The Loon

theloon.info

227 Sterling Road, Unit 109a, Toronto • the.loon.info@gmail.com

Opened in 2015 by artists Liam Crockard and Aleksander Hardashnakov, the Loon is tucked away in Hardashnakov’s studio on Sterling Road, holding down the fort in the multi-purpose building, which historically housed many artist studios, until, in Hardashnakov’s words, its “inevitable collapse”—rent has been hiked by 80 per cent in some cases, causing many artists to move out. Hardashnakov co-founded Tomorrow Gallery, now based in New York, which previously occupied space in a nearby building. Their inaugural exhibition set the tone for a non-hierarchical curatorial format: postcard-sized artworks by more than 30 artists of all ages, media and origins. The Loon functions not as an entrepreneurial exercise but as an extension of the duo’s artistic practice.