Fonds LA.SC184 - Gallery 940 fonds

Founded in 1982 at 940 Queen Street East, Gallery 940 was a grassroots alternative art space in Toronto dedicated to showcasing feminist, lesbian, and women’s art. Initially called Nine Forty, it was run by a collective of artists: Phyllis Waugh, Gina Stephaniuk, Linda Cotman, Sarah Denison, and Dianne Barbarash. Phyllis Waugh, Sarah Denison, and Michele Rosano served as full-time volunteer coordinators.

Every month, Gallery 940 presented a solo or two-person exhibition and a group exhibition every four months. It also offered artists practical support through grant-writing assistance, exhibition guidance, and networking opportunities. Actively participating in Toronto’s growing network of feminist and artist-run cultural organizations during the mid-1980s, it collaborated with groups such as A Space and the Women’s Art Resource Centre, conducted joint membership mailings with the Women’s Art Resource Centre, and planned collaborative publications to strengthen community connections. It also sponsored and supported numerous projects centred on women artists, including Alter Eros, the British/Canadian Video Exchange, Black History Month programming, Gay Gaze, the Older Women’s Exhibition, and Fem Fest.

Fem Fest ’85 was one of Gallery 940’s most significant initiatives. A multidisciplinary festival of feminist and lesbian art, it built upon precedents established by the Women’s Cultural Building, the Women’s Perspective 1983 festival, and the Alter Eros festival of 1984. Fem Fest showcased painting, drawing, sculpture, multimedia, photography, video, film, poetry, performance, music, dance, and theatre. It featured three exhibitions involving more than sixty women artists, a series of lectures, panels, and workshops, two evenings of performances, and a published catalogue. The festival took place at four locations: Pauline McGibbon Cultural Centre, Black Perspectives, Gallery 940, and Pages Bookstore.

In 1984, Gallery 940 launched a dedicated program of monthly film screenings. However, during the British/Canadian Video Exchange in 1985, censorship officials from the Ontario Theatres Branch raided the space and seized video equipment. Despite such conflicts, the Gallery's commitment to intersectional and anti-racist programming continued into its final year. In early 1986, Gallery 940 hosted the seminal Visions of Black Women exhibition, which created a critical platform for Black women artists within Toronto's predominantly white arts and culture community.

Gallery 940’s primary sources of funding were the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council, but many of the grants it received were awarded on a one-time basis and thus failed to provide long-term operational stability. Its rejection to a Canada Council grant in 1985 led to a membership mailing campaign, wherein members were encouraged to write to the Canada Council in response to their statement that “while the assessors were sympathetic to the amount of energy and effort that Gallery 940 is putting into planning, they felt the programming was not up to the standard of other submissions.”

Ultimately, these financial pressures could not be overcome. Gallery 940 announced through newsletters and membership mailings that it would cease operations on May 1, 1986. Artists were directed to alternative community resources, including the Women’s Art Resource Centre, where the gallery donated its materials to ensure that these resources remained accessible to the community after its closure.