We had the good fortune of connecting with Kalmplex and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kalmplex, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve been drawing and painting since I’ve been 4 so it’s just been my God given talent to be a creator. I’ve also been independently documenting art and culture in Toronto for over 20 years because I’m a part of the culture and I want to see us as artist shine bright.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart is that I’m as real as it gets. If I don’t like you I’ll tell you to your face. If I think you’re great I’ll let you know. Ive been independently supporting people in Toronto for over 20 years by going to shows, letting people know what’s gwanning in the city unfortunately I can’t say the same energy has been reciprocated but I keep living. I just completed an artist residency where I was the inaugural artist for Art Vessel Projects (@artvesselprojects) which was sponsored by Uma Nota Culture (@umanotaculture) with funding provided by the City of Toronto. I was given 24hr access to a shipping container studio space and from what was only supposed to be a month turned into 7.5 months where I created almost 100 paintings. From portraits of friends, Andre 300, prominent Black Canadian activists like Dudley Laws, The Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine and Charles Roach. My paintings ranged in size from 20 inches by 30 inches to 6 feet by 4 feet. I just had the showcase of my work at Tru Tattoo Shop (@trutattooshop) where I was able to share what I’ve created with my city. In that capacity the body of work I created in the amount of time that I did it hasn’t been seen here before. A lot of people will/have purposely ignored me/my talents but The Most High has me so I’m gonna continue to shine bright. As someone who has been riding my bike around the city for years in order to document the essence of Toronto I have an eye for people, places and style that is unlike anyone else. Im one of one and I’ll never be duplicated and what I’ve been able to capture will never be outdone cuz I had the vision to ride around with a camera and record the moments in Toronto like we’ll never see again. The lessons Ive learned along the way are trust nobody and always trust your instincts and keep The Most High first. People won’t help you so you gotta grind it out for yourself. I’m a self propelling no bullshit having authentic soul doing what I can to bring about positive change in this world. Im just a conduit here to connect people so that we can build a cohesive unit of greatness for the world. This life isn’t easy but you can’t give up on yourself even when the obstacles seem insurmountable. The only reason I’m  at where I am now is because I bet on myself because since a youth I always knew I was special. No matter how hard this world has tried to beat it out of me I never stopped believing I was/am great!

