The Artel, or One More Reason the Town I Live in Is Cooler than the Town You Live In

Kingston has, for a long time, had a strong arts community but really is lacking in exhibition space. Cue one of the best and coolest ideas I've heard in a good long time: The Artel. This is a combination artists' residence, studio, and gallery/performance space. The artists live, work, and show in the same building. And it isn't just the six residents who show. For a meager fee ($100-175) you can show your work for a three week stint. Currently they are winding down the last installment of the Canadian Poster Exhibition/Concert Series with The Art of Sérigraphie Populaire Screenprinting & Design Co.

This duo from Montreal make screenprinted posters that are LSD-bright and, for the most part, extremely complex. The show is predominantly made up of gig posters, what Seripop is best known for, along with a smattering of fine art and other prints. Seeing two rooms absolutely filled with them do to your retinas what I imagine hearing a live set of their band AIDS Wolf does to your eardrums - challenge and quite possibly punish (but, since the show which was scheduled to open the exhibit was sadly cancelled, this comparison is only conjecture) . After leaving the gallery, even on a very bright August afternoon, everything else seems a little less luminous in comparison. It is a fantastic show and one that you may still have time to see. The Artel website says the show is supposed to end today but the person I talked to there said it was running throughout the weekend [note: i was mixed up. It ended the 6th but the 3rd was the last day I could go to see it]. So, Kingston, get out to 205 Sydenham (that's NOP, just so you know) and take a look-see. If you miss this show, there are many more to follow. I highly recommend you keep an eye on this place.
rgsc
Update: Here is a photo of the Seripop installation taken from the Artel site so you can get a sense the sensory overload I was talking about: