Issue 10 marked the 5th year anniversary for RADmag. As a team, we really wanted to ensure this would be among our best issues — if not the best issue — yet, and so we came together to produce five in-house editorials, each individually representing the brilliant, singular visions from the RADmag staff. This was unprecedented and, as a new member of the RADmag team, the concerted push to include a wider array of perspectives left an incredibly powerful impression on me. I was moved. And I don’t think I’m the only one who was.
Our Issue 10 launch party took place on a very chilly night, at Arta Gallery — a small, chic gallery space located in the Distillery District. We transformed Arta with a distinctly RADmag moodiness, looping behind-the-scenes videos for our in-house editorials against the wall and offering two installations pulled straight from the pages of Issue 10: a disco ball installation based on the in-house editorial, Symbiosis, and a pink inflatable space designed by studio rat.
“The best part of the launch was community,” says Amelia Ball, our Marketing and Events Lead. “I sometimes forget that there are actual people who read our magazine. At the launch, the big picture came together and we were finally able to see the impact RADmag has had over 5 years.”
For many creatives at Ryerson — even or particularly for us, at RADmag — the experience of developing a personal vision into actual images in a magazine is an exciting experience. To imagine is one thing, but to produce, to articulate, and to see something come to life is entirely another species.
For many years in glossy magazines, the recurring lack of representation seemed to proliferate itself, be it lack of racial and cultural representation, or plainly a general dearth of perspectives. At RADmag, we have even reflected and discussed the lack of diversity in our own archive. Ryerson University and Toronto are such diverse places, housing brilliant minds and lives that deserve to be shared and represented. Our team really wanted to make sure this issue showcased the same diversity we see around us, and I think we really succeeded.
“The best part of the launch was community.” — Amelia Ball, Marketing and Events Lead
With great thanks to our sponsors at Ace Hill, Wafels and More, Firedog, and Special Okkasions, our launch party for Issue 10 wouldn’t have been celebrated the way it was without them, and our guests, of course! 5 great years of inspiration, creation, and art couldn’t have been such a success if it weren’t for our amazing team and loving supporters; the creative Ryerson community is way more wholesome than it gets credit for.
“So many people were smiling and having an amazing time, reminding me that Ryerson does have a community, we just have to remind ourselves who it is all for.” Thank you to everyone who attended our launch party, owns a copy of Issue 10, intends to purchase a copy of issue 10, and has been supporting us for 5 years. We hope RADmag inspires you to find yourself and thrive in the world, you’ve earned it!
Photos by Leala Chi (@leala.chi)