Join us for a dialogue between artist Simon Fuh and curator Sanaa Humayun as they dive deeper into The Spirit of Apollo, the Artist Project they brought to C’s current issue, “Chinatown.”

What happens when we think of art practices as embedded in an offering to another? As an artist interested in relation-building and site-specific installations, Fuh’s collaboration with Humayun grew a project based on gift-giving to his local community haunt in Toronto’s east-end Chinatown, Apollo, where he also deepened a connection to the bar’s owner Francis.

The gift ultimately came in the form of a drawing of a monkey, which appears on Apollo’s signage as a symbol of good fortune. While the artwork-as-gift exists in the pages of the magazine, it exceeds its bounds and continues to hang on the walls of Apollo. Humayun writes, “The pictures Simon took are documentation—an archive and a record, a way of thinking about art practice that isn’t stiffened or institutionalized by white gallery walls. Simon’s work meets Apollo and Francis where they’re at and creates spaces for us to share in that reciprocity.”

Simon Fuh is an artist and writer based in Toronto. His work spans a wide range of media, but coalesces around sound, installation, collaboration, and drawing. He tends to build relationships with friends and community through his work, often incorporating a performative or narrative element that influences the trajectory of projects that explore themes of place, memory, and microhistory.

Sanaa Humayun (she/her) is the child of Pakistani immigrants, currently residing in Mohkínstsis, on Treaty 7 land. She is an artist, writer, and curator exploring non-narrative storytelling, community, food, laughter, and an unapologetic love of gossip.