8ELEVEN
8eleven was formed in 2014 by a diverse group of artists, writers, curators and arts community members who came together to inhabit an unassuming storefront in Toronto’s Chinatown. Our collective mandate focused on the creation of a new space of inclusion and diversity, community and experimentation, that strove to exist outside of the boundaries of commercial galleries and professionalized artist-run spaces.
In order to be sustainable yet autonomous, 8eleven has continuously sought out alternative funding sources to supplement assistance from government funding, such as publications, multiples, partnerships and memberships.
The original location on Spadina Avenue included a street-level gallery, a basement exhibition and event space, a sculpture garden, a publication and artist multiple program, a commission-based partnership program, and a music and performance platform. The gallery initially featured artist and writer Elle Kurancid’s lightbox installation Heaven and Hell, which riffed on 7-11’s signage. Kurancid’s sign inspired legal pursuit by the corporate 7-11 and eventually gave way to a rotating project which saw the sign re-designed by many of 8eleven’s participating artists including Maryse Lariviere, Craig Fahner & Steve Gurysh, Tau Lewis, Eleni Pampaditrious, Stefanos Ziras & Derek Liddington, Parastoo Anoushahpour, Faraz Anoushahpour & Ryan Ferko, Maya Ben-David, Davida Nemeroff, Edgar Leciejewski, and Patrick Cruz.
