Seripop launches a new website along with 6 great contests!

Seripop has launched a new website and, to celebrate this, is running 6 fantastic contests (chock full of amazing prints for you to win). I'm the guest judge responsible for choosing a winner for the 'Artsy Fartsy prize pack' which Seripop says, "Is probably the most valuable in $ amounts". To learn more about the contest click here.

I'd urge you to participate! The photo above is of Seripop's No Henge exhibition that ran at The Emporium Gallery (provided courtesy of Yannick Grandmont). Good luck, Ben Pobjoy

MuchMusic interview with Ben Pobjoy now online

You can watch the segment on Ben Pobjoy for their 'Confessions' program here.

Ben Pobjoy in the March/April issue of SNAP!

Look out for the March/April issue of SNAP! They're running a photo essay that Ben shot in Compton last August along with some anecdotes. Check it out!

Ben Pobjoy interviews Fucked Up, Agnes Thor and Parra for Bad Day Magazine

Bad Day is one of Canada's best arts and culture quarterlies. So, that should be reason enough for you to pick it up. However, if you need more incentive and, we're unsure if it's even incentive, you might be compelled to pick up the next few issues of Bad Day to read interviews that Ben Pobjoy conducted with some really talented people from around the world. Pobjoy already completed an interview with Fucked Up that he conducted with the Toronto Punk behemoths in their tour van in Montreal last October. In addition, he completed another interview with Swedish photographer Agnes Thor in Paris during Paris Photo last November. He's now slated to interview Parra, an influential Dutch illustrator, graphic designer, fashion designer and entrepreneur in the next few days. To learn more about Bad Day and the interviewees click the links below. Support Bad Day, Ben Pobjoy

Bad Day
Fucked Up
Agnes Thor
Parra

Montreal Mirror nominates Ben Pobjoy as a '2009 Noisemaker'

Montreal Mirror recently named Ben Pobjoy, the Operations Director at Switzerland CS and the Director of Curation and Communications at the Emporium Gallery, as one of Montreal's 20 'Noisemakers' for 2009- thanks to his contribution to local arts and culture. Every January the Montreal Mirror highlights 20 individuals in Montreal (which they refer to as Noisemakers) that are contributing to the city in an interesting, important capacity. Our team appreciates the recognition and looks forward to further enriching Montreal's culture- this year and beyond. You can read the article on Ben Pobjoy here.

Hey Toronto- Cape Town Shakedown benefit exhibition at Studio Gallery

I have contributed a limited edition 20"x30" c-print from my recent Land of America exhibition (which was written about by Vice, Urban Outfitters, the Montreal Mirror, etc.) to the Cape Town Shakedown benefit exhibition that is taking place at Studio Gallery (294 College, 2nd Fl.) in Toronto on Thursday, November 20th from 7PM-11PM. But the print and support a great cause. More information on the event and the foundation can be found below, Ben Pobjoy

The Cape Town Children’s Scholarship Foundation is proud to present, A Cape Town Shakedown on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at Studio Gallery. This fundraiser and silent auction is an intimate and influential experience for Toronto to recognize the epidemic of poverty affecting the orphans of Khayelitsha Township. Khayelitsha, located outside of Cape Town, is the most poverty-stricken townships in South Africa; AIDS infiltrates and ruins lives of the locals, unemployment grows each year, and as many as 14, 000 orphans wander the streets alone. The Cape Town Children’s Scholarship Foundation believes that education is the single greatest tool we can use to eliminate poverty.

The Cape Town Children’s Scholarship Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable foundation registered with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. Proceeds from A Cape Town Shakedown will help us award these potential-filled orphans with a series of academic scholarships to attend Waldorf schools in Cape Town. Waldorf education carries an internationally distinguished reputation of quality and is endorsed by the United Nations. Our children are empowered with the knowledge, creativity and ability to become leaders within their struggling communities. Students benefit from the comprehensive approach to education, the sensitivity of teachers, and the elimination of racial segregation.

