Capturing life as it is

#saynotoplastic

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is time for the new year’s resolutions. Perhaps you can say no to plastic.

NO to plastic! Why? Simply because it is one of the most hardly recycling materials, we use it everywhere. If people contaminate the environment with plastic, they generate significant damage, especially to the sea and oceans.

Follow these easy tips to avoid plastic in your daily life. It’s easy to say no!

1. Bring your reusable bags for shopping

2. Avoid single-use plastic bottles

3. Avoid plastic kitchenware and utensils

4. Avoid plastic packaging

5. Avoid plastic toys and gift items

6. Avoid plastic food containers

7. Use reusable or recyclable products

8. Avoid plastic decoration

9. Educate yourself and others

10. Support plastic-free initiatives

+ whenever you can spread the message to those who are directly responsible for the creation of plastic packages etc.

Since 2017 I have been into creating installments/exhibitions where I am using already available materials. Instead of buying or making something completely new. I installed last night a public message of “say no to plastic”. It is visible from both sides. So that the people who are stuck in the traffic, can see the message as well.

No money was spent to create this installation: the paper was reused, stickers were saved from the dumpster as half of the zip-ties, and a kind woman from a freecycling community donated the rest.

Please keep our nature trails clean and make a habit of carrying a plastic bag (indeed!) in your pocket to pick up litter during your walks. Many people are already doing it all around the world!

For great plastic information, please visit www.implasticfree.com

#saynotoplastic

Inspired by Sam Abell

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Recently I have been watching some videos of my favourite photographer Sam Abell. He has been explaining how he is making the photo. He used to be the National Geographic staff photographer for many years. He has been around, seen a lot and practiced a lot. His lecture about the life of a photograph is truly inspiring and the knowledge shared there, just makes you want to grab a camera and get to practicing.

I especially like his approach to the front, middle and back sections of the photo. You have to have your background set, find something in the middle part and make sure that the front pop’s with something. And then you just wait. Wait for the red umbrella, movement, expression, etc. He talked a lot about perfection and making it work. The fact is that the world is not perfect, so one should try their best, but not chase perfection.

I tried to put his teachings into this photo. I was indeed lucky to find such a spot, with a great background, popping middle level and interesting front section. The lone guy just happens to be in the middle of the poles and carrying a popping green bag. And it was snowing! I am not saying that this is perfect, but Sam Abell, you are so right. The three sections need our attention.

Estonian president Alar Karis visited Tartu College and the local Estonian community in Toronto

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It is not an everyday event when a president comes to visit you at your workplace. Right? Luck was on my side yesterday. I was able to take photos of the Estonian Republic’s president Alar Karis’ visit to Tartu College. This organization is a well-known Estonian temple of culture and research. Acting also as a dormitory, offering students from all around the world accommodation in Toronto. Plus offering a home to hundreds of Estonian-Canadian personal archive collections and thousands of books. Tartu College has worked hard for tens and tens of years to develop the preservation of Estonian culture and heritage in Canada.

President Karis met with local Estonian organizations, society and group leaders, who all had a chance to introduce their present activity and their history. It was time well spent and hopefully, good relationships between Estonia and Estonians in Toronto will arise from this meeting.

After the meeting, a panel discussion took place at the Tartu College hall, which was packed with people, who all wanted to meet the president and take part in the discussion. The stage was taken by Laas Leivat, Juku Gold and Alar Karis, and the panel was moderated by Reet Marten-Sehr. Most of the questions circled around the war in Ukraine, but there were other questions asked, such as: “I want to go to Estonia, what can I do to make that happen?”. The president’s answer was: “Get airplane tickets first.”

The visit was short, as usually, such visits are, so it was really difficult for Mr. President to leave for the airport. As many wanted to speak, take pictures with him or show him around. So much to do, so little time. But the time was well spent and the result was a wonderful evening with merry Estonians enjoying good company and good Greek food catered by the Master’s Bufferia, which has their buffeteria opened in Tartu College.

Please take a look at the gallery HERE, before I will put together a small overview of the event.

The stillness of the Toronto Estonian House – photo gallery vol. 2

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In May 2022 I was happy to be able to present my large-format photos of the not-so-known rooms of the Toronto Estonian House. For many, they were nothing out of the ordinary, but for me and many others, they were and remained just the memories in our hearts, minds and on the photos. As of the 1st of November, 2022 the Toronto Estonian House no longer exists.

Here are the 10 other photos, which I was considering for the exhibition, but they didn’t make it to the final 10 nor they matched my idea of the exhibition. In these photos, you can still see life in the building. Though you may see no people, you can almost sense them being there, about to come up the stairs or open the doors.

The building has been fenced off, so you can see the front, but you can no longer visit the back from either side. The sad black billboard, which was in front of the building stated its name looms day and night emitting the sadness of many. If you look at the current sign close enough, you can see a line of blue in the top left corner and a line of white in the bottom right corner. So, it actually is the Estonian flag, just the sad, dark part is the biggest.

