Shari Kasman is a multidisciplinary artist and writer based in her hometown,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. She is the creator of the

guerilla art Guerrilla art is a street art movement that first emerged in the UK, but has since spread across the world and is now established in most countries that already had developed graffiti scenes. In fact, it owes so much to the early graffiti movem ...

installation ''

Bloordale Beach Bloordale Beach was a guerrilla art installation and an informal community hub in the west end of Toronto, and since it was landlocked, was once described as "Toronto's only waterless beach". Bloordale Beach was located north of the Dufferin Mal ...

''.

Education

Kasman has a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in music from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and a diploma in Music Performance in classical piano from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

Career

Kasman has been teaching piano since 2001. In the 2010s, Kasman photographed and provided guided tours of Toronto's Galleria Mall. She created two photo books about the mall. Her related exhibit ''Memories of Galleria Mall'' was featured as part of the

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

CONTACT Photography Festival in 2019. Kasman co-created the large-scale guerilla art installation that became a community hub, ''

'', which was described as a vision for reclaiming public space and was the inspiration for music videos and other works of art. In 2022, after failing to persuade the

City of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

to address flooding in a bicycle lane on

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

, Kasman named the location "Bloordale Pond". The same year, Kasman drew attention to the unused land on Brock Street, Toronto, by putting up unauthorised signs suggesting the location was "Parkdale Provincial Park".

Books

*''Everything Life Has to Offer,'' published by Invisible Publishing, 2016, ISBN 9781926743844 *''Galleria: The Mall That Time Forgot,'' Photobook, 2018, ISBN 9781999483302' *''Goodbye, Galleria'', 2019, ISBN 9781999483319 * ''Rocks Don't Move and Other Questionable Facts'', 2021, ISBN 9781999483326

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Living people Artists from Toronto Writers from Toronto The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni McMaster University alumni York University alumni Canadian photographers 21st-century Canadian women artists Year of birth missing (living people)