FIGMENT 5 Faves for July 25th!
Our CORE Team & amazing crew of artists are on the Island already, setting up for this weekend's FIGMENT project -- Saturday, July 26th, 10am - 11pm & Sunday, July 27th, 10am - 5pm. Here are our 5 Fave Hot Tips to prep you for this weekend!
5 HOT TIPS for FIGMENT Toronto 2014!
1. Get your ferry tickets from us! Did you know that Figment volunteers and attendees can skip that long ticket-purchasing line by looking for our Ticket Faeries by the FIGMENT banner? Well, you can! Look for volunteers in pink FIGMENT 2014 Crew t-shirts and you can grab your $7 ferry ticket from them. Bring exact change and rest easy in the knowledge that your trip across to the islands just got a lot faster. Don't have exact change? Consider paying with a $10 and donating the extra $3 to FIGMENT. It's through the generous donations of supporters like you that we are able to bring this free event to Toronto every summer!
2. Be ready for any weather - we are! FIGMENT happens rain or shine, so if the forecast looks dodgy, just bring an umbrella or poncho and a sense of fun. Remember how joyful it was splashing in puddles on rainy days as a kid? Well, we'll be operating under that same sense of play, no matter how wet it may get. While there may be some projects that have to temporarily suspend operating during a full-on downpour, the event itself will still be up and running and we'll get all the art back into action as fast as possible once any rain stops.
3. Looking for something in particular? Come to the Info Table at HQ! The *best* way to discover the wonders FIGMENT has in store is to explore, to wander the Island and see what you find. But, if there's a particular project that you've heard about and just have not found, pop by HQ -- the white dome just off the main path, near the washrooms. We have a handy map and our volunteers are happy to point you in the right direction.
4. Who are those people in the pink shirts? Why, that's our fabulous crew of volunteers! The pink FIGMENT 2014 crew t-shirts are a great, easy way to identify a FIGMENT volunteer staff person. We're here to help you -- got a question or just want to say thanks for the awesome time you're having? Find one of us and say hello!
5. Make a day of it -- or even a whole weekend! Most of the projects run during *all* festival hours (10am - 11pm Saturday & 10am - 5pm Sunday), but some projects are one-time-only, such as the Bubble Battle, Circus Competition, and many performance-based acts. They're a bit like Pokemon, you gotta catch 'em all! So come early, stay late. Come both days. There is always something wonderful waiting for you at FIGMENT, don't miss a minute of the action!
See YOU on Olympic Island *this weekend*! We hope you are as excited as we are. Oh, one last Hot Tip: check out this lovely FIGMENT Toronto 2014 Sneak Peek video put together by our friends over at Geektropolis:
And, as always, we leave you with the question: What Are You Bringing?
New Feature - FIGMENT 5 Faves! - 5 Things to Bring to FIGMENT Toronto 2014
Introducing new Friday feature: FIGMENT 5 Faves! This week, we're featuring 5 FIGMENT Faves for items to bring to FIGMENT Toronto 2014, July 26 & 27 on Toronto Islands.
5 Things to Bring to FIGMENT Toronto 2014
1. Camera FIGMENT is a very photogenic event in a very photogenic space. Stay until at least dusk on Saturday, July 26th & you'll capture some of the very best views of the city, too! (And, there's a fire show and all kindsa fun nightttime acivities - we go til 11pm that nght!) Be sure to use the hashtag #figmentto when posting your pics & let the world see what fun you had!
2. Garbage bag Sure, it's not the sexiest item you'll pack for your trip to FIGMENT, but a small bag for garbage is a great thing to bring with you anytime you visit Toronto Islands -- and it helps us fulfill our environmental commitment to being a Leave No Trace event (or, LNT for short). What is a Leave No Trace event, you ask? Well, it means many things, but a key principle is to Dispose of Waste Properly -- which means if you pack it in, you pack it out. Check out this link for the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace at LNT.org: https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles
3. Friends & family What better way to enjoy the fabulous array of interactive art than to bring folks to interact with? While many guests do come alone, given the participatory nature essential to all the art projects at FIGMENT, it can be so much more fun and fulfilling an experience to bring friends with you. Make a day of it; bring a picnic! Make that picnic a LNT-friendly 'boomerang lunch', where all food is removed from disposable packaging and instead reusable containers are used. Enjoy that sandwich with a side order of satisfaction knowing that you and your loved ones are reducing your environmental impact and increasing awareness at the same time. (For more info on the 'boomerang lunch' program, check out this handy PDF: http://www.ecosuperior.org/upload/documents/boomeranglunch.pdf )
4. Open mind The best way to increase our receptive potential for the message of any given artwork is to approach it with an open mind. A great piece of advice often given before newbies go for the first time to the arts festival Burning Man (which also has a distinct curatorial focus on interactive art, just like FIGMENT does) is to enter the event with No Expectations. Pre-set scripts are running in our heads all the time about all manner of things. The more we can do to quiet this internal chatter, the more we create as fresh and receptive a state as possible -- and, the more we get out of our experiences. And, hey, with some really fun and funky musical acts lined up for FIGMENT this year, too, there's lot of opportunity for the saying to come true: "Free your mind and your ass will follow!"
5. Empty wallet Well, okay, you'll need money for the ferry, for food or drinks on the Island if you are not going BYO, etc. BUT: for FIGMENT itself, there are no tickets sold, no activity fees, no hidden charges. FIGMENT is 100% FREE to participate! We have art and crafts and performances and more, all at zero cost to you! It's true!