I have more photos for the last gallery of this long project. I was thinking of taking photos at the end when it was all empty, but I just couldn’t get to it mentally – it was just too much. Also, I was very tired of moving the items out of there, finding a new home, packing, recycling, etc.

Please come back at the latest n December, so I can show the rest of the photos of the Estonian House in Toronto.

Estonian House in Toronto is no more

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Today, the first of November, 2022 marks the end of the wonderful Estonian House in Toronto. After a long, confusing, secretive and emotional selling process, the current contract between the developer, who purchased the lot quite cheaply and the Estonian House Limited Company, has finished. After the sale of the house, the limited company was renting the building from their new owner. As of yesterday, all renters had moved out, and the whole building had been emptied and is no longer accessible to the Estonian community and other friends of the house.

Former building of the Estonian House in Toronto on Broadview Avenue in Toronto during its last few days.

I have had perhaps consecutively 5-6 years of experience at the Estonian House. But somehow the building with its old glory, activities and people has found a warm place in my heart so that this very same heart is full of sorrow, sadness and also a bit of anger. The closing down means a lot to me, I guess this also explains why I have spent and will spend my time promoting the legacy of the building which stood for more than 60 years at Broadview Avenue in Toronto.

I had a photography exhibition of the not-so-known rooms of the house, which was open from May to October. I will present a new gallery of the other photos, which didn’t make it to the exhibition in the next few days. For now, please let me share a little bit of information about Toronto Estonian House history.

Toronto Estonian House

The Toronto Estonian House was located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was established in 1952 as a limited company of the same name. The building has served Toronto’s Estonian community at 958 Broadview Avenue from 1960 until the 31st of October, 2022.

Dozens of different associations and clubs were established over the years and held meetings and events at this location. As well, an Estonian café run by various owners as well as a gift shop selling Estonian artifacts operated until very recently. The building contains halls and rooms of different sizes where both Estonian and other Canadian organizations held events. Almost every Estonian in Canada has had the opportunity at one time or another to visit the building or attend concerts, exhibitions, confirmation parties or weddings here. Many choirs, folk dance groups and Scouts and Guides, Estonian kindergarten, the Estonian Supplementary School and the Pensioners Club considered the Toronto Estonian House as their home. Many of the Toronto Estonian Supplementary Schools graduates continue to be active members of the community.

Two Estonian-owned businesses, Northern Birch Credit Union (formerly Estonian (Toronto) Credit Union Ltd.) as well as Heinsoo Insurance Brokers Ltd, were major tenants of the building. Heinsoo Insurance Brokers also contained the offices of the Honorary Consulate of Estonia from 1976 until the present. Canada recognized the illegal occupation of Estonia defacto and allowed it to operate dejure until 1991 when the new Estonian government re-established the diplomatic connection with the Consulate and the Hon. Consul General Ilmar Heinsoo. Heinsoo Insurance continues to support the Consulate to this day.

Activity in Estonian organizations has resulted in lifelong friendships and marriages and even employment in the Estonian House and the opportunity to continue to use our mother tongue here.

Activities of the Toronto Estonian House have ceased at its current address with the move to central Toronto, next to Tartu College at Bloor and Madison Avenue. The construction of the new building which began in the spring of 2022, is expected to be completed in the next year and a half.

The time has arrived to close the final chapter of the Toronto Estonian House at this location.

Eesti Maja, you are forever deep in my heart!

Pop-up exhibition “Gift card, anybody?” has been put out in the nature trails as a part of the #artabandonement movement

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Last week I presented for just 1.5 hours my pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”. I was blessed with great weather and some visitors who took their time to see the small installments. I was really glad to see that there were more strangers, who after noticing the frames on the trees, came to see what they were about.

On Saturday I left all 10 pieces out in public for people to find as part of the art abandonment movement and do whatever they please. If you find one of the pieces, please take a look at the work and the accompanying text and share a photo of your experience. If you find one and want to take it home, please check the other side of the work and see if you would like to contribute some from your kindness.

The idea of this show and public exhibition is to draw attention to how deep plastic has melted into our lives. It surrounds us actually everywhere, every step of our life, ever since we wake up, go to the washroom, prepare our breakfast, travel to work, at the office and restaurant, public transportation etc. You may want to count all the plastic items you touch during one day and you will be surprised.

Okay, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is that plastic is here to stay forever. It is harmful to us and all wildlife, especially waterways and oceans. Yes, we can skip the plastic straws, but this is not the solution, as big companies will produce again and again more and more plastic, such as all the packaging, fishing nets, which all our oceans are full of, containers, etc…yeah, this list can go on forever. And yet here I am making the fuzz about gift cards. Just small pieces of plastic, right? But the amount of these created every year is mind-blowing. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association, nearly 17 billion plastic cards were produced in 2006. And 10 billion new gift cards are created every year. Now think of all the pens, all the combs, all the peanut butter jars, all coffee cups and lids, you can go on forever….

