The Magenta Foundation is a

charitable Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion. Etymology The word ...

art publishing house based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. It was established in 2004 by MaryAnn Camilleri to publish work from both domestic and international emerging artists through exhibitions and publications. In 2005 the foundation produced its first book, ''Carte Blanche Vol.1: Photography'', with the proceeds supporting the promotion and publication of work by artists between the ages of 13 and 25. Magenta publications and exhibitions are circulated in Canada and abroad, and the foundation brings international contemporary art to Canadian audiences. In its 17 years, the foundation has created new arts programming in Canada to help change the visual arts community. Through festivals, competitions, pop-up exhibits, and programming, the foundation has undergone many iterations since it started as a publishing house in 2004.

History

After a decade working in New York, Camilleri returned to Toronto in 2004 and decided to create a photography compendium featuring Canadian photographers. In 2005, the foundation produced its first book, ''Carte Blanche Vol.1: Photography'', a five pound coffee table sized book. A nationwide call for submissions was put out, and by the December 2004 deadline, there were more than 1,100 submissions for ''Carte Blanche''. ''Carte Blanche'' was the first time 230 Canadian photographers were highlighted in one publication. In tandem with creating the compendium, an emerging artists competition, Flash Forward, was formed. Over the years, the Flash Forward competition has become a staple of the foundation. In 2008,

the Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

referred to Camilleri as "a one-woman publishing powerhouse." Following the completion of Camilleri's first independent projects, Flash Forward and ''Carte Blanche'', the Magenta Foundation was born. Since then, the foundation has developed a global network of like-minded individuals and organizations, which helps to bring international contemporary art to Canadian audiences and increase the profile of under-documented emerging artists. Artwork submitted to Magenta's Flash Forward Competition for Emerging Artists has received international media coverage, with photos appearing in publications including

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

the Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

Flash Forward Competition for Emerging Artists

Since 2004 The Magenta Foundation has hosted an annual photography competition, open to photographers in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The competition has successfully awarded more than $150,000 in cash awards and launched over 1,500 artists during its run from 2004 to 2019. Flash Forward is a career boost for young emerging photographers, and it is known as a reputable contest that gets artwork seen by a large group of people and launches careers in the arts. In 2017, the competition was opened up to photographers anywhere in the world. In 2018 special interest categories were introduced to the competition, which have included racial issues,

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

, and indigenous photographers. In 2019 four of the jurors of the Flash Forward competition withdrew in protest at the competition's financial sponsorship by

TD Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through ...

, in light of its financing the

Dakota Access Pipeline The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) or Bakken pipeline is a underground pipeline in the United States that has the ability to transport up to 750,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil per day. It begins in the shale oil fields of the Bakken For ...

. The Flash Forward Competition ran for 15 years before ending in 2019. Flash Forward prize winners include

Indrė Šerpytytė Indrė Šerpytytė (' born 1983) is a Lithuanian artist living and working in London. Šerpytytė is concerned with the impact of war on history and perception,Goze, Evita"Interview with Indre Šerpytytė."FK Magazine. August 24, 2015. and works ...

, Glenna Gordon,

Lewis Bush Lewis Fitzgerald Bush (December 2, 1969 – December 8, 2011) was an American professional football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars. Early life Bush prepped at Wash ...

, Simon Roberts, and Jessica Eaton. Flash Forward jurors are influential photo editors, curators, and industry leaders, including Clare Vander Meersch of

, Chloe Coleman of

, Paul Moakley of

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

, Liz Ikiriko of

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

, Genevieve Fussell of the

New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...

, Lori Morgan of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

's enRoute magazine, and Devan Patel of Patel Brown Gallery.

Flash Forward Incubator Program

In 2012, Magenta introduced the Flash Forward Incubator Program, a digital-photography program for Canadian high school students. The incubator is an extension of high school arts programming that prepares students for a transition out of high school and into a career in the arts. The Incubator program is a nationwide initiative of gallery shows, publications, and festival partnerships. Youth are mentored through all stages of their photography-based project, from conception to production to presentation. The program has been designed to support critical and creative thinking, and to help students develop their work to show in a professional exhibition. Designed for high school students in grades 10 to 12, the program is developed in collaboration with industry professionals and educators. Throughout the program, students partake in activities that are reflective of a real world experience in the arts: research, proposal writing, critical reviews, artist statements, and a form submission process like those for festivals, gallery shows, and grants. Students who participate in the program have a signature piece for their portfolios and a publication produced by Magenta Foundation. The program culminates in a series of exhibitions that raise funds through silent auctions. Exhibitions have been held in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. In 2019, 400 students from nearly 30 schools took part in the program. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, in 2021 the program was developed as a virtual program. More than 6,500 students have participated in the Incubator Program to date.

