Forworld Studios, a recently formed Kingston-based artist collective, launched their first collective art show at Kingston School of Art’s (KSOA) Window Art Gallery.
Forworld Studios is a collective encouraging collaboration and support among artists with six members: William Carroll, Cat Rose, Constance Intounas (Browz), Justin André (4CID R4BBIT), Francisco Corbett, and Michaela Zinsmeister.
“I feel like I’ve found my identity through Forworld,” Intounas said in an interview with The Journal.
“The biggest thing for me is being able to explore different things in the studio space and being surrounded by other artists of different kinds who are very passionate and welcoming. I always feel very comforted. If anything’s going on, if I need any advice, there’s always someone to talk to.”
The exhibition opened Mar. 21 and will remain in KSOA’s Window Art Gallery until Apr. 3 for people to see the collective’s range of individual and collaborative pieces.
“Everything just flowed really nicely. I liked it because it was so personal to one another and there’s so much freedom and flexibility to it,” Intounas said. “The freedom of it all and the variety of our artworks is something that I think speaks volumes in the gallery.”
The outpouring of support for the show has the good kind of overwhelming.
“I thought it was really cool to be able to talk about some of the pieces we have been working so hard on to people and have them ask about the meanings of them,” André said. “It was kind of overwhelming to have so many people in a small space because we haven’t lived in so long.”
For Rose, the show’s opening night was a surreal opportunity to reflect on artistic growth and the unconditional support Forworld provides.
“It was different to be able to see my art,” Rose said. “I really wanted it to be a reflective piece and a show of gratitude to people who’ve very much supported my art and also supported me throughout the past few months.”
“I’ve been going through a good transitional period, and I feel like a lot of my art really focused on that. So, it was nice to stop and see the progress so far and keep building on that after the show.”
Overall, the artists enjoyed seeing the reactions of people unfamiliar with their work, potentially exposing new audiences to Forworld Studios and its members.
“I enjoyed the ability to have other audiences view my work because a lot of those other audiences may not see my stuff on a general basis or it might not be what they seek out,” Carroll said. “It’s just nice that they have an opportunity to see something they wouldn’t normally see every day.”
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