explorations in toronto art.

Not strictly a gallery, but this community centre covers a lot of the bases when it comes to the arts. Though 918 Bathurst has been right under my nose in the Annex for entire near-three-year period I’ve called Palmerston Avenue home, I somehow overlooked it until my BlogTO editors sent me on assignment. Not anymore.. in addition to being an inspiring space with an awe-inspiring variety of activities and events, the fact of having one space where many different people go for their various classes, rehearsals, seminars, etc etc, is really valuable.

Worth mentioning, the centre had a little help from Lonsdale Gallery in getting the gallery portion going. While I couldn’t find an exhibition archive, it sounds like there has been a good mix of community-based exhibitions and solo shows from seasoned artists around town. I remember when I was at Ryerson and we were looking for space to house the end-of-year exhibitions, it seemed like the options for rental galleries were very sparse, so I’m glad to see another space with some flexibility.

The potential for cross-pollination is huge at 918 Bathurst, and as I watch various art forms set their sights on interdisciplinary activities, this can only be a good thing.

My profile went up yesterday—read it here.

Last winter I discovered some secret music.

An acquaintance and I stumbled on a CD release party at the Tranzac when we had actually intended to go to a different concert— the labyrinthine layout of the place caused us to end up in the wrong room, but I’m definitely glad it happened. What took place before us was truly special: two musicians shuffled onto the stage, placed themselves with their instruments, and began to play low-key, dreamy jazz tunes. A perfect harmony of electric piano and lap steel, meandering and settling into patterns, improvising and coming back to themes. A hush fell over the room almost instantly. The evening continued like this.

Before I left, I bought their CD, aptly titled This is Awesome. It took me almost a year to figure out that this duo, Christine Bougie & Dafydd Hughes, had been playing weekly at the Tranzac, less than a five-minute walk from my apartment, ever since. For free. Last night I finally went, and it was indeed awesome. I like the Tranzac because of its intimacy, and I had the feeling of being in someone’s big living room. The music was quiet, there were a handful of people sitting around the room sipping their beers and passing the request-list/tip-jar, so low-key and really just there to listen to nice music. I couldn’t help thinking of how going to shows was such a seeing-and-being-seen kind of activity for me at one time (although to be fair, almost everything can fall into that category when you’re a teenager), so it was refreshing to be in a place, in Toronto no less, where I could just be an anonymous music lover. Needless to say, I will be going back next Monday.

There is nothing like having an out-of-town guest to help you appreciate the city in which you live.

In addition to having a good excuse to do fun touristy stuff like going to museums and shopping, you get to see the city through fresh eyes. How many times have I walked down my neighbourhood’s main drag? So many that I don’t even really see it anymore. So all the neat things that I’ve overlooked get called to my attention by my visitor, from hilarious signage, to neat little bookshops,  cafés and bars I meant to try shortly after I moved to the neighbourhood and never got around to.. all good things like these.

When we were deliberating where to go for dinner, a dear visiting pal from Ottawa asked me which of the many nearby Korean restaurants was my favourite. On my revelation that I hadn’t been to a single one, she chided me— “you’ve lived here for six months already, how have you not been to a single one?” Needless to say, she (being a big kimchee lover) picked the restaurant. Another visiting BFF from Ottawa reminded me of the pleasures of vegan eats, thrift shopping, and Queen West walks. Her perceptions of the neighbourhood, not having visited Toronto for five years, were really interesting. That street has gone through so many changes and I liked hearing her talk about what it was like before.

A friend visiting from Montreal last winter took a different approach to acquainting me with my neighbourhood. A few hours before the Christmas party that was taking place at my apartment that night, she headed out to get a few things.. and came back with peanut cookies and seaweed cookies (!) from a nearby bakery. It was eye-opening, to say the least. Her whims also gave me a good reason to explore parts of the city I had never been before (this led to somewhat of a wild goose chase in search of little Malta, but I think that’s another story.)

I’m thinking this probably has something to do with why I look forward to visiting Ottawa: in addition longing for visits with friends, as well as the rosy nostalgia that one can only feel about a hometown left in the past, I get to become a visitor, to pick and choose the best parts, as well as enjoying the local knowledge of, well, a local.