I used the gift cards that nobody wanted to buy to create these collages, as a way to attract people’s attention, stop and think about how much plastic there is and perhaps take steps to change the present. We as customers have a say, the more of us say something, the more changes will appear.

Just take a moment to think about it.

All materials used in this exhibition were salvaged, received for free, donated etc. Since 2017 I have been trying to create shows using already existing materials, meaning that I am not spending any money to buy new items. If to except for my recent exhibition which can be viewed on the outside windows of the Estonian House on 958 Broadview Ave until the 31st of October, which also marks the end of the Estonian House in Toronto, I have managed quite well.

Thank you to everybody who came along and made this a memorable evening.

Pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”

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I will be presenting next week for a very short time, just 1.5 hours my pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”. The show’s place doesn’t matter, as I will leave all 10 pieces out in public for people to find as part of the art abandonment movement and do whatever they please with them. If you find one of the pieces, then please kindly take a look at the work and the accompanying text and share a photo of your experience. If you find one and want to take it home, please check the other side of the work and see if you would like to contribute some from your kindness.

The idea of this show and public exhibition is to draw attention to how deep plastic has melted into our lives. It surrounds us actually everywhere, every step of our life, ever since we wake up, go to the washroom, prepare our breakfast, travel to work, at the office and restaurant, public transportation etc. You may want to count all the plastic items you touch during one day and you will be surprised.

Okay, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is that plastic is here to stay forever. It is harmful to us and all wildlife, especially waterways and oceans. Yes, we can skip the plastic straws, but this is not the solution, as big companies will produce again and again more and more plastic, such as all the packaging, fishing nets, which all our oceans are full of, containers, etc…yeah, this list can go on forever. And yet here I am making the fuzz about gift cards. Just small pieces of plastic, right? But the amount of these created every year is mind-blowing. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association, nearly 17 billion plastic cards were produced in 2006. And 10 billion new gift cards are created every year. Now think of all the pens, all the combs, all the peanut butter jars, all coffee cups and lids, you can go on forever….

I used the gift cards that nobody wanted to buy to create these collages, as a way to attract people’s attention, stop and think about how much plastic there is and perhaps take steps to change the present. We as customers have a say, the more of us say something, the more changes will appear.

Just take a moment to think about it.

All materials used in this exhibition are salvaged, received for free, donated etc. Since 2017 I have been trying to create using already existing materials, meaning that I am not spending any money to buy new items. If to except my recent exhibition which can be viewed on the outside windows of the Estonian House on 958 Broadview Ave until the 31st of October, which also marks the end of the Estonian House in Toronto, I have managed quite well.

All designs exhibited can be purchased.

Regards,

Kerly

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www.kerlyilves.com

Rochdale College

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A little while ago I was asked to take a photo of the Rochdale College on Bloor Steer West in Toronto. It is always a challenge to get the high buildings in the photo in their glory. I tried from the top floor of Tartu College, but it didn’t work out due to a really sharp angle, as the Tartu building was too far away.

Why it is so important for me to make a post about taking a photo of a building? First its history and second the architect who designed it.

The 18-storey tower that once housed Rochdale at 341 Bloor Street is now known as the Senator David A. Croll Apartments. Completed in 1968, it is the sister building to the Tartu student residence a short distance west across Bloor street. Designed by the architects Elmar Tampõld and John Wells (who had earlier constructed the Charles Street Apartments at Bay Street and Bloor Street).

Elmar Tampõld was an Estonian, who also designed Tartu College, which is now a very successful co-op run by a small group of Estonians, with an archive, Estonian Studies Centre, library, and event spaces under the 18 floor dorm.

As an homage to its Rochdale days, the tower features the large Unknown Student sculpture out front.

Just read more about the building and its history from this article HERE, from 1980.

This is the best I got of Rochdale College:

Fun fact: since the building has such a great space for large billboards, Apple seems to have made a contract that only they are presenting their ads on the building. Driving from West to East one gets a “slap on the face” with their ads.

“Let my soul be” photography exhibition

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The opening of my small pop-up photography exhibition “Let my soul be | Jäta mu hing rahule” was a complete success. The weather and crowd were decent. I am glad that my crazy idea turned out so well!

NB! For those who couldn’t visit, I will offer another chance to visit the show THIS week. Please book Saturday, 16th of October at 6 PM. Photos will be up until 7 PM. Please send me an e-mail and I will inform you in the morning of 16th if the show is taking place due to the weather conditions.


It consists of 11 framed colour square format photographs, which portray life in Toronto within a 14-day time frame. Each photo portrays the struggle of the present.


All photos exhibited can be purchased as photo prints.

If you wish to present this exhibition at your venue, please let me kindly know via e-mail.

Regards,
Kerly

Three people are looking at the pop-up photography exhibition at the nature
First visitors are looking at the pop-up photography exhibition.