Join us on Sunday, August 30, from 4-5pm, for a conversation with artists Dana Prieto, Laura Grier, and Laura Pitkanen, alongside Jennifer Forde, founder of the Courtyard & Scarborough Farmers’ Markets, and a longtime advocate for food justice and community-led initiatives in Malvern.
Together, the speakers will reflect on their experiences living and working in proximity to nuclear infrastructures and on the forms of collective action that have emerged in response to the ongoing colonial and environmental violence of Canada’s nuclear industry..
Come on Sunday before the talk to a Courtyard & Scarborough Farmers’ Market Pop-Up, from 1–4pm, at Gallery TPW.
The market will bring together produce, honey, and maple syrup from Ontario farmers, alongside fresh juices, salsas, and produce from Malvern Urban Farm, a community-driven farm run by the Malvern Family Resource Centre, an organization working to address food insecurity and strengthen local food access in Scarborough.
This program is part of discard studies: forms of containment, an exhibition curated by Katie Lawson, with works by Dana Prieto, Laura Grier, Laura Pitkanen, and hosted at Gallery TPW between August 19–September 5, 2026.
discard studies: forms of containment traces connections between seemingly disparate histories and contemporary conditions of communities impacted by Canada’s expanding nuclear industry. Working across archival research, mixed-media installation, experimental sound, and video, artists Dana Prieto, Laura Grier, and Laura Pitkanen explore strategies of refusal that interrupt the forms of containment, civility, and bureaucracy through which nuclear colonialism persists without scrutiny.
Bios
Dana Prieto is a site-responsive artist, educator, and researcher, born in Buenos Aires and based in Tkaronto. Her practice examines colonial infrastructures through a sustained attention to the ground, and the different forms of living and dying within it. Dana’s work unfolds across large-scale installations, painting, performance, sound, and diverse collaborations.
Laura Grier is a Sahtu Délı̨nę First Nations artist and printmaker currently based out of Toronto. Through the use of expanded print media, they reflect Indigeneity, aesthetics, and language.
They hold a BFA from NSCADU, an MFA from OCAD University, and is currently a PhD candidate in Visual Arts at York University.
Laura Pitkanen is a critical geographer and interdisciplinary music and sound composer based in Toronto. Through writing, sound work, drawings and experimental films she builds nuanced place-based stories. Laura’s various practices explore the relationship between industrial landscapes, memory, and home. Laura is a member of the sound collective and indie band Long Branch.
Katie Lawson is a curator and writer. She has curated exhibitions for a wide range of institutions, including the Toronto Biennial of Art, regional art galleries, municipalities, and artist-run-centres. She is currently a SSHRC-funded PhD candidate at Western University, where she works with the Centre for Sustainable Curating.
Jennifer Forde is the founder and manager of the Courtyard & Scarborough Farmers’ Markets. Jennifer is a longtime advocate for food justice and community-led initiatives in Malvern. She joined the Malvern Urban Farm as one of the founding farmers, and continues to work with farmers from the Malvern Urban Farm across all her markets.
