The Artel was a live-in artist-run gallery, venue and collective committed to fostering artistic growth by providing artists in Kingston with a supportive and stimulating environment for presentation, discussion and production. From 2006-2017, through a range of initiatives, the evolving collective body of The Artel consistently prioritised the development of a dynamic and diverse arts scene in the greater Kingston community. It did so by encouraging an open dialogue among artists, arts institutions and organisations as well as community groups.

I joined the collective in 2010 while an undergraduate student at Queen’s University, and became a tenant at The Artel the following year, living there for two years. At the time I was also working as Music Manager at the campus-community radio station, CFRC, and so the majority of my contribution as a collective member pursued an interest in the presentation of music and sound related events. At the time, The Artel was one amongst several nodes of activity in Kingston that was cultivating and supporting a growing experimental sound art scene. This was propelled significantly by the longstanding Tone Deaf festival of sound art, experimental late night free-form programming at the radio station, and frequent performances from touring musicians at The Artel, conveniently positioned midway along the Montreal-Toronto corridor. Various bands, sound and performance projects in Kingston formed and proliferated during this period as a consequence of many individuals and groups in the community committed to producing sites of exploration, support, recording and distribution.

Over this period at The Artel, I compiled and released three compilations that sought to document and distribute these sonic formations and energies that were taking place in the house, two of which were produced in collaboration with Tone Deaf and one as part of my role at CFRC. These compilations provide a brief glimpse into an active period in the Kingston arts scene that collectivised around the production of music.

SONIC EXPEDITIONARIES
O C T . 2 7 , 2 0 1 1

NO ONE TURNED AWAY / NO GUEST LIST
O C T . 4 , 2 0 1 2

CIVIC GUILT
F E B . 7 , 2 0 1 3