The Ghost Hotel
October 24, 2023
Did you know: From 1916 until 1927 the Ontario Temperance Act prohibited the sale of alcohol in Toronto. Bootleggers ensured a steady flow of alcohol from the United States by travelling across Lake Ontario and delivering their wares to Toronto harbour under the cover of darkness. Some of the buildings in Condoland have an infamous […]
Miles to Go Before I Sleep
October 24, 2023
Did you know: Terry Fox and his courageous Marathon of Hope are memorialised in Canoe Landing Park by an artwork designed by Douglas Coupland. Every year the community hosts a Terry Fox Run around the park to raise money for cancer research. Terry ran for 143 days, at about 42 kilometres a day, through the […]
Saturday Night Fever Shed
October 24, 2023
Did you know: In 1847, a typhoid epidemic was brought to Toronto along with Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine, and the terrible living conditions on the “Coffin Ships” that carried them across the Atlantic. When they arrived, the sick were forced to quarantine together in close contact in “fever sheds” built close to the […]
The Last Lone Tree
October 24, 2023
Did you know: Big and red ‘Tom Thomson’s Canoe’ sits overlooking the Gardