Magenta Foundation

After a decade working in New York, Camilleri returned to Toronto in 2004 and decided to create a photography compendium featuring Canadian photographers.{{Cite web|title=Carte Blanche & The Magenta Foundation by MaryAnn Camilleri|url=http://www.phsc.ca/Carte-Blanche.html|access-date=2022-01-06|website=www.phsc.ca}} In 2005, the foundation produced its first book, Carte Blanche Vol.1: Photography, a five pound coffee table sized book. A nationwide call for submissions was put out, and by the December 2004 deadline, there were more than 1,100 submissions for Carte Blanche. Carte Blanche was the first time 230 Canadian photographers were highlighted in one publication.{{Cite news|date=2008-11-20|title=Opinion {{!}} Contemporary art show full of contrasts|language=en-CA|work=The Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/2008/11/20/contemporary_art_show_full_of_contrasts.html|access-date=2022-01-06|issn=0319-0781}} In tandem with creating the compendium, an emerging artists competition, Flash Forward, was formed. Over the years, the Flash Forward competition has become a staple of the foundation.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-10|title=A Fond Farewell: Why We Are Ending Flash Forward|url=https://www.magentafoundation.org/blog/a-fond-farewell-why-we-are-ending-flash-forward/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=The Magenta Foundation|language=en-US}} In 2008, the Toronto Star referred to Camilleri as "a one-woman publishing powerhouse."

Following the completion of Camilleri's first independent projects, Flash Forward and Carte Blanche, the Magenta Foundation was born.{{Cite web|title=MaryAnn Camilleri|url=https://studylib.net/doc/7624309/maryann-camilleri|access-date=2022-01-06|website=studylib.net|language=en}} Since then, the foundation has developed a global network of like-minded individuals and organizations, which helps to bring international contemporary art to Canadian audiences and increase the profile of under-documented emerging artists.

Artwork submitted to Magenta's Flash Forward Competition for Emerging Artists has received international media coverage, with photos appearing in publications including The Guardian, The Washington Post,{{Cite news|title=Emerging photographers confront race, gender and environment issues in the 2018 Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Competition|newspaper = The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2018/05/10/emerging-photographers-confront-race-gender-and-environment-issues-in-the-2018-flash-forward-emerging-photographers-competition/?noredirect=on}} the Globe and Mail,{{Cite web|date=2018-05-05|title=In photos: Magenta Foundation, climate change|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/gallery-in-photos-magenta-foundation-climate-change/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=The Globe and Mail|language=en-CA}} and NPR.{{Cite news|last=Whitehead|first=Nadia|date=2018-05-20|title=Surprising Images From Up-And-Coming Photographers|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/05/20/612044151/surprising-images-from-up-and-coming-photographers|access-date=2022-01-06}}

Since 2004 The Magenta Foundation has hosted an annual photography competition, open to photographers in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.{{cite news |title=Images from the annual Flash Forward competition |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/multimedia/flash-forward-10/article21331390/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date=27 October 2014}} The competition has successfully awarded more than $150,000 in cash awards and launched over 1,500 artists during its run from 2004 to 2019. Flash Forward is a career boost for young emerging photographers, and it is known as a reputable contest that gets artwork seen by a large group of people and launches careers in the arts.{{Cite web|last=LensCulture|first=Flash Forward Festival {{!}}|title=Flash Forward Festival - Curated byMagenta Foundation|url=https://www.lensculture.com/articles/flashforward-flash-forward-festival|access-date=2022-01-06|website=LensCulture}}{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward and Boston – Art New England|url=https://artnewengland.com/ed_columns/flash-forward-and-boston/|access-date=2022-01-06|language=en-US}}

In 2017, the competition was opened up to photographers anywhere in the world. In 2018 special interest categories were introduced to the competition,{{cite news |last1=Coleman |first1=Chloe |title=Emerging photographers confront race, gender and environment issues in the 2018 Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Competition |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2018/05/10/emerging-photographers-confront-race-gender-and-environment-issues-in-the-2018-flash-forward-emerging-photographers-competition/ |access-date=4 March 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=10 May 2018}} which have included racial issues, LGBTQ+, and indigenous photographers.{{cite news |title=In photos: Highlights from the Magenta Foundation's Flash Forward competition |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-in-photos-highlights-from-the-magenta-foundations-flash-forward/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date=7 May 2018}}{{cite news| title=Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Jurors Withdraw in Protest of TD Bank Funding|last1=Risch |first1=Conor |url=https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2019/03/flash-forward-jurors-withdraw-in-protest-of-td-bank.html |access-date=4 March 2021 |publisher=PDN Pulse |date=13 March 2019}} In 2019 four of the jurors of the Flash Forward competition withdrew in protest at the competition's financial sponsorship by TD Bank, in light of its financing the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Flash Forward Competition ran for 15 years before ending in 2019.{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward Festival About|url=http://www.flashforwardfestival.com/about/}} Flash Forward prize winners include Indrė Šerpytytė,{{cite web|url=http://www.magentafoundation.org/flash-forward/|title=Flash Forward 2016 – Call for Entries Oct 16 to Dec 29, 2015|author=The Magenta Foundation|work=The Magenta Foundation}} Glenna Gordon,{{Cite web|url=http://www.magentafoundation.org/publication/flash-forward-2015/|title=Flash Forward 2015 |author=The Magenta Foundation|website=The Magenta Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=April 2, 2020}} Lewis Bush,{{cite web |author=The Magenta Foundation |title=Flash Forward 2017 |url=https://www.magentafoundation.org/program/flash-forward-2017/ |website=The Magenta Foundation |access-date=4 March 2021}} Simon Roberts,{{Cite web|title=Information|url=https://www.simoncroberts.com/information/|access-date=2021-12-29|website=Simon Roberts|language=en-US}} and Jessica Eaton.{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1346914156}} |last1=Risch |first1=Conor |title=Jessica Eaton |journal=Photo District News |volume=33 |issue=4 |date=Apr 2013 |pages=63 }}

