Toronto Free Gallery launched its new space at Bloor and Lansdowne two weeks ago, opening with an exhibit focusing on creativity in urban activism,
Creative Activism.
The gallery was jammed, the common joke being you come to an opening for the food and booze and return several days later to carefully observe the art.
A dog watched the goings-on from a safe spot underneath one of the pieces. Either the view was good or it was out-of-the-way enough to dodge the crowd.
Some of the works on display, ranging from a collection of "bills" to an assortment of signs and photos from
Streets Are For People.
***
The opening also served as a starting point for that week's psychogeography walk. From the gallery we headed south along Lansdowne, past a block of front yards that belonged to members of the Adam Giambrone Fan Club...
The signs stemmed from the
Lansdowne Renewal Project, a reconfiguration of the street with measures to narrow the street incorporating wider sidewalks and the removal of parking spots on the east side of the street. How much consultation was made with the neighbourhood is debatable, but the fact that
the signs have not come down after a year indicates
the bitterness that arose from the project.
We wandered over to Sterling Avenue and walked by the Nestlé chocolate plant. Originally Cowan's Cocoa (
1922 photo), the plant was purchased by
Rowntree in
1926 (Nestlé took control in 1988). Products such as Smarties are honoured with their own receiving door.
Left: Doesn't everyone need a wafer flour silo to dive in? Presumably this is where the flour for Kit Kat bars is stored.
Right: North of the silo was a building whose faded words indicated that it was once a condiment plant or distributor. Nowadays, it's a Fruit Education Centre.
Nearby stood spectacular icicle-covered trees and shrubs, the kind of thing one would expect on the first day of spring.
Creative Activism is on display at the Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor Street West) through April 13. All photos taken March 20, 2008 (full set) - JB
Comments