September 30, 2013

BERKELEY HOUSE EXHIBIT — TORONTO’S FIRST HOUSE
TORONTO, ON – Mondegro has been selected to design the Berkeley House exhibit scheduled to be on display at The Globe and Mail Centre, a new office tower designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and to be built by developer First Gulf Corporation — the project’s client. The new tower will be located at Berkeley Street and King Street, on the site of the home purchased by the Small family in 1795 (the house was demolished in 1925). Their home — Berkeley House — would serve as a temporary site for meetings of the Executive Council of Upper Canada as the first Government House was under construction. It was also one of many homes and government buildings looted by American troops following the Battle of York on April 27, 1813. Following on the heels of the recent excavation of and discovery of artifacts by Archaeological Services Inc., the development of the exhibit will also receive guidance from the City’s Heritage Preservation Services. A striking new addition to Toronto’s architectural landscape, the inclusion of an exhibit will pay homage to the site’s predecessors and the city’s cultural heritage. The tower is scheduled for completion in 2016.

April 12, 2013

FILL’ER UP ARTICULATIONS SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE
Mondegro, along with 120 other ambitious participants, took part in the month-long creative challenge put forth by ARTiculations in Toronto (www.ARTiculations.com) for a second year. The challenge: to be creative every day and record it in a sketchbook. The opening reception was held on the evening of April 12, and the sketchbooks will be on display at Articulations/Earl Selkirk Gallery on 2928 Dundas Street West until April 21, 2013.

June 8, 2012

THE ENCAMPMENT INSTALLATION FOR LUMINATO AT FORT YORK
Mondegro continues to be involved in the War of 1812 bicentennial events, participating in The Encampment, commissioned by the City of Toronto, for the War of 1812 Commemoration and Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, which is presented on the grounds of Fort York National Historic Site. This Thomas+Guinevere production runs from June 8-24 and involves 200 tents housing individual art installations. Over 100 creative collaborators contributed stories of citizens who lived circa 1812 and the respective art installations in each tent that tell their stories. Mondegro selected to tell the stories of three officers with poignant roles in the Battle of York on April 27, 1813: British Commander Roger Sheaffe, American Commander Zebulon Pike, and Captain Tito LeLievre. The three tents are adjacent to one another and face the Stone Magazine.

Zebulon Pike is listed in the recently completed Book of Remembrance, on view at the Market Gallery in Toronto.

April 25, 2012

R.G.D. ONTARIO ARTICLE

Frank Moniz R.G.D. and his team commemorate the anniversary of the War of 1812 with a book that serves as the centrepiece for a national historic site.

The team at creative agency Mondegro was commissioned by the City of Toronto to design a Book of Remembrance, honouring the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 – a defining moment in Canadian history.

“Our Canadian roots are shallow but our civic pride runs deep,” explains Mondegro President and Design Director Frank Moniz R.G.D. “So for a couple of kids of immigrant parents, this project held great meaning: It was an opportunity for us to honour a pivotal moment in Canadian history, both locally (Battle of York) and nationally (War of 1812).”

Titled Finding the Fallen from the Battle of York: A War of 1812 Book of Remembrance, the project is the centrepiece for an exhibit at the Market Gallery at St. Lawrence Market in Toronto to commemorate those who died during the Battle of York and other engagements during the War of 1812.

The book was unveiled at the exhibition opening on March 3 and will be on display at the Market Gallery until September 8, 2012, after which it will be permanently installed at Fort York.

Mondegro strategically married design elements specific to the period with contemporary sensibility. “Our personal interest in illuminated manuscripts and British history sparked our creativity and served as an integral part of the design process,” notes Frank. “We paid homage to the Regency period in the title page but included a silver leaf that recalls design elements found in more traditional Rolls of Honour. For the selection of the font, we drew inspiration from handwriting normally associated with ranking officers and the notes of correspondence of that period.”

Visitors to the exhibit will see the book opened to a page listing the names of the fallen identified to date. The display case also includes copies of the title page with its hand-applied silver leaf and a richly tactile and foil-stamped synthetic leather slipcover.

This project followed on the heels of Mondegro’s design of A Soldier’s Trade, a recent exhibit at Fork York. Mondegro continues to be involved in the War of 1812 bicentennial events, participating in The Encampment, commissioned by the City of Toronto, for the War of 1812 Commemoration and Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, which will be presented on the grounds of Fort York National Historic Site.

Mondegro is a creative firm with a 23-year history in exhibit design, with projects that include multiple installations at Spadina House, Fort York and Colborne Lodge.

November 16, 2011

MONDEGRO TO DESIGN BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE FOR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

TORONTO, ON – Mondegro has been selected by the City of Toronto to design a Book of Remembrance commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a defining moment in Canadian history.

Titled ‘Finding the Fallen from the Battle of York: A War of 1812 Book of Remembrance,’ the project will serve as the centrepiece for an exhibit at The Market Gallery at St. Lawrence Market to commemorate those who died during the Battle of York and other engagements during the War of 1812. York was a key battle site in a war that helped establish the Canada we know today.

For this project, the firm is marrying design elements specific to the period with a contemporary sensibility, but mindful of how the book, once displayed, will integrate with the historical surroundings. The focal point of this project is the list of names, and thus the selection of typography becomes a particularly important design element. The book’s completion is scheduled for early 2012.

This project comes on the heels of Mondegro’s recent design of the A Soldier’s Trade exhibit at Fork York.