RECORD SHOP -- MKG127 -- opens June 30 to August 11, 2018

MKG127 is pleased to present Record Shop, a group exhibition including work by Sonny Assu (Vancouver), Deanna Bowen, Bill Burns, Dave Dyment, Roula Partheniou, Geoffrey Pugen, Marla Hlady, Christof Migone (Toronto), Michael Dumontier, Suzie Smith (Winnipeg), Instant Coffee (Vancouver/Winnipeg), Laura Kikauka (Meaford, ON) and Eleanor King (New York).
 
Opening Saturday, June 30, 2-5 PM
Guest DJ Ankle Mix

Winnipeg in the seventies was home to the upscale Opus 69 where you could listen to albums with headphones on cozy chairs in private lounges. There was also Music Explosion, with its blacklight-lit second story full of posters and pinball machines, and Autumn Stone, housing the city’s best selection of used records. Toronto, of course, had the iconic Sam the Record Man, but also boasted shops like Record Peddler, Driftwood and Vortex. Travelling meant discovering the best record shops in every city: the amazing Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Wax Traxx in Chicago, Rough Trade in San Francisco and Bleecker Bob’s in New York. Record shops were a place of discovery. You could take a chance on a record by its cover art. Those record shops that survive today have had to survive radio, television, compact discs, franchising, megastores, online retail, downloads and streaming. In the last few years, vinyl has made a comeback. CDs are becoming obsolete as musicians, DJs and music fans alike realize the distinct and unmatchable sound quality of the LP, leading to a resurgence in record shops. The featured artists in this exhibition present work surrounding the record shop theme, working with record shop materials like posters or song lists, or from the actual record form, its material and sentiment.

A series of guest curated playlists can be heard daily starting at 4 PM.
July 4-7 Micah Lexier
July 11-14 Liam Crockard
July 18-21 Ken Montague
July 25-28 Stefan Hancherow
August 1-4 Luis Jacob
August 8-11 Matthew Higg (Courtesy of Beats In Space www.beatsinspace.net)

Thursday July 19, 7 PM RECORD CLUB
Based in Winnipeg, Record Club is a monthly event where members take turns introducing, then playing selected songs on vinyl. For Record Shop, Record Club member Paul Butler will host an evening where the public is invited to bring a vinyl record and play a song of their choice. A playlist of songs from the evening will be made available after the event.

The exhibition continues until August 11.

MKG127 is located in Toronto at 1445 Dundas St. West between Dufferin St. and Gladstone Ave. on the south side. Hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 6 PM or by appointment. For more information call 647-435-7682.