“The Name Of” is a one week residency founded by and facilitated by multidisciplinary artist Maddie Alexander (They/He), hosted at Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on the Toronto Island. This residency is for trans* artists, inclusive of all who fall under the gender diverse, 2 Spirit, Intersex, GNC, or Non-Binary experience. The intention of this residency is to foster a focused space for trans* artists to collaborate, share research, expand our networks, and nurture space to dig into our practices in new and explorative ways.
Our residency title, “The Name Of”, is a fragment of text pulled from trans activist Lou Sullivan's Diary (We Both Laughed in Pleasure). In this phrase, Lou exclaims “ I don’t need to know the name of why I feel so run down”. The act of naming our experiences as trans* folks is layered and expansive. “The Name Of” offers guided space for trans* artists to move through this exploration, however they feel fit.
2026 Cohort:
Robin Alex McDonald, Riley Yaxley, Shannon Sandwell, Azka Ahmed, Amir Patros, Jadi Darawi, Abi Hodson, Theo Donovan, Whess, Aras Pars Aykus, Aida Lodge, Michael David Battle, Eli Nolet, Nahrain, Lorelei D'Andriole, Cameron DePutter.
Thank you to the Canada Council for the arts for their support.
Video work edited/ composed by Maddie Alexander. Collective video shot by cohort of The Name Of Residency, a Residency for Trans* artists, 2026. Song by Lorelei D'Andriole, "Double Blonde"
Theo Donovan
Artist Talk by Curator Jesse King
Aras Pars Aykus
Eli Nolet
Robin Alex McDonald
Shannon Sandwell
Nahrain