I’m excited about the works I’ve created throughout this lifetime because I know I put my all into everything I do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Depending on what time of the year you were visiting would determine where we’d go. I ride a bike all year round so if possible I’d suggest renting a bike to get around the city, I’d check out Riders cycle and board (@riders_bike_shop) to see if Valentine could hook you up. You could use a city bike if need be. If it was summertime we’d go for bike rides along the lakeshore and find a spot in Tommy Thompson trail and have vegan bbq (I roll with a fold up one in my knapsack). On our way back depending if it was a weekend there’d probably be a festival at Harbourfront (@harbourfrontcentre) so we could go there and vibe. The Power Plant (@thepowerplantto) is free so we would check out some art while we’re down there. We’d be checking out art openings Thursdays are usually the days to go gallery hopping so we could see something at Cry baby Gallery (@crybaby.gallery which also has a nice speakeasy in the back with dope drinks if you’re about that life), Northern Contemporary (@northerncontemporary will probably be showing something. There’s also BAND Gallery (@blackartndialog) and 401 Richmond (@401richmond) has a plethora of galleries in the building so spending hours there would be no problem, Worth Gallery (@worthgallery) on Dundas st always has some good art on display. Patel Brown Gallery (@patelbrownGallery) and Cooper Cole (@coopercole) also have a great artist roster.  Saturday openings would include Olga Korper Gallery (@olgakorpergallery) and Christopher Cutts Gallery (@cuttagallery) located at 17 Morrow. The MOCA (@mocatoronto) is free on Fridays from 5-9pm so that could be a flex. Wednesday the AGO (@agotoronto) is free from 6-9 so spending time there to see some permanent collections as well as what ever the main shows are would be worthwhile. Places to eat would include Veggie D’light (@veggie.dlight) in Kensington with the vegan roti’s they’re open towads the end of the week/weekend. Chic Peas Vegan (@chicpeasveg) is also located in Kensington and they make gluten free Ethiopian food. V’s Vegan (@veezvegan) is also a flex located up by Weston Rd just north of Eglinton. I like hanging out in high park so on the bike ride there a stop off at Mattachioni (@mattachioni) to get some pizza would be dope unless I went there a day or so before and just got their dough and made the pizza myself to take it on the park hang. Pamenar (@pamenar_km) is a great local bar/coffee shop in Kensington to hangout. They have a great backyard patio thats a gem in the city. Tapestry (@tapestry_to) has great Armenian coffee and great live acts to watch located in Kensington. For a sit-down Ethiopian meal we could go to Selam (@selamtoronto) or African Palace (@africanpalacetoronto). Vegan baked goods at Bad Attitude Bread (@badattitudebread) is a must. Depending what time of the year there’s also an Ethiopian festival at Christie Pitts so we could just chill there. Afrofest (@afrofest_toronto) in July at Woodbine Park has a plethora of food vendors and other African cultural things to purchase that would be a great weekend flex cuz you’d get to see free African bands and loads of Africans/diaspora as well as anyone else wanting to have great time vibing. From July 12-14 I’ll be showcasing my artwork at the Toronto Outdoor Art fair (@torontooutdoorart) located at Nathan Phillips square (@nathanphillipssquare) so you could check out over 1000 artists during that weekend. What would summer be without ice cream and farmer’s markets. I sell my dehydrated spicy fruit Snax (@kalmplexsnax) at the Dufferin Grove Farmer’s market (@dufferingrovemarket) on Thursdays from 3-7 all year round so checking out the fresh produce from farmers etc and chilling in the park would be a thing. I also have them at Alternative Thinking (@alternativethinking.market). Honey’s Ice cream (@honeys.icecream) which is on Dundas near dufferin would be a must (no matter what time of year) to get some plant based ice cream. They have different monthly flavours plus their staples so most def would probably be making several trips (gluten free flavours too). Tsuchi cafe (@tsuchi.cafe) is a plant based Japanese cafe that has amazing desserts that are irresistible so we’d definitely be going there. They also have soups and sandwiches if you’re looking for a full meal so that could also be a place to grab some food and take to go chill in a park. There are some free movie series put on by various groups like Toronto Outdoor Picture show (@Topictureshow), Regent Park Film Festival (@regentparkfilm). Not free but still worth checking Toronto Palestinian Film festival (@topalestinefilmfestival), Toronto international film festival (@tiff_net), Caribbean Tales international Film Festival (@caribbeantales), Reelworld Screen Institute (@reelworld). There are a lot of street festivals during the summer so obviously we’d be hitting up Caribana (@caribana.toronto), Toronto  jazz festival (@torontojazzfest), pride Toronto (@pridetoronto), dowest festival (@dowestfest), big on bloor (@bigonbloorfest), and the best festival that Toronto has to offer hands down is Geary Art Crawl (@gearyartcrawl)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Most High right now and always has been there for me. I come from Toronto which is the screw face capital so instead of people helping each other there’s a lot of two faced fuckery and people pretending like they got your back when they really don’t. We’re currently living in a time when everyone is going thru something especially because of the last 4 years that we’ve been thru as a worldly collective. If you can find people who speak your names in rooms that can elevate you that’s a blessing. Toronto isn’t all screw face there are some great people doing amazing work independently and aren’t just cliquey like its high school but I’m gonna give my shout out to The Most High cuz I don’t know where I’d be without the Creator watching over me. In terms of independent artists/collectives big shoutout to Unit 2 (@unit2communityspace) and all the amazing work that the people like Nic (@murrsunday) and Rosina (@rosinamultiplefutures) of Lal (@lalforest), Franny (@itsmefranny) Felix (@felixmendelssohn) and the rest of their crew do in having community events making sure people get paid and feel respected and appreciated. Unit 2 is a diy space that has been fostering community for over a decade and really putting in care for the community and not just using the word community to get grant money they really are building a community and have been for some time.

Website: www.kalmplex.com

Instagram: @kalmplex

Twitter: @kalmplex

Facebook: @kalmplex

Youtube: dreadedstar

Image Credits
Michael duong photo credit for the image of myself in front of my paintings I submitted as my profile pic

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.