News & Events

The Ryerson Image Centre (Toronto) and the Jeu de Paume (Paris) have co-organized the exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs, the first retrospective of the American photographer, Berenice Abbott, presented in France and Canada. Curated by Dr. Gaëlle Morel at the Ryerson Image Centre, Berenice Abbott: Photographs will be on view in Paris from February 20 to April 29, 2012, and the exhibition is being presented in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) from May 23 to August 19, 2012, in partnership with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and the AGO.

Famous for her tireless fight for the recognition of French photographer Eugène Atget, Berenice Abbott is also prominently known for her documentary project Changing New York (1935-39). The exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs explores the different stages of Abbott's expansive career through more than 120 photographs. In order to provide a larger context for her œuvre, the exhibition will present her photographic prints alongside a series of never before exhibited personal documents - including letters, book mock-ups, drawings, magazines, and scrapbooks - and a collection of first edition books. The photographs in the exhibition will be drawn from public and private collections in New York (the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, Commerce Graphics, Hank O'Neal), Montreal (the Canadian Centre of Architecture) and Paris (the Estate of Harry H. Lunn Jr.).

The Jeu de Paume and the Ryerson Image Centre have produced two editions (French and English) of a catalogue edited by Dr. Gaëlle Morel to accompany the exhibition.

Complementing the exhibition and catalogue, the Ryerson Image Centre and Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival will present a one-day conference on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at Ryerson University. The conference will be open to the public and free to attend. It will feature keynote speaker Ron Kurtz, Owner of Commerce Graphics; opening remarks by Doina Popescu, Director of the Ryerson Image Centre, and Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival; and a panel discussion with Dr. Gaëlle Morel, Dr. Sarah Miller, Dr. Terri Weissman, and moderator Sophie Hackett, Assistant Curator of Photography at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The exhibition is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. The presentation in Toronto is supported by Ryerson University and the Ontario Arts Council.

Berenice Abbott: Photographs
On view at the Art Gallery of Ontario
May 23 - Aug 19, 2012
Public information:
Ryerson Image Centre: www.ryerson.ca/ric
AGO: 416-979-6648  www.ago.net

Ryerson Image Centre will open its doors in September 2012 with dynamic public exhibitions in new gallery spaces, extraordinary research opportunities, and a significant   photography collection with the famous Black Star collection of approximately 292,000 photojournalistic prints at its core. International in scope, focusing on photography, new media and film, this cutting-edge centre brings an exciting combination of public exhibition of innovative work by professional Canadian and international artists, and inspiring academic research and educational opportunities, to the public and the international arts and academic communities. The Ryerson Image Centre is located in the Ryerson University Image Arts building at 33 Gould Street, in the heart of downtown Toronto. The public can subscribe to Ryerson Image Centre news and updates at www.ryerson.ca/ric

Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to more than 30,000 students, including 2,300 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and more than 140,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Heather Kelly
Director of Marketing and Communications, Ryerson Image Centre
Ryerson University
416-364-5701
heatherkelly@ryerson.ca

Bunmi Adeoye
Account Manager, NKPR
Public Relations for the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
416.365.3630 x226
bunmi@nkpr.net