This Family Day weekend at the AGO, families can put their spin on works on view in The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. Inspired by works like Street Shrine 1: A Notorious Story (Biggie) (2019) and Live Culture Force 1’s (2022), Toronto-based artist Rachel Joanis designed ten trading cards in her distinct style for families to colour and collect.

As a digital illustrator and graphic designer, Joanis creates works that reflect her identity and focus on depicting women. By promoting different ethnicities and body types, Joanis aims to encourage inclusivity and equal representation with vibrant colours, shapes and lines. 

We chatted with Joanis about her creative process, and connecting with families and communities through art. 

Foyer: Can you describe your creative process from selecting the works to drawing them into 2D line work? 
Joanis: Visiting The Culture at the AGO helped me start to visualize which pieces would translate well on the cards. I took lots of photos while exploring the exhibition, trying to capture pieces from different angles, then narrowed down the artworks I felt would work the best for the small size of the trading card. I started with pencil sketches before refining them in Adobe Illustrator, using my photos as references. I also had fun reimagining certain elements to make them more interactive. For example, with Aaron Fowler’s Live Culture Force 1’s, I thought it would be fun to imagine someone wearing the oversized shoe, and what that would look like on the card.

I also love Palito’s use of bright pinks—something I incorporate often in my own work. Each time I look at this piece, I notice new details. It’s one I keep coming back to.
 

Illustration and photo courtesy of Rachel Joanis

How do you hope families and children will engage with your work during Family Day weekend?
I hope everyone has fun with these cards and engages with them like a mini treasure hunt - collecting each one in the series and bringing them to life when colouring them in. Even more than just a fun activity, I see them as a way to connect with this amazing exhibition on a deeper level. While colouring, you can reflect on the artwork in a new way, noticing details you might have missed before.

In a sense, each person becomes the artist, adding their own creative spin - whether by changing up the colours, creating new backgrounds, or adding their own artistic elements. I love the idea of these cards acting as tiny canvases, inviting everyone to make them their own.

Come by the AGO this Family Day weekend from February 14 to 17 to collect and colour Joanis’s trading cards with your family. For more details, visit ago.ca/family-day-weekend-2025. To learn more about Joanis’s work, visit www.racheljoanis.com.