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exploring taste – Spring/Summer 2016
Toronto
People & Places
photography Tom Arban/Wikimedia
1. A Canadian institution, The Power Plant is a
public gallery devoted to contemporary art and
a part of Toronto’s cultural landscape since 1987.
The Power Plant Located in a disused powerhouse at Harbour-
front Center, an arts and cultural hub, it pres-
ents the new and recent work of Canadian and
international artists. Over the years, The Power
Plant has produced over 40 publications and
hosts an array of public events, from screenings
to performances and symposia. It also organiz-
es the International Lecture Series, showcasing
talks by high-profile artists, curators and cul-
tural commentators from Canada and abroad.
www.thepowerplant.org
3.
This young Alberta-born, Toronto-based fashion Sid Neigum
designer has already carved a comfortable place
for himself in the industry. Shortly after releasing
his first collection at the 2011 edition of Toronto’s
Fashion Week, Neigum was awarded the presti-
gious Toronto Fashion Incubator’s award. Since
then, his mathematical approach and fresh talent
has earned him many more awards for emerging
fashion designers. Modular patterns and origa-
mi are key to the designer’s collections: to create
his compositions, Neigum makes use of laser cut,
‘structural’ nylon, elementary patterns and metic-
ulously folded single pieces of fabric.
photography Luis Mora
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places – The theater of Toronto
photography by John Oyston
2.
Ossington
A testimony to how quickly Toronto is chang-
ing, this once forgotten, crime-ridden part of the
Ville-Reine has seen its hardware stores and auto
repair shops suddenly morphing into boutiques,
restaurants and bars. The neighborhood's indus-
trial past is still visible, though gentrification has
made it much more welcoming. Real-estate, of
course, has gone through the roof as Ossington
has become one of the city’s hotspots. Try Jona-
than + Olivia for hard to find brands or Shoppe
and Tailor for handmade and refashioned items,
then end the day in one of Ossington’s many
trendy dining and drinking locales.
photography Francois Berthier/Stringer
5.
Northern suburb, the first museum in North 4. Edward Burtynsky
Situated in the unlikely setting of Toronto’s
America exclusively dedicated to Islamic art has
Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Center
become a landmark along one of the city’s main
commuter belt. The Ismaili Center was designed
by Charles Corea, a leading figure of Indian
You might have seen Burtynsky’s beautiful though
context of the conversation surrounding climate
Modernism, and the Aga Khan Museum direct- horrifying photographs used repeatedly in the
ly facing it, by Pritzker Prize winner Japanese
architect Fumihiko Maki. A series of gardens change and global sustainable living. A docu-
planted with mature trees and plants bridges
mentary based on his breathtaking photography,
the space between the two buildings completed Manufactured Landscapes, premiered at the TIFF
in 2014. The collection, if modest in size, distin- in 2007, showing landscapes devastated by the oil
guishes itself by its superior quality. and mining industries, exposing mankind’s un-
www.agakhanmuseum.org easy relationship with its environment. In 1985,
Burtynsky established Toronto Image Works, a
space offering darkroom rentals and digital media
courses, complete with a gallery showing the work
of local and international artists.
6.
Partisans
Winner of the 2015 OAA Award for Best Emerg-
ing Practice and Design Excellence, this young
architecture firm has already built some of the
city’s most distinctive spaces. The group makes
use of cutting-edge software and fabrication
technology yielding innovative and surprising
results. You can only dream of relaxing in the
Grotto, a sophisticated sculpted sauna built for
a private client in the Georgian Bay, but you can
still admire their creative genius at Bar Raval: the
entirely custom-built interior is made from 75
digitally engraved mahogany panels on over 9km.
www.partisanprojects.com
photography Jonathan Friedman Photography
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