From Sunday September 17 – Friday September 29, 2023, Peripheral Review will host our second annual online auction of artworks from thirty-seven Canadian and international artists. The auction will take place entirely on our website and includes a wide-range of works at varying prices for increased accessibility. All proceeds of the sales will go to the artists and Peripheral Review’s publishing activities.

Thank you for your support! 🙂

The 2023 auction catalogue is available to download here.

2023 Auction Participating Artists:

Brit Bachmann | Amanda Boulos | Cookie Brunel | Hannah Busse | Yan Wen Chang | Qian Cheng | Amy Ching-Yan Lam | Meganelizabeth Diamond | Deborah Edmeades | FASTWÜRMS | Leila Fatemi | Elisa Ferrari + Christian Vistan | M. Gnanasihamany | Beau Gomez | Hannah Hanski | Brubey Hu | Liz Knox | Aubin Kwon | Tyler Matheson | Morgan Melenka | Tiziana La Melia | Hazel Meyer | Moniker Press | Tegan Moore | José Andrés Mora | New Documents | Christina Oyawale | Sonal Raje | Kerri Reid | Louise Reimer | Erin Shadoff | Kathryn Shriver | Maria Simmons | Dan Starling | Rhonda Weppler + Trevor Mahovsky | Lan “Florence” Yee

A note from the Editor:

Dear readers and supporters of Peripheral Review,

It’s maybe the busiest time of the year for artists, with the new academic semester in full swing, the crush of fall exhibition openings and parties, and grant deadlines abound, I want to thank you for the attention that you all have given us so far in the run of our 2023 auction.

As an independent publishing platform that’s been operating since 2016, and now more recently an official non-profit, we know the value of fundraising as well as the incalculable amount of hours behind the scenes that goes into every event. I am so pleased to be able to present the second year of this art auction to our readers, with an impressive roster of 37 Canadian artists, both emerging and established in practice, which has only been able to return due to the success of our inaugural event in 2022.

As you may already know, Peripheral Review did not receive grant funding this year for our upcoming programming. This was an especially devastating hit to us since the majority of the Canadian art community, artists in all levels of practice and organizations both DIY and institutional, were also left without project funding, with no answers provided as to why. As a small organization, we have tough skin and are used to applications that may not go through and projects planned years in advance not to be realized on time, but it was the overwhelming results of disappointment from the community at large that made me fear for the resilience of the art community in this moment of increasing economic inflation, with an affordable housing and studio space crisis in many cities across Canada to boot. For funding not to come through at this critical time for so many feels especially devastating, and I wanted to let our community know how disappointed we are at the state of it all.

However, in difficult times it becomes clear how impactful and significant it is to have a supportive community. Though the sales from the auction directly supports Peripheral Review, a portion of the sales also go to the participating artists, so when you make a bid on a work, you’re doing double duty in helping an artist sustain themselves from their practice, and helping us to continue to support those artists through publishing critical dialogue about their work.

In the final hours of the auction, I encourage you to consider the last time you appreciated culture, be it in film, theatre, an art gallery, a concert, reading a book or magazine, or crooning out the lyrics to your song at a karaoke party, artists helped to put together what you are enjoying in that moment. If you have the means at this time, I want to convince you to visualize the value and underpaid labour that goes into every piece of culture you enjoy on a daily basis.

Just by purchasing a work at the “estimated value” price during the auction, you are committing to paying artists for their labour at the rate they deserve at this critical time in the Canadian cultural landscape. Clout doesn’t pay the bills, but selling art can, so if you have the means, please consider supporting artists through our auction today and allowing us to continue to pursue our mandate: 

Peripheral Review is committed to expanding the art writing and criticism community—this means by publishing art criticism and hosting online and in-person workshops and publication launches that are deeply engaged, yet accessible in content, form, and structure. We believe in promoting and giving opportunities to young, emerging, or under-represented artists, organizers, and activists across Canada to engage in productive and meaningful dialogue that represents their worldviews and experiences with art, and we work to encourage experimentation and mentor those who want to participate in the mainstream art discourse. Peripheral Review prioritizes emerging and alternative art practices while striving to be on the forefront of the way readers, writers, and artists engage with critical art writing.

Thank you for valuing art and culture in Canada at this urgent moment for the state of the arts in this country, we look forward to bringing you the best of what artists have to offer in ways that you want to read about it. 

Sincerely,

Lauren Lavery
Editor-in-Chief