Rumour, WORLDPOOL: Judith Doyle Network Archive

Collage of fax artworks produced collaboratively by the WORLDPOOL network, 1978–1979. Images courtesy of Judith Doyle. Design by Laura Pappa and Lotte Laura Schröder.

Rumour, WORLDPOOL
Judith Doyle Network Archive

September 18 – October 18, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, September 18, 6–8pm
Curated by Kunstverein Toronto
Hosted by the plumb, Toronto

Rumour, WORLDPOOL: Judith Doyle Network Archive opens on September 18 at the plumb, in collaboration with artist Judith Doyle. The exhibition revisits the archives of WORLDPOOL and Rumour Publications—two artist-led initiatives co-founded by Doyle in the late 1970s.

From 1978 to 1979, the teleculture collective WORLDPOOL—an ad-hoc group of artists, writers and proto-IT workers, including Judith Doyle, Fred Gaysek, Willoughby Sharp and Norman White—met weekly at 7:20pm on Wednesdays at 720 Queen Street West in Toronto. They served dinner and used fax and Slow-Scan machines to exchange collaborative artworks with artists and collectives in cities including New York, Vancouver, Victoria, Tokyo and Los Angeles. WORLDPOOL operated out of the storefront office of Rumour Publications, an artist-run press led by Doyle and Gaysek. As Rumour published chapbooks and hosted workshops, exhibitions and performances by artists and writers including Kathy Acker, Philip Monk, Judy Rifka, John Greyson, Gaysek and Doyle, WORLDPOOL continued to meet weekly, testing the possibilities of emerging telecommunications technologies to create alternative networks through live collaboration and exchange.

The exhibition, readings, performances, workshops and participatory fax events aim to re-activate Rumour and WORLDPOOL’s activities and networks, and their joint experiments with language, communication, collective authorship and collaborative, anti-institutional writing and making.

Curated by Kari Cwynar and Kara Hamilton of Kunstverein Toronto.

Programming:

Opening Reception
Friday, September 18, 6–8pm
the plumb, 1655 Dufferin St (basement), Toronto

Exhibition Tour
Saturday, September 19, 1–1:45pm
the plumb, 1655 Dufferin St (basement), Toronto

“It’s Not All Talk”: Revisiting Rumour Publications
Saturday, September 19, 4–6pm
The Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto

An afternoon of performative readings of/as the archive: Judith Doyle and Andrew J. Paterson perform four texts from the Rumour archive: an excerpt from Acker’s “The Scorpions,” a letter from Acker to Doyle, the Mudd Club dialogue and the “Grandmother and Kathy dialogue”—all circa 1979. Jason McBride reads from his research on Acker’s time spent in Toronto working with Rumour, and John Greyson reads a creative revisitation of his 1978 exhibition in the Rumour storefront window.

Workshops
Throughout the week of October 12
the plumb, 1655 Dufferin St (basement), Toronto

Drop-in collage, fax art and zine publishing sessions will be hosted by artist Judith Doyle and graphic designers Laura Pappa and Lotte Lara Schröder in the exhibition space during the week of October 12. Details will be posted on Kunstverein Toronto’s website and Instagram account.

Memorial for Fred Gaysek
Date TBC
The Cameron House, 408 Queen St W, Toronto

Join artist Judith Doyle for a memorial event remembering the contributions and work of poet and publisher Fred Gaysek, co-founder of Rumour Publications and WORLDPOOL.

Dine on Line: Participatory Fax Exchange Event
Saturday, October 17, 6–9pm
the plumb, 1655 Dufferin St (basement), Toronto

An evening of collaborative faxing, dining and oral histories in homage to the 1978 five-way fax event “Dine on Line (Cooking Canada’s Turkey).” Please note: This event will be open to a limited number of participants. Details and registration to follow.

Study Sessions
the plumb, 1655 Dufferin St (basement), Toronto

Artist Judith Doyle will host school groups and interested researchers on Wednesdays in the exhibition space for informal study sessions and conversation. Contact jdoyle@ocadu.ca to make arrangements.

Exhibition hours at the plumb are 2–5pm Saturdays and Sundays, or by appointment. Please note that the plumb is not an accessible space. See www.theplumb.ca for further information and directions, and contact us at info@kvtoronto.ca if you would like to arrange alternative access to the exhibition and materials.

About Kunstverein Toronto

Kunstverein Toronto is an occasional curatorial and publishing office co-directed by Kari Cwynar and Kara Hamilton. We operate in relation to sister institutions in Amsterdam, Aughrim and Milan. Since 2014, our programming has been dedicated to curatorial experimentation, art historical gaps and practices that fall between disciplinary boundaries.

For more information, please contact info@kvtoronto.com or visit www.kvtoronto.com and www.theplumb.ca.

This exhibition is possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts.