks! When: Wednesday, May 13th, at 7:30 PM Where: Akin Niagara, 289 Niagara Street Accessibility: Akin Niagara is on the lower level of a building, its entrance is down a flight of twelve steps from the sidewalk. Akin Niagara has three bathrooms, all of which are single stall and gender neutral, some of which have grab bars.