Flash Forward jurors are influential photo editors, curators, and industry leaders, including Clare Vander Meersch of the Globe and Mail,{{Cite web|title=Clare Vander Meersch's Email & Phone - Magenta Foundation - Toronto, Canada Area|url=https://contactout.com/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=contactout.com|language=en}} Chloe Coleman of The Washington Post,{{Cite web|title=about – Flash Forward 2019|url=http://ff19.magentafoundation.org/about|access-date=2022-01-06|language=en-US}} Paul Moakley of Time Magazine,{{Cite web|date=2012-01-03|title=Deadline for Magenta Foundation's call-out to theFlash Forward competition extended|url=https://www.panos.co.uk/news/magenta-foundations-call-out-for-submissions-to-theflash-forward-competition/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Panos Pictures|language=en}} Liz Ikiriko of Toronto Life,{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward 2010|url=https://www.magentafoundation.org/publication/flash-forward-2010/}} Genevieve Fussell of the New Yorker,{{Cite web|title=Genevieve Fussell About Me|url=https://www.genevievefussell.com/about-me}} Lori Morgan of Air Canada's enRoute magazine,{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward 2017|url=https://www.magentafoundation.org/program/flash-forward-2017/}} and Devan Patel of Patel Brown Gallery.{{Cite web|last=Krivichkina|first=Zlata|title=Devan Patel|url=https://www.oneartnation.com/speaker/devan-patel/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=OneArtNation|language=en-US}}

In 2012, Magenta introduced the Flash Forward Incubator Program, a digital-photography program for Canadian high school students.{{Cite news|last=Wheeler|first=Brad|date=2019-07-05|title=In photos: How these high-school photography students are testing boundaries|language=en-CA|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-in-photos-how-these-high-school-photography-students-are-testing/|access-date=2022-01-06}} The incubator is an extension of high school arts programming that prepares students for a transition out of high school and into a career in the arts.{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward Incubator Program {{!}} Magenta Foundation {{!}} Exposure Photography Festival|url=https://calgaryartsdevelopment.com/classifieds/the-flash-forward-incubator-program/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Calgary Arts Development|language=en-US}} The Incubator program is a nationwide initiative of gallery shows, publications, and festival partnerships.{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward Incubator Program: Still Life|url=https://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/exhibition/flash-forward-still-life/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Art Gallery of Hamilton|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward Incubator Program|url=http://www.exposurephotofestival.com/flash-forward-incubator-program|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Exposure|language=en-US}} Youth are mentored through all stages of their photography-based project, from conception to production to presentation.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-30|title=Comox Valley students' photos part of prestigious exhibition|url=https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/entertainment/comox-valley-students-photos-part-of-prestigious-exhibition/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Comox Valley Record|language=en-US}} The program has been designed to support critical and creative thinking, and to help students develop their work to show in a professional exhibition.{{Cite web|title=Exposure Photography Festival {{!}} Various Venues, Alberta|url=https://www.todocanada.ca/city/calgary/event/exposure-photography-festival/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=To Do Canada}} Designed for high school students in grades 10 to 12, the program is developed in collaboration with industry professionals and educators.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-15|title=An Invitation for Grade 10–12 students to join the Flash Forward Incubator Program for 2020-2021|url=https://capturephotofest.com/an-invitation-for-grade-10-12-students-to-join-the-flash-forward-incubator-program-for-2020-2021/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Capture Photography Festival|language=en-CA}}

Throughout the program, students partake in activities that are reflective of a real world experience in the arts: research, proposal writing, critical reviews, artist statements, and a form submission process like those for festivals, gallery shows, and grants. Students who participate in the program have a signature piece for their portfolios and a publication produced by Magenta Foundation. The program culminates in a series of exhibitions that raise funds through silent auctions. Exhibitions have been held in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Newfoundland. In 2019, 400 students from nearly 30 schools took part in the program. Due to COVID-19, in 2021 the program was developed as a virtual program.{{Cite web|title=Flash Forward Incubator: Still Life|url=https://capturephotofest.com/youth-program/flash-forward-incubator-still-life/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Capture Photography Festival|date=29 March 2021 |language=en-CA}}

