Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1982-1994 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
1.18 m of textual records
32 architectural drawings
36 photographs
22 floor plans
6 posters
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Richard Lea Amis (1947– ), chiefly known as Ric Amis, is a media artist living in Toronto who works in still photography and video art. He was born in Montreal and studied at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) and the University of British Columbia. In the 1980s and 1990s, he volunteered with several artists’ and art-related organizations, including artists’ housing co-operatives and art collectives, retaining records from his participation. Ric Amis also held salaried positions as general manager of Trinity Square Video 1978–1980, and managing director of the Association of National Non-Profit Artists’ Centres 1984–1990. Between 1993 and 1996 he was executive director of the magazine Opera Canada, and since 1997 has been proprietor of a computer-support company in Toronto.
Archival history
The material now constituting the Ric Amis collection remained with the collector until donated to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2018.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
AGO credit line: Gift of Ric Amis, 2018
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection consists of records accumulated by Ric Amis between 1982 and 1994 from organizations with which he was affiliated in Toronto, including Citizens for the Arts, Beaver Hall Artists’ Housing Co-operative, Lakeshore Village Artists’ Housing Co-operative, Toronto Artscape, Toronto Independent Media Enterprises/Cultural Arts Centre (Toronto) Incorporated, Canadian Artists Network: Black Artists in Action, and the Live/Work Space Building Code Working Group.
Collection comprises records of meetings of boards and committees; business and legal correspondence; provincial, municipal and other reports and policy documents; administrative records of organizations; research materials on artists’ co-operative housing; feasibility studies for projects; architectural drawings, and related material.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Various copyright holders. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Published materials in the Ric Amis collection, including issues of Arts bulletin (Spring 1991, Winter 1991-92), Arts news (Sept., Dec., 1990), and Fuse (Nov. 1984–Jan. 1985), together with books on various subjects (4 v.) were transferred to the AGO Library in 2018. A list of the books is available.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Draft
Level of detail
Partial
Dates of creation revision deletion
Description and finding aid prepared 2018
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description and finding aid prepared by Gary Fitzgibbon.
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019.