[murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

Press-Release: [murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
June 19th, 2008

[murmur] expands to Toronto's Junction neighbourhood!

Location based cell-phone documentary project will begin recording personal stories in the Junction as part of the 2008 Junction Arts Festival


Toronto ON: [murmur] is pleased to announce that they will be recording stories, memories and personal histories in the Junction neighbourhood during July and August of 2008.

In anticipation of a September launch, [murmur] wants to meet Junction residents and business owners (and ex-pats and visitors alike), who have a story, memory or even opinion on a particular location in the neighbourhood. [murmur] wants to preserve those memories in the [murmur] archive and make them accessible to everyone else via mobile telephone.

Much has happened in Toronto, and a lot has occurred on our sidewalks, in our parks and behind the walls of even the most non-descript buildings -- but unless those memories are recorded and captured, our collective civic consciousness tends to forget them. [murmur] wants to connect with people who either have stories about themselves or know the local Junction history and wants them to take us on their own personal tour of the area and tell us about the special places and memories they share with friends when out on a stroll. Participants are urged to email, junction@murmurtoronto.ca or call 416-767-5036. And, there will be story collection available at the "Junction City" square at 2960 Dundas Street West at Pacific Avenue.

Once we start sharing our own stories we can celebrate and understand ourselves more, and even feel more at home in the neighbourhood we live in or visit. There are a million stories in the city, and each of us has one.

About [mumur]:
[murmur] is an archival audio documentary project that collects and curates stories set in specific Toronto locations, told by Torontonians themselves. At each of these locations, a green [murmur] sign with a telephone number and location code marks where stories are available. By using a mobile phone, users are able to listen to the story of that place while engaging in the physical experience of being there. Some stories suggest that the listener walk around, following a certain path through a place, while others allow a person to wander with both their feet and their gaze.

[murmur] was first established in Toronto's Kensington Market in 2003 and has since spread to the Annex, Spadina Avenue, Dundas Square, Fort York and Little India. In Canada [murmur] is located in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal while international locations include San Jose, Sao Paolo, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Galway Ireland. [murmur] was initially developed with the assistance of the Canadian Film Centre's New Media Lab.
For more info and to listen to stories, go to: www.murmurtoronto.ca.

About the Junction Arts Festival:
The annual Junction Arts Festival is the main project of the Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC), an arts presenting body. JFAC was incorporated as a non-profit group in February 2004. 2008 marks the 16th year for the Junction Arts Festival, and the 100th anniversary of the Junction becoming an independent city (City of West Toronto, April 14, 1908). For more information, visit: www.junctionartsfest.com.

The people who make up the Board of Directors of the Junction Forum for Art and Culture are dedicated cultural producers, artists, residents, business owners and politicians all of whom are connected, in some way, to the Junction.

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For further information contact:
Shawn Micallef
[murmur] Creative Director
Email: shawn@murmurtoronto.ca
Tel: 647-828-6412
Web: www.murmurtoronto.ca

For general information contact:
Junction Forum for Art and Culture
Email: junctionartsfest@on.aibn.com
Tel: 416-767-5036
Web: www.junctionartsfest.com