More than 6,500 students have participated in the Incubator Program to date.{{Cite web|title=About Magenta|url=https://www.magentafoundation.org/about/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=The Magenta Foundation|language=en-US}}

Since 2010, Magenta has hosted Flash Forward Festivals. Started in Liberty Village, the Canadian festival expanded to Boston where it ran for six years. The Boston Flash Forward Festival was a four-day celebration of art and photography with a series of exhibitions, parties, lectures, and discussions from professional guidance to lessons in theory and practice.{{Cite web|title=The Flash Forward Photography Festival Returns to Boston|date=30 April 2014 |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2014/04/30/flash-forward-festival-boston-2014/}} "A big, flashy festival is coming to town, and it's coming from Canada," Art New England wrote in 2012. In 2013, at the Boston Flash Forward Festival, a 500-foot strip of photography was set up at the Rose Kennedy Greenway called The Fence. The open-air event attracted more than half a million people.

Flash Forward Flashback is an online publication launched to feature past and present Flash Forward winners through profiles and highlights. Flashback invites guest editors to present photographers whose work they admire and host discussions relating to the medium and its usages.

Magenta held pop-up art exhibits in Vancouver and Pittsburgh, known as Magenta POP. Their pop-ups brought creativity to outdoor public spaces in international locations in an effort to reach more people and unite artists and arts communities. In 2015, Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center hosted the international photography project Humanæ by Brazilian artist Angelica Dass, in partnership with Magenta.{{Cite web|title=Photo project to use August Wilson Center|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2015/07/13/Photo-project-to-use-Wilson-Center/stories/201507130155|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en}} Pittsburgh's chapter of the exhibit was subtitled I AM AUGUST.{{Cite web|title=Humanae / I AM AUGUST - August Wilson Center|url=https://angelicadass.com/exhibitions/humanae-i-am-august-august-wilson-center/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Angélica Dass|language=en-US}}

Magenta hosts the /edition Toronto Art Book Fair in tandem with Art Toronto, Canada's International Art Fair. The art fair showcases projects by artists, publishers, galleries, and organizations who want to advance and strengthen Canadian and International art book initiatives.{{Cite web|last=Toronto|first=Edition|title=About|url=http://www.editiontoronto.com/about/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Edition Toronto|language=en-US}}

Since its inception in 2016, more than 40,000 visitors attended the fair, and 300 Canadian and International vendors presented a diverse selection of mediums and interests. The event was created as a way to support and grow the arts publishing community. Approximately 8,000 visitors attended in the inaugural year.{{Cite web|date=2016-11-07|title=Toronto Edition international art book fair sees successful first year|url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/toronto-edition-international-art-book-fair-sees-successful-first-year/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}} The four-day event is held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For its second iteration in October 2017, the annual event had 11,000 attendees.{{Cite web|date=2018-03-19|title=Canadian art-book publishers reach out to galleries and authors after U.K.'s Black Dog Publishing declares bankruptcy|url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/canadian-art-book-publishers-reach-out-to-galleries-and-authors-after-u-k-s-black-dog-publishing-declares-bankruptcy/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}}

The 2020 /edition Toronto was held virtually, and in October 2021, the 6th annual /edition Toronto fair returned in-person at the MTCC.{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=2021-10-27|title=Art Toronto art fair returns in person to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre|language=en-CA|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-real-art-can-be-browsed-in-real-physical-spaces-as-art-toronto-returns/|access-date=2022-01-06}}{{Cite web|date=2021-10-22|title=Art Toronto returns to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and you don't want to miss it|url=https://torontolife.com/things-to-do/art-toronto-2022/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Toronto Life|language=en-US}} There were 25 booths at /edition in 2021, including Art Metropole and Latitude 53.{{Cite web|last=Toronto|first=Edition|title=Exhibitors|url=http://www.editiontoronto.com/exhibitors/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Edition Toronto|language=en-US}}

Since 2005, Magenta Foundation has published and printed more than 100 books, including artist monographs. Their high quality books feature photography, painting, and all visual arts. The scope of their work includes emerging photographers, mid-career artist monographs, and Indigenous artists.

• The Watchers. By Haley Morris-Cafiero. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-926856-07-0}}.
• Unperson: Portraits of North Korean Defectors. By Tim Franco. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2021. {{ISBN|978-1-926856162}}.
• Carte Blanche: Vol. 1, Photography. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0973973907}}.
• In Guns We Trust. By Jean-Francois Bouchard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2019. {{ISBN|978-1-926856-13-1}}.
• Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976–1983. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2019. {{ISBN|978-1-926856-14-8}}.
• The Dead. By Jack Burman. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-926856-00-1}}.
• Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. By Aline Smithson. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1926856063}}.
• Under Vancouver: 1972–1982. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2017. {{ISBN|978-1926856100}}.
• The Station Point. By Robert Bourdeau. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0973973983}}.
• Hanoi Calling: One Thousand Years Now. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-926856-01-8}}.
• 2nd: The Face of Defeat. By Sandy Nicholson. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-9739739-4-5}}.

{{reflist}}

• {{URL|https://www.magentafoundation.org/|Official website}}

Category:2004 establishments in Ontario

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Toronto

Category:Visual arts publishing companies