Lukus Toane: Today’s Notable Young Professional

Today’s Notable Young Professional is Lukus Toane, whose work is part of the reason Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel is such an incredible creative hub. We caught up with him to find out why he pursued his particular career path and what advice he would share with other young professionals…

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WORK

Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
I am the Director of Exhibitions at the Gladstone Hotel where I manage four floors of gallery space and programming. I also paint portraits.

What was the inspiration for your career route?
I am very interested in creative project development – my own and otherwise. I associate being a project-oriented person with my love of labour; of overseeing many different parts to make the resulting product a successful reflection of the detail put in. Finessing the big ideas, considering the logistics, and actualizing the vision makes the work pretty magical.

What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
The biggest contributing milestone to this stage in my career is likely staying in one place long enough to attempt to make some waves. Deciding to fall in love with Toronto after living all over the place has subsequently allowed me to really appreciate and be privy to some of the fabulous creative people who give the city vitality.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
The continued supplement of experience through involvement in challenging/stimulating artistic programming. As it is hard to say where creative professional development will lead, I feel confident that as long as I am able to continue being involved in and working with fantastic people in artistic programming that connects people in different ways, I will be pleased with where I am at.

Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Let your skills speak for themselves, but also don’t be afraid to speak for them, too. Being pragmatic and without attitude can be extremely disarming. Being helpful and earnest are seriously understated qualities.

Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
I have contributed in the past to fundraising charities directed toward academic scholarships for LGBTQ youth in rural regions of Canada. With my current role, one of my main directives is in sustaining a safe and creative ‘queer’ space through partnering with not-for-profit cultural programmers.

I also had the opportunity to work with the Oasis Skateboard Factory, an alternative secondary school based in Toronto with a curriculum that focuses on creative design and professional development for at-risk youth.

What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
Balancing work and my own creative practise continues to be a challenge. I find resolve in this because my professional experience supplements my personal creative work, and vice-versa, to make a more robust creative backbone. For this I think I am pretty fortunate. This being said, there could always be more time.

What does the word notable mean to you?
It is something that pertains so directly to a person’s sensibility that they intuitively will not forget it. The brain has a good way of remembering things that are important.

PLAY

Where is your favourite place to wine/dine in your city and why?
My favourite restaurant in Toronto is Me & Mine (College Street, west of Dufferin). The food and beverages there are prolific! I also love Anti Vice Juicery (College Street, west of Ossington). On any given day I can be found at either of these places working after hours.

What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your
phone?
My most visited website on my browser is Gmail. The most played song on my phone is I Wanna Go by Summer Heart.

Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
For Instagram, honestly, I would say my own feed – @LukusCrazed. I like to use it as a sort of personal rolodex of contemporary artists who are not necessarily well-known but are doing some very interesting things. I link each post to their personal portfolios.

What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Of all the places I have been I still love Scotland. I’m not sure why but there is no denying that it is beautiful. For the same reason, the next place I want to go is the Maritimes of Canada.

What gives you the greatest FOMO?
I have spent much of my young adult life trying to be in one place at one time. I am usually fairly indifferent to events that completely fly over my head. That being said, being spontaneous alleviates feelings of the regular grind.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Charging artisanal cheeses to my credit card.

What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
For the former, see previous answer. For the latter, studio space.

And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
On a work level, being able to provide opportunities to emerging creative entrepreneurs to use their skills and benefit innovative community building. This point exists simultaneously with travel for me; I would love to be able travel more.

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