In-Site Toronto

In-Site Toronto is a series of newly commissioned artwork that is presented on the portal pages of several wireless internet hotspots in the Wireless Toronto network. Artists Dave Dyment, Swintak, Jeremy Bailey, Fedora Romita, Willy Le Maitre and Brian Joseph Davis have created works that will be automatically displayed when users log in to their Wireless Toronto user account at designated hotspots. The project was launched on March 31, 2010 at the launch of Spacing’s latest issue.

Like sculptural public art, these works oblige the attention of Wireless Toronto users, even if just for a moment, on their personal devices and in everyday situations. The commissioned projects comment on the location they reside in, or link to it in a more oblique way.

For example, Fedora Romita has created an extensive verbal description of Dundas Square, and invites the participation of the public in contributing to this cataloguing of one of Toronto’s most rapidly-changing public spaces. Swintak’s work consists of multiple wanted posters, inviting participation from the public in tasks ranging from moving a three tonne concrete cube to using massage as a method of nonverbal communication between people of disparate socioeconomic status. Her work solicits a range of participant labourers as wide as the range of products available at St. Lawrence Market, where her work is situated. Willy Le Maitre has developed an “art drug”, which is an actual capsule that is being dispensed in one of Toronto’s art hubs, along with a companion website.

It’s a novel new platform for viewing art. As Wireless Toronto co-founder Gabe Sawhney says, “The free wifi access which our volunteers have been setting up for the past five years have helped activate public and publicly-accessible spaces in new ways. By working with Year Zero One and the In-Site Toronto artists to use our network as a platform for exhibiting site-specific media artworks, we hope to contribute to the unique hyperlocal community in these spaces, and are combining culture and technology in novel ways — asking Torontonians to reimagine the value that wifi networks can offer.”

Where to see the work:
Jeremy Bailey: Artwork appears when you attempt to recover your Wireless Toronto account password
Brian Joseph Davis: The Burger Bar, Harbourfront Centre, Alternative Grounds, Woody’s, Cafe Taste
Dave Dyment: Teriyaki Experience restaurants: Brampton, Heartland Town Centre, Meadowvale, RioCan Marketplace, Scarborough (Eglinton), Scarborough Town Centre, Smartcentres Morninguard, Smartcentres
Vaughan, Dixie Auto Campus
Willy Le Maitre: 401 Richmond – Roastery Cafe
Fedora Romita: Dundas Square
Swintak: St. Lawrence Market

A handy Google map of the artwork locations is also available to make discovering the artworks even easier.

In-Site Toronto is produced by media arts organisation Year Zero One in collaboration with Wireless Toronto, is curated by Michelle Kasprzak, and was produced with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.