Hey Chris, Do You Read The Paper That Pays You

There is a shortage of subsidized housing. The City Of Toronto can't afford to maintain the housing it already manages and is on the verge of becoming the leading slum landlord. The city is looking at a budget shortfall of $375 million. The Star has constant editorials on poverty. How many of the world famous artists worked in state owned monuments? Get the message.......

The impressive new buildings are only a beginning

Jun 20, 2007 04:30 AM

Christopher Hume

Toronto's Cultural Renaissance is well underway. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Royal Ontario Museum unveiled Daniel Libeskind's brilliant Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Before that it was the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, the National Ballet School, the Ontario College of Art & Design and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Still to come are Frank Gehry's magnificent remake of the Art Gallery of Ontario and KPMB's masterful expansion of the Royal Conservatory of Music.

But do these projects mark a beginning or an end? Does the renaissance stop here? Or will it lead to a second wave of cultural works that will bring new depth to the arts in Toronto?

Already there has been much activity beyond the Big Six that got things going.

The excellent Young Centre, for example, at the Distillery District, has brought an unprecedented level of flexibility to the idea of the theatre school-performance venue. It has also enhanced the recently renovated Victorian industrial enclave, now establishing itself as a cultural destination.

Bell Festival Centre, the cinematheque-condo development at King and John Sts., though less innovative in its mix, will add further dynamism to the downtown core and give the Toronto International Film Festival a year-round presence.

Among the most interesting new projects, however, is Artscape's Green Art Barns, a scheme that will transform four former streetcar repair sheds on Wychwood Ave. into a multi-use community centre. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the $18.3 million project will be held today. When completed a year from now, the complex will comprise 26 live-work artist apartments, 15 studios, a year-round festival space, an environmental centre, plus administrative, performance and rehearsal facilities for 12 cultural organizations.