H.A.M.S.
Haunted Schoolroom
AGYU @ Art Toronto
H.A.M.S. at Art Toronto (October 28 – 31)
After four years of schooling, what’ya get? A haunted schoolhouse!

Things sure got scary when novelist Derek McCormack and artist Ian Phillips installed themselves in the AGYU’s booth at Art Toronto 2011. Taking residency at an art fair, the Holiday Arts Mail-Order School even scared some collectors into buying the school novelties for sale: spooky limited edition multiples such as tainted tongue depressors, Ouija boards, and bone-china Westclox replicas by prize pupil Alexx Boisjoli. The transported classroom also featured some of the top assignments from the correspondence school’s students. The saga continues: there are still two more lessons before the PhDs (Professional Hallowe’en Diploma) are to be conferred!

The haunted schoolhouse is the outcome of an AGYU supported four-year project of H.A.M.S. (Holiday Arts Mail-Order School), which is a correspondence course (for the 1936-37 school year!) devoted to the holiday arts.  Trick or Treat!