About the Artists:

Cesar Forero is a Colombian-born Canadian architect and visual artist with an MA from the Minnesota State University and an MFA from the University of Waterloo. His work is inspired by the social problems that affect contemporary society. The narrative of these problems is found in popular stories, literature, and songs; and transformed into painting, sculpture and performance.

Arlan Londoño is a Toronto based artist and curator with a Degree in Fine Arts from the National University of Colombia. Londoño is co-founder of E-Fagia collective, an online-based collective of artists and writers. The collective explores mass media and digital communications with an emphasis on Latin American art and Diaspora art. He is presently completing his MVS at the University of Toronto.

Ivan Navarro was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1972. He has been selected to represent Chile in the 2009 53rd Venice Biennale Exhibition . His work is in prominent private and public collections worldwide.   Upcoming and recent exhibitions include: The Whitney Museum (New York); MOCA (Miami); Witte de With (Rotterdam); Roebling Hall (New York); Matucana 100 (Santiago); Galerie Daniel Templon (Paris); Art Rock Rockefeller Plaza (New York); Prague Biennale 2 (Prague) among others.

Marcos Ramirez ERRE immigrated to the United States where he worked for 17years in the construction industry as a Carpenter. In 1989 he became active in the field of visual arts, and since then he has participated in various individual and collective exhibitions including: InSite94, InSite97, the VI and VII Havana Biennials, the Whitney Biennial 2000, the San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial, the 2007 Sao Paulo Valencia Biennial, the 2008 California Biennial, the second Moscow Biennial among many others.

Erase Collective In 2008, Diana Cadavid, Josefa Ruiz and Alvaro Girón decided to work as a collective to explore ways to approach the changing identity of their surrounding environment. They bring into play their backgrounds in documentary and narrative filmmaking. Diana is a video editor, Josefa completed a Bachelor in Fine Arts, with minor on Art History and Theory at Universidad de Chile; Alvaro is completing his Masters in Film Production at York University.

Home Sweet Hogar

Friday September 11 to October 3, 2009

Opening Reception:
Friday, September 11, 7-10PM
Artscape Wychwood Barns/Barn 2

601 Christie Street, Toronto

Home Sweet Hogar showcases the work of artists Cesar Forero (Colombia/Kirkland Lake), Erase Collective (Colombia/Chile/Toronto), Arlan Londoño (Colombia/Toronto), Ivan Navarro (Chile/New York), and Marcos Ramirez ERRE (Mexico).

Through video, installation, sculpture and performance, the Artscape Wychwood Barns has been transformed into a 'homeland' that captivates survival and nostalgia, settlement and navigation. Unable to escape the patriotic undertone 'homeland' carries, the artist in-turn pronounces their innate dispossession and interprets an ambiguous sense of belonging.

Curated by Tamara Toledo

About the Curator:

Tamara Toledo is a Toronto-based visual artist and independent curator. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and holds an MFA from York University and is co-founder of the Allende Arts Festival. Toledo's curatorial projects include: Alienation (2004), Idiomática (2005), Un/I Testimonies (2006), Pilgrimage of Wanderers (2008), and Decaying Empire (2008). Her critical writing has been published in Fuse Magazine , ARM Journa l and C Magazine . Tamara Toledo is the Public Programs Manager at Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art and Executive Director of LACAP (Latin American Canadian Art Projects).