TCV

Toronto Community Videotex

Telidon @ TSV was so popular that TSV (& potential funders) encouraged us to set up a separate artist run organization, for videotex. I wrote the mandate and articles of incorporation by copying TSV's, basically changing the word "video" to "videotex". 

I regard Nina Beveridge and Geoffrey Shea as co-founders but they beg to differ, saying I was the sole founder. After 18 months, in March of 1983, Toronto Community Videotex was incorporated as a non-profit, artist-run corporation Called "Toronto Community Videotex". Thinking 5 directors would be better than 3, we invited active volunteers Wendy Edwards and Paul Petro to join the founding board.

TCV,'s first application secured ongoing "operational funding". "Videotex" became a part of "Video/New Media" at the Canada Council. The CC couldn't have been more encouraging. Several artist run, media art orgs were established around this time.

Like most non-profit corporations, TCV was a Robert's Rules of Order organization where members paid modest dues, elected a board to manage the facility and paid to access to the Norpak IPS, also for modest fees. Public 8" floppy disks were available to artists to store their work 

Over time, TCV acquired more Norpak IPSs. Eventually, I was able to take mine home, to work an a never completed Canada Council funded project called "1984". when I left TCV and Toronto, circa 1984. By 1987 I left Toronto and art to be a big lily in a little pond in small town Ontario, where I set up a photocopy/public fax storefront called Wm. Perry: Digital Text Services, a division of 615994 Ontario Inc. This evolving in brokering print jobs and eventually independent publishing, including the best selling "Be Nice In 60 Languages" and better selling "Be Rude In 60 Languages"

I had no contact with TCV for decades. Geoffrey, Nina and Wendy also moved on to other pursuits. I had no idea TCV still existed when I was contacted by Maiko Tanaka from InterAccess, in 2014, inviting me to participate in a group show she was curating called "Mean Time To Upgrade".