What To Know About Art Metropole’s Lucky Draw Fundraiser + Party This Week

Shannon Garden-Smith, Leaf No 87, No 99 (recueil de cartes), 2025. Archival digital prints on 100% cotton, acid-free, hot press paper; custom museum glass frame with glass marbles. Two prints 5.75 × 8.25 inches each, framed as one work, approximately 17.25 × 13.5 × 1.25 inches. Unique. Courtesy of the artist.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary last year, Art Metropole will host its Lucky Draw fundraiser on Thursday, November 20th. I attended last year and the works on offer for the draw were stellar – and the same can be said about this year's selection; there are some incredibly unique pieces like Shannon Garden-Smith’s entrancing prints above. In anticipation of the event, asked AM's Curator of Programs, Dallas Fellini, a few questions about their connection to this iconic Toronto art centre and its upcoming soirée. 

What's your role at Art Metropole? When did you join the team?

I’m Art Metropole’s Curator of Programs and I joined in 2021, right as we were relocating from Sterling Road to the beautiful storefront we now occupy at 896 College Street.

Tell me about what it means to you to be part of the legacy of this centre.

Art Metropole’s history is inseparable from the history of artist-run centres in Canada, and it feels very special to be able to work here and encounter relics of this history on a casual day-to-day basis. It’s a real honour to get to work at a legacy artist-run centre in the shadow of this rich history, and to be tasked with the job of expanding on it, critiquing it, and reinterpreting it.

What are some new and noteworthy publications at Art Metropole right now?

This has been a huge year for us for publishing — we’ve published eight new publications with contributions from dozens of artists and writers. This summer, we published Nour Bishouty’s second artist’s book 731.52 cm of land, where Nour engages the form of a pocket-sized travel guide and a landscape painting by her late father Ghassan Bishouty to consider colonial impulses of sightseeing, tourism, and cartography. We also inaugurated a new series of pamphlet-like publications called Aftertexts, which pairs works by emerging artists with texts that offer new literary entrances into the work. The first publication in the series is co-published with Franz Kaka, and features the painting practice of Azadeh Elmizadeh, with written contributions from Nasrin Himada and Nima Esmailpour. 

Above left: Erica Eyres, Burger Ashtray, 2022. Glazed stoneware. 5 × 4 × 2.75 inches. Unique. Courtesy of the artist & Norberg Hall. Above right: John Monteith, Grands Ensembles #4, 2019. Colour pencil on drafting film. 24 × 18 inches. Unique. Courtesy of the artist.

What's been the response to Jordan King's current exhibition at AM, Seen Through Red? What's your favourite element of the show?

We’ve been so thrilled by the initial response to Seen Through Red. It’s an exhibition that draws from and expands upon Jordan King’s personal collection of queer nightlife ephemera from early 2000s Vancouver. It's particularly gratifying to see a younger generation of queer and trans people enamored by this documentation of queer life from 25 years ago, significantly from a moment right before social media became the primary channel through which parties were promoted and documented. Personally, I love the more low-tech party posters included in the show: black and white collaged posters that Jordan made at copy shops and put up around Vancouver to promote parties, performances, pageants, and fundraisers that she organized and performed in.

Art Metropole celebrated a milestone last year when it turned 50. What do you hope for the centre in the next fifty years?

We launched a renewed exhibition program this past year, inaugurating a new project exhibition space within our College street shop. I’m excited to continue Art Metropole’s legacy of weaving together publishing, exhibitions, and events that bring the work of artists to new audiences, all within the setting of our retail store. Fundraising initiatives like our upcoming Lucky Draw Fundraiser & Party enable us to continue to do this work! 

Let's talk about Lucky Draw! What is it and why do you love it?

This is the second year that we’ve done the Lucky Draw. Instead of a traditional auction fundraiser, we’re offering Lucky Draw Tickets that enter you into a draw for over 30 artworks by a roster of boundary-pushing Canadian and international artists. Buying a ticket guarantees that you will go home with an artwork, and our MC will draw names to determine who is lucky enough to select their artwork first, second, third, and so on. It’s a fun and suspenseful event, and a phenomenal opportunity for emerging collectors to add a gem to their collection at a relatively affordable price. This year, our Draw will be MCed by legendary performance and drag artist Mikiki. The event will take place at Cafeteria, alongside a party with dancing, complimentary drinks, and music from DJs Marnigurl and Chinelo. 

Sameer Farooq, Gandhara Series (Constellation 5), 2023. Photography, archival print. 34 × 24 inches. Edition of 3. Courtesy of Galerie Nicolas Robert.

What are some of your favourite works in the draw this year, and why?

One of my top picks this year has to be Sameer Farooq’s Gandhara Series (Consetellation 5). It’s a breathtaking print from his body of work exploring the colonial histories of museums, featuring images of artifacts distorted so that they almost appear to vibrate. The other is FASTWÜRMS’ Pink Volcano (amethyst), a raku ceramic volcano with an obsidian orb fitted neatly in its opening, emblematic of the polydisciplinary duo’s witchy erotic sensibilities.

What's your mantra for putting together a good party look?

For me, wearing something comfortable that I’m able to dance in is a must!

Tickets for Lucky Draw are available here – and stay tuned for Style Highlights from the night coming up on opaloma.ca.