gallerywest’s Evan Tyler honoured with The Timothy Comeau Award from Mammalian Diving Reflex
Toronto is a hotbed for creative culture and one of the city’s scene builders is gallerywest’s Evan Tyler.
After recently receiving The Timothy Comeau Award from the artistic collective, Mammalian Diving Reflex, we felt it was time to dive a bit deeper into Evan’s uncompromising and enriching views on art, society and community relations.
But first, a little background on this honourable award is necessary.
The Timothy Comeau Award is given to those individuals who have dedicated a tremendous amount of support to Mammalian Diving Reflex, offering creative freedom to youth aspiring to collaborate, connect and build foundations of meaning.
What’s unique about the partnership between Mammalian Diving Reflex and Evan Tyler is the non-existence of hierarchy, rather, a joining of commercial and non-profit organizations singing and bleeding artist merit, together.
So how did this partnership between gallerywest and Mammalian Diving Reflex come to be?
“I was a fan of Darren O' Donnell's work (founder of Mammalian) as a student in Regina, Saskatchewan. I did a couple of videography assignments for the company in the mid-2000's and when I started the gallery I kept them on my mailing list. Mammalian is known for working with youth, in specific a group of youth from Parkdale, the neighbourhood where galleywest is situated.”
“About a year into operation Darren and friends contacted me about using the space as a hub for the youth to conceive, practice and execute creative projects, and I was immediately ecstatic about diversifying the purpose of the space. Over the years the youth (known as the Torontonians) have conducted numerous events in the gallery space, often inviting in the general public to engage in wild and fun-spirited activities. Most noteworthy is "Dare Night" which is essentially an evening of truth or dare minus the truth. Youth, adults, artists, curious visitors and people of general interest have all come into the space and dared each other to do absurd things. A video I shot of Dare Night can be seen here.”
Interesting to note is the way Tyler became aware of his special accolade.
“When I heard about the Timothy Comeau Award I was told by Mammalian is was for someone named "Kevin" and I was asked to construct a rap to deliver honouring this mysterious "Kevin". The joke is that I spent all this time imagining who this person is and why I've never met them, how they contribute to the company and then filtering all of this into a short rap. When I arrived to Darren's apartment everyone played things really cool and later that evening when the veil was lifted and I discovered "Kevin" was I and I was him; my heart pretty much melted. A few of the people present delivered their own raps/performances in honour of me winning the award and I have to say it was a special feeling, unlike anything I've ever felt before. I immediately called my Mom the next day and told her because that's what you do when you win an award—tell your mom.”
So what was the driving force for this Regina, Saskatchewan native to move to a new city, open a gallery and inspire a communal system that was anything but pretentious?
“When I made the decision to move to Toronto to start an art gallery it was a time in my life where I was yearning pretty badly for change. I had been visiting Toronto frequently doing some odd jobs for a few people in town including Mammalian Diving Reflex whom I’d maintained a close connection with.”
“Each visit made me fonder and fonder of a city that I once swore I would never move to. Before gallerywest was gallerywest it was galleryDK, a photography space in Parkdale where I had shown my work back in 2009. When the collective of artists who ran the gallery approached me to say they were closing the space and the lease was up for grab, I took it as a sign to move to Toronto and make some major moves. I guess perhaps even on a subconscious level I had always been programming an art gallery in my head so it was exciting to see that materialize. I also recall watching a lot of "Mary Tyler Moore Show" around that time and perhaps I was channeling a bit of Mary's spirit in regards to transplanting oneself in an unfamiliar urban setting.”
In a city like Toronto the stockpile of talent is vast, but the direction can often be skewed. This can be viewed with scrutiny or as a matter of triumphant means. Fostering a contemporary art space that serves the greater needs of the public and still remains as a business can be a daunting, but rewarding nonetheless.
“The gallery is an extension of who I am and I tend not to take myself too seriously. Although I think it's important to maintain a sense of professionalism, I also think it is equally or perhaps more important to come off as human and make people feel welcome and appreciated as an audience. I've always tried to run the gallery with a spirit of fluidity—a project space opposed to a brand or institution. I think because I allowed so much diverse activity into the space with the primary goal of serving culture and bringing together community, the dream of "anything is possible" never dampened and therefore my drive to keep bouncing around the gallery, my art practice, my curatorial visions and community engagement flourished the way it did.”
“I think over time culture and cultural venues in general will morph into one big multi-disciplinary soup, and that's great. We live in a time where it's very rare to find one artist who sticks to one thing; usually artists are doing a bunch of different things: medium hopping, genre blurring—this is typical. I think the same principle will and can be found in cultural venues. The days of singularity are over. That time has passed and now we can embrace more risk taking and expansive approaches to cultural service.”
“gallerywest is special in the sense that it is a place with a lot of good spirit. The intention is always to manifest challenging and fun art shows, events, happenings, and never forgetting that, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Sometimes work involves a certain degree of play and in this sense, they can definitely be complimentary. There's no one formula for success and balance, it's something you just feel out along the way and making mistakes is part of that. I've made my fair share of mistakes as a gallery owner but I've also had my fair share of victories and at the end of the day, it's the best darn education I could have ever asked for—simply put, it’s real world experience.”
Garnering an honour from a community of individuals, friends, first time gallery goers etc., can be an experiential revelation in itself and that is something that should not be lost in the framework and Mammalian Diving Reflex definitely shares this ideal.
“What I appreciate the most about Mammalian Diving Reflex is their ability to laugh at the often ridiculous virtues of being an adult – ideals such as taking yourself really seriously, obsessing over professionalism, etc. As a company they facilitate A-typical situations with people of all walks of life and it's definitely a breath of fresh air from the often mind-numbing intellectualism signature of the contemporary art world. In saying that I'm not against or in opposition to any school of thought or philosophy of art production, it is the accumulation of all of it that makes navigation interesting.”
Even with the empowering spectrum to which helped create the floor for inspiration, there must have been that ominous bug in the back of the mind, right? One might assume even with an atmosphere that encourages youth to unwind and shed their skin, a hesitation to allow a group to act freely in a place of work could pose to be problematic?
“The feeling was powerful, it all of a sudden dawned on me that I contributed something special to some very special people; a space and environment to create. Subsequently they gave me the experience(s) of a lifetime, a collaborative effort beyond anything I had ever witnessed. I think hosting these projects was the best move I ever made with the gallery and I wouldn't trade it for the world.”
“At first I have to admit, there was a certain measure of hesitation regarding wild antics in a space full of expensive objects but the faith I invested into the group is part of what made the experience worthwhile—taking a risk on something new and exciting and merely hoping for the best. Besides, that's what brought me into running the gallery in the first place.
“To this date I've never had a single problem with anyone in the group negatively affecting the gallery in any way.”
When Evan’s not running gallerywest, speaking as part of industry events or making his mark with his art you can find him living a life of “normalcy”, whatever that means.
“People will find me watching TV, cooking, reading novels and most definitely writing and recording rap music. I think the balance of rapper and gallery owner is a very interesting dynamic.”
“I would like to express my sheer appreciation towards Mammalian Diving Reflex as a company and as a creative entity unlike any other. Toronto is very lucky to have such an intelligent and confident squad of people working on such fantastically weird and challenging projects. I would also like to thank the impossibly committed audience that has made gallerywest such a success over the years. I hope the gallery has brought a lot of joy to the artists and visitors that have been a part of it since the beginning.”