Flash Forward Festivals

Since 2010, Magenta has hosted Flash Forward Festivals. Started in

Liberty Village Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered to the north by King Street West, to the west by Dufferin Street, to the south by the Gardiner Expressway, to the east by Strachan Avenue, and to the northeast by ra ...

, the Canadian festival expanded to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

where it ran for six years. The Boston Flash Forward Festival was a four-day celebration of art and photography with a series of exhibitions, parties, lectures, and discussions from professional guidance to lessons in theory and practice. "A big, flashy festival is coming to town, and it's coming from Canada," Art New England wrote in 2012. In 2013, at the Boston Flash Forward Festival, a 500-foot strip of photography was set up at the

Rose Kennedy Greenway The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the ...

called The Fence. The open-air event attracted more than half a million people.

Flash Forward Flashback

Flash Forward Flashback is an online publication launched to feature past and present Flash Forward winners through profiles and highlights. Flashback invites guest editors to present photographers whose work they admire and host discussions relating to the medium and its usages.

Magenta POP

Magenta held pop-up art exhibits in

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, known as Magenta POP. Their pop-ups brought creativity to outdoor public spaces in international locations in an effort to reach more people and unite artists and arts communities. In 2015, Pittsburgh's

August Wilson Center The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a United States, U.S. nonprofit arts organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that presents performing and visual arts programs that celebrate the contributions of African Americans n ...

hosted the international photography project Humanæ by Brazilian artist Angelica Dass, in partnership with Magenta. Pittsburgh's chapter of the exhibit was subtitled I AM AUGUST.

/edition Toronto

Magenta hosts the /edition Toronto Art Book Fair in tandem with Art Toronto, Canada's International Art Fair. The art fair showcases projects by artists, publishers, galleries, and organizations who want to advance and strengthen Canadian and International art book initiatives. Since its inception in 2016, more than 40,000 visitors attended the fair, and 300 Canadian and International vendors presented a diverse selection of mediums and interests. The event was created as a way to support and grow the arts publishing community. Approximately 8,000 visitors attended in the inaugural year. The four-day event is held at the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Lan ...

. For its second iteration in October 2017, the annual event had 11,000 attendees. The 2020 /edition Toronto was held virtually, and in October 2021, the 6th annual /edition Toronto fair returned in-person at the MTCC. There were 25 booths at /edition in 2021, including Art Metropole and

Latitude 53 Latitude 53 Contemporary Visual Culture, more commonly known as Latitude 53, is an artist-run centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Founded in 1973 by a collective of Edmonton artists. As far back as 1991, Latitude 53 has been heralded as "''consistently b ...

Books

Since 2005, Magenta Foundation has published and printed more than 100 books, including artist monographs. Their high quality books feature photography, painting, and all visual arts. The scope of their work includes emerging photographers, mid-career artist monographs, and Indigenous artists.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Watchers''. By

Haley Morris-Cafiero Haley Morris-Cafiero (born 1976) is an American photographer, Associate Professor of Photography and Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Memphis College of Art. Her series "Wait Watchers", in which she photographs the reactions of ...

. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2015. . * ''Unperson: Portraits of North Korean Defectors''. By Tim Franco. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2021. . * ''Carte Blanche: Vol. 1, Photography''. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2006. . * ''In Guns We Trust''. By Jean-Francois Bouchard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2019. . * ''Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976–1983''. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2019. . * ''The Dead''. By Jack Burman. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2010. . * ''Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography''. By Aline Smithson. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2015. . * ''Under Vancouver: 1972–1982''. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2017. . * ''The Station Point''. By Robert Bourdeau. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2011. . * ''Hanoi Calling: One Thousand Years Now''. By Greg Girard. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2010. . * ''2nd: The Face of Defeat''. By Sandy Nicholson. Toronto: Magenta Foundation, 2008. .

References

External links

* {{URL, https://www.magentafoundation.org/, Official website 2004 establishments in Ontario Non-profit organizations based in Toronto Visual arts publishing companies