Art Chow and the Hart House Camera Club: Sixty Years and Counting

On the eve of his retrospective, “Sixty Years and Counting,” U of T alumnus and amateur photographer Art Chow describes how his unorthodox creativity and drive for excellence can be traced back to the Hart House Camera Club and its annual competition.

Event Details

Sixty Years and Counting will have a zoom launch on Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Link to Register: https://recreation.utoronto.ca/Program/GetProgramDetails?courseId=a05f6fc0-cec4-41b5-a229-9e4752e4b877&semesterId=0ceb5a30-42f1-4069-a97b-5e015b379e14

About Art Chow

Art Chow had his first photograph accepted into the Hart House Camera Club annual Exhibition of Photography in 1961. Since that time, Art has had over 500 photos accepted into this exhibition and he has been awarded one of the top prizes no fewer than 71 times, the last time being as recently as 2020.

Today, 85-year-old Chow, based in Winnipeg and retired from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Engineering, has not skipped a beat. Remarkably, he has been participating in the Hart House Camera Club annual exhibition for over 60 years. Chow sees how this feedback and refinement, this kind of artistic reciprocity that drove him to excellence, led to his winning the Camera Club’s Karsh Award. Chow won the Karsh Award no less than 18 times.

He emphasizes the archival value of printed images, which the Camera Club also prizes, saying, “Pictures that are printed last a long time.” A life-long learner, he has embraced digital photography and hopes to learn Photoshop soon.

Moira, 1961
Morning Coffee, 2003
Harthoise_0004_Winter
The Speaker, 1966
A Street Portrait, 2001
The Boys, 1974
Brothers, n.d.
Coleen, 1969
Observer, 2013
Patiene, n.d.
In The Shade, n.d.
Turbaned Man, n.d.
The Bookstore, n.d.
Spice Seller, n.d.
Merchant, n.d.
Market, n.d.
Texting, 2020
Waiting, n.d.
Footscape, 1997
What To Do? 1972
Separation, 1985
The Last Catch, 1979
The Run, 2004
Balance, 2016
Balance, 1970
Snowy Rest, 2006
Snowy Walk, 1969
Christmas Tree Hideaway, 2000
Walkabout, 1989
Gannets Nesting, n.d.
Rainy Afternoon, 1990
Boxes, n.d.
Mailboxes, 1990
Communications, 2020
Business World, 1970
Business, n.d.
Mutual Support, 1984
Well’s Cathedral. 1977
Morning Ride, 1969
Rows of Sorrow, 1965
Iceland Faith, 2010
Ice Berg, 2002
Island Ripples, 1988
Morning, 1999
Morning Walk, 2021
Sale, n.d.
Untitled, 2020
Prairie Past, 1991
Abandoned, n.d.
Blacksmith, n.d.
Bottles, 1987
Rocks and Ice, 2005
Indigo, 1998
Untitled, 2000
Growth, n.d.
Lost World, n.d.
Awakening, 2004
New Zealand Fiord, 2006
Winter Sunset, 1993
Fishing Village, 1993
Port, 1981
Mont St. Michel, n.d.
Trio, n.d.
Brenna, 2017
Library Study, 1962