Trading
Floor
SHEEEP Studio Inc
Team: Reza Nik, Dan Cui, Averill Dimabuyu
Collaborators: New Currency, Kazeem Kuteyi, Emmanuel Adarkwah
2021
Trading Floor (1.0) located at Collision Gallery in Toronto’s Financial District is a prototype space, designed to allow emerging artists and the creative community to occupy — free of charge — to simply work on their craft with no strings attached. We imagined an alternate green world, a garden for the cultivation of thoughts and ideas, artist studios, exhibition spaces, with room for emerging artists to gather, share, and work together. Trading Floor is about building up and strengthening communities by providing accessible and safe spaces for the future generation of creatives. We launched the pilot in the summer of 2021 and over the course of 6 weeks, Trading Floor 1.0 saw over 2000 people. There were approx 25 artist showcases, exhibitions, screenings, recordings,pop—up events, and over 25 types of programming from DJ training sessions to VR play—shops, to library take—overs, to workshops and performance—based events. It was planned by youth and run by youth.