Now, given the free & interactive nature of FIGMENT, the question naturally arises: What Are You Bringing? Hula hoop? Blanket to hang out in the shade? Bubble gun for the Bubble Battle? Guitar to jam in the grass and make some new friends? A book to donate to the mini, free library? Tell us! Check out our Facebook Page, Instragram profile or Twitter page to join the conversation. See you on the Islands!
Aqua Attack returns to FIGMENT Toronto 2014
AQUA ATTACK is coming back to Toronto July 26-27 2014! You don't need to choose if you are Good or Evil yet, just spend some time with FIGMENT in your mind and dream of hot summer days and epic water battles!
They are coming back for an encore appearance and are ramping up the Attack to go into the night. If you're up for taking a dip or a dive then dress for wet and if the image they sent us is any indication of what fun is to come dress for wild too.
FIGMENT Toronto Art Party & FUNdraiser 2014
"A Figment for your Jubilation"
Saturday, June 7th 2014
The Great Hall
1087 Queen St West
Toronto, ON
$25 advance & before 11pm / $30 after
Advance tickets available here: figmenttoartparty2014.bpt.me
FIGMENT Toronto is throwing a fabulous Art Party Event, to raise funds for this year’s free, family-friendly art festival on the Toronto Islands!
With wonderful live music, DJs, art activities, fun games, life drawing, circus aerialist acts, and lots of fun surprises – all in a gorgeous Victorian building full of beautiful art by FIGMENT artists.
Main Hall:
Host: MC Everybodies Daddy
DJs:
* Elixir (funky breaks)
* dBoom (ghetto funk/glitch breaks)
* UsedDJ (electrohouse)
* JD Mack (party breaks/psy breaks)
* Cynex (hard dance & house)
Live Music:
* Alissa Vox Raw (looping indie songstress)
* Willis Benjamin (folk/roots, unplugged set!)
Circus:
* Archer Bach
* Zel Tyrant
* JD Sparks
Art in the Salon:
* Figure Drawing feat. grads of the Toronto School of Burlesque (BYO sketchbooks and pencils - 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm)
* Four-Play Shades of Conte (interactive art experiment!)
Silent Auction:
Got something to donate to the auction? Please get in touch! [email protected]
VOLUNTEER! Want to help out? We'll be needing volunteers for fun teams like Decor, Door, and more! Get in touch: [email protected] -- we'll be hosting some pre-event crafternoons/evenings in advance of June 7th and will also need lots of hands on deck for the big party. It's gonna be a really fun, fab group to work with!
Costumes encouraged! Express your creativity - it's an Art Party, so why not arrive as Living Art? Here at FIGMENT, we often state the goal of "breaking down the walls between performer and spectator" -- what better way to do that than to truly become a part of the art? And, remember to wear your dancing shoes!
Participatory art cannot happen without YOU, the participant, so come be part of FIGMENT's future & purchase your ticket today!
"What are you bringing?"
This is a Leave No Trace (LNT) event! For more information on LNT and the Eleven Principles of Figment, please visit: http://www.figmentproject.org/principles
100% of all funds raised will be used to support artists at our FREE July Event on Toronto Island!
Facebook event page for latest, up-to-the-minute updates, performer and DJ profiles, & more!
Figment Toronto returns July 26-27, 2014
FIGMENT Toronto is returning for our second annual free participatory art event on July 26-27. For one weekend we transform Olympic Island into a large scale, collaborative artwork – and then it’s gone! As always, the question FIGMENT asks is, “What Are You Bringing?”
FIGMENT provides the space; you provide the spark. Whether you want to submit a project, volunteer at the event, or just come out to the Island to release your inner child and pARTicipate, YOU make the magic happen!
At FIGMENT we invite you to make something, create something, collaborate, and play – to make something that gets people to interact, to participate with what you bring, and with each other. It can be as simple as a smile, some bubbles, or a song – or you can go big with interactive installations and performance pieces. At FIGMENT we welcome works in every conceivable category: sculpture, installation, performance, games, workshops and more. We can’t wait to see what figments arise from your imagination!
For information and to submit a project.
FIGMENT is a grass-roots effort entirely organized and run by volunteers. If you would like to help in creating a fantastic event on the Island while making new friends, we would love to have you come play with us! Click here to Volunteer!
FIGMENT is produced by hundreds volunteers who donate thousands of hours, but we do have expenses and will gratefully accept donations of any size, to help in bringing participatory art to Toronto and to showcase local artists to our 10,000 event attendees.
Keep an eye on here for more info in the coming weeks. In the meantime like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
Photos courtesy Fee Gunn © www.feegunn.com
“Conundrum” at Figment!
What could be more Canadian than a canoe, or a drum? A Conundrum! Come to Figment and play this beautiful handmade marvel.
The Conundrum was made by David Hynes, of Bethany, Ontario. There’s one in the permanent collection of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. In 2010 an earlier Conundrum was installed at the opening of the film “A Drummer’s Dream” at the Hot Docs film festival and 4 prominent international drummers (John Walker. Raul Rekow, Dennis Chambers & Nasyr Abdul Al-Khabyyr), who had never played together before, performed on the Conundrum at the film’s premiere.
Now you can play a Conundrum, too!!
