AGO First Thursdays - March 5, 2015

19+ (ID required) / Cash Bar GENERAL ADMISSION Advance Tickets: $12 / $10 AGO members At the Door: $15 / $13 AGO members FIRST THURSDAY ADMISSION + EXHIBITION ENTRY TO Jean-Michel Basquiat: Now's the Time Advance Tickets: $22 / $10 AGO members At the Door: $25 / $13 AGO members FEATURING: * Lowell * EN MASSE * DJ Barbi * Jason McLean * Fiona Smyth * Alexandra MacKenzie * Ness Lee * DJ Donna Lovejoy * Matthew Ryan Smith * Fake Injury Party --Image Stories: Comix Otherwise with headliner Lowell-- Guest-curated by OCAD U MFA Criticism and Curatorial Practice students On March 5, AGO First Thursdays celebrates the comic-art trailblazer Art Spiegelman, the legendary artist at the centre of Art Spiegelman’s CO-MIX: A Retrospective. The night will trace his influence on Toronto’s legendary collaborative comix scenes. Organized by OCAD U’s Criticism and Curatorial Practice students, the night will focus on a new generation of innovative and experimental voices who will transform the gallery through interactive artist projects, live performances and music. Toronto's alternative pop musician Lowell synthesizes danceable electro-pop beats with fierce lyrics. After releasing We Loved Her Dearly (Arts & Crafts) in September, the album made Q's Top 20 albums of 2014. Lowell headlines the event starting at 10 pm in Walker Court. Before Lowell takes the stage, Walker Court will be animated by the live-drawing collective EN MASSE, featuring Toronto and Montreal artists who work in illustration, alternative comics and graffiti. DJ Barbi will keep the pace pumping as the artists fill the vast space with their illustrations. For zine lovers, artist Jason McLean curates a library lounge from his archives of collaborative zines dating from 1990s to the present. Plus, large-scale projections by Fiona Smyth and Alexandra MacKenzie will fill the gallery walls with personal narratives and pulsing digital animations. Emerging illustrator Ness Lee transports the audience back to their childhoods with her fun cartoon cutouts popping up in unexpected places in the gallery. DJ Donna Lovejoy will keep the party moving in Galleria Italia alongside an interactive art-making station, and Matthew Ryan Smith will give a pop-up talk on the genre of autobiography in art and literature. And don’t miss Fake Injury Party, Toronto’s three-man artist collective, who will take over the gallery’s fifth floor with a live comic performance. Plus, more interactive hands-on art-making, pop-up talks with legendary Toronto comic artists and delicious food and drinks abound. Don’t miss it! Follow the #AGO1st hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for updates on AGO First Thursdays.