William Grant Munro (1975-2010) was a Toronto-based visual artist, community builder, event organizer and entrepreneur. Munro spent his childhood and teenage years in Mississauga. He graduated in 2000 from the Ontario College of Art and Design, where he studied sculpture and installation. In 1999, he founded Vazaleen, a now legendary series of dance parties. In 2006, he and Lynn MacNeil purchased the Beaver Café, a hub of artistic, musical and social activity at Queen Street West and Gladstone Avenue in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. Munro worked as a DJ for events in the visual art community. He served on the Board of Directors of Art Metropole and York University. His artwork has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at numerous venues including Art in General, New York; and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Mercer Union, Art Gallery of York University, and Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto. His work is represented by Paul Petro Contemporary Art.
published
Partial
Final
Art Gallery of Ontario
Collection consists of posters designed by Will Munro for events organized by him at various venues in downtown Toronto. Posters employ a variety of media and processes, including silkscreen and photocopies. Some of these posters were featured in Will Munro: Total Eclipse, July 31 – September 26, 2010, part of the Toronto Now series of exhibitions at the AGO. Silk-screening of many of the posters was carried out by Michael Comeau.
Contains series:
1. Vaseline / Vazaleen / Vazoween posters
2. Peroxide posters
3. Moustache posters
4. 7th Heaven posters
5. Miserable Mondays posters
6. NO T.O. posters
7. Posters for various events at The Beaver Restaurant
Collection is organized according to event, as received from Margaret Munro. Events for which there are fewer than 10 posters have been grouped together in Series 7.
AGO Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Will Munro, 2011
No further accruals are expected.
The posters now constituting the Will Munro collection were willed to the AGO by the artist, and on his death were given to the gallery by his mother, Margaret Munro.
Art Metropole and the Art Gallery of York University each hold a similar set of posters by Will Munro. The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives holds a selection of Will Munro’s collection of music recordings.
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Copyright has been transferred to the Art Gallery of Ontario. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the collection.
A detailed finding aid is available at http://www.ago.net/assets/files/pdf/special_collections/SC121.pdf.