Labspace Studio is single-handedly changing the way artists and audiences interact. Maybe irreparably. On Saturday May 5, the studio hosted its debut show í¢â‚¬Å“The Lab Sessions 1.0: Nodes and Naught Codesí¢â‚¬  which brought together more than a dozen young and emerging artists, dancers, musicians, sculptors, and writers from the Toronto area. The show was the first in a series of í¢â‚¬Å“Interdisciplinary and Interactive Art Partiesí¢â‚¬  that combines the genres of house party, art gallery, and performance show in a free-flowing melíƒ ©e in which the artists performed their works amongst the partiers, infiltrating and surprising their audience like devious children at their parentsí¢â‚¬â„¢ dinner party.

The evening started out tame, and for an hour or so guests browsed photographs by Timothy Hennigar, paintings by Ben Stansfield, sculpture by Daniel Malikov, and an installation piece by Angela Nardiello. For these four it was their first public viewing in Toronto and their enthusiasm to be part of a big, new event energized the atmosphere from the beginning.

Especially engaging and well-received were Timothy Hennigarí¢â‚¬â„¢s and Ben Stansfieldí¢â‚¬â„¢s visuals. Timothyí¢â‚¬â„¢s series (left) of glamorous female portraits juxtaposed how we fall in love with our colour coordinated iPods with our fears that consumerist technology is strangling us at the same time.

On the other hand, Bení¢â‚¬â„¢s oil landscapes (below) seemed to question what shapes and colours we consider natural and unnatural in the different environments we inhabit, from the urban to the agricultural.

By 10:30 the Labspace loft was almost at capacity. Around this time Kristin Mueller-Heaslipí¢â‚¬â„¢s soprano voice set off like a harmonic nightingale. Within just a few seconds it was as if someone replaced a chit-chatty group of pre-drinkers with a symphony audience giving undivided attention to The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra. However, the highlight of the evening was Camille Greenstein, who gave an aerial performance from a 13 ft. scarlet ribbon. Greensteiní¢â‚¬â„¢s fabulous piece demonstrated the enormous potential for innovative collaboration behind Labspace.

For the next couple of hours, as one artist put it, í¢â‚¬Å“It was kind of like walking through an art jungleí¢â‚¬ . Spoken word by Haley McGee, performance art by Annie Onyi Cheung and Jorge Luis Morejíƒ ³n, trumpet and DJing by Maikíƒ « Maas, and house music by Nathan Adshead kept everyone enlightened and excited for the next show.

Behind the scenes the whole evening were recent U of T graduates John Loerchner and Laura Mendes, creators and co-directors of Labspace. The studio is still in its first year of operation and is working towards becoming an open forum and workspace for Toronto talent. í¢â‚¬Å“Weí¢â‚¬â„¢re looking for people who havení¢â‚¬â„¢t been seen or recognized much but definitely have talent,í¢â‚¬  John says. í¢â‚¬Å“Weí¢â‚¬â„¢re all about being a blank canvas í¢â‚¬ ¦ a space that people can come into and do things.í¢â‚¬ 

All photos taken by: Sarah Milanes