Studio Gallery is an apt location for The Cape Town Children’s Scholarship Foundation, because of the desire of both parties to explore human capability through the arts and education. Both organizations are captivated by the power of human expression. The ability of artists to aid in scholarship tuition for orphaned children is a powerful feat, one which will also help these struggling communities. Together, the two organizations will work simultaneously to raise funds and send as many children to school as possible. Proceeds will be raised by way of private donation and silent auction. All auction items are generously provided by local artists and businesses.

Ben Pobjoy Vice interview

Vice recently asked me a few questions about Land of America, my recent photo installation. You can read the short interview
here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Land of America: the Book

Land of America: the Book is the textual supplement to Ben Pobjoy's photo installation of the same name. It's 226 pages: 54,000 words and features over 150 captioned images from the photo installation. Acerbic yet insightful, Land of America: the Book details the ups, down and peculiarities of Pobjoy's 7000 mile trek across America and Mexico.

The first edition is almost gone. If you want to get your hands on one of the remianing copies, email Ben at ben@benpobjoy.com . Thanks!

Montreal Mirror writes about Ben Pobjoy's Land of America

The Montreal Mirror, a free weekly with a readership of 287,000, wrote about Ben Pobjoy's Land of America here.

Pobjoy's installation opens tomorrow (July 4th) at the Emporium Gallery (3035 St. Antoine Ouest, studio #74) in Montreal from 7PM-11PM. Come out if you live in the Montreal area!

Ben Pobjoy's Land of America opens next week at The Emporium Gallery!

We are proud to announce that Ben Pobjoy's Land of America photo installation will show at the Emporium Gallery (3035 St. Antoine Ouest, studio #74) in Montreal from Friday, July 4th 2008 to Friday, July 11th 2008. Land of America is the outcome of Pobjoy's 7000 mile trek across America and Mexico which he did on nonstop bus rides from Montreal to Los Angeles and back in June 2007. Featuring over 150 photographs and supplemented by a memoir of the same name, Land of America is a candid examination of both bus travel and America itself.

The Land of America opening will take place on Friday, July 4th 2008 from 7PM to 11PM at the Emporium Gallery. It can also be viewed during regular gallery hours from 12PM to 6PM on Saturday, July 5th 2008 and Sunday, July 6th 2008. Land of America can be viewed thereafter until Friday, July 11th 2008 by appointment only. For more information, you can visit the Emporium Gallery website here.

The show will travel thereafter and the memoir will be available for purchase online in the coming weeks. We'll share more details when they become available.

We're looking for interns!

We're looking for interns that live in Montreal. Here's the deal- we run Switzerland CS, a creative services firm that principally works in the areas of Art Direction and Graphic Design, Branding and Identity, Creative Direction and Consultancy, and Marketing and Communications. We work for clients around the globe on fun, creative projects. We also maintain this ol' blog.

In addition to Switzerland CS, we run the The Emporium Gallery, an art gallery in the St. Henri neighborhood of Montreal. The gallery has over 10 exhibitions booked for 2008.

We also run Red Tree, a producer of web based software applications. PAS, our first software application, is going to market in September.

On top of that, Shawn Butchart is a producer and I'm a photographer. There's tons of work associated with Shawn's production work and my photography.

Our loft office in Montreal is the hub of all our ventures. It's a fun, busy place. It's chock full of tunes and has all the lattes and Coca Cola you can drink. You can click the image above to check out our work space.

We're looking for interns that are studying design, marketing, communications, advertising or business. However, we work in so many lines of business that interns will be exposed to a slew of interesting work- too much to summarize. And, we're not assholes, so we guarantee a fun but hectic time. We also believe in inclusion and look forward to including interns in creative decision making.

Applicants should be creative, highly motivated, have strong communication skills and have an absolute passion for the arts.

Why apply? Well, you'll get a hell of a lot of experience, work on interesting projects, meet all the awesome musicians and visual artists that swing by our office, get a ton of free stuff and free access to heaps of concerts and events. And, if you knock our socks off, we'll hire you.

Interested? Email info@switzerlandcs.com and send us your CV. Thanks, Ben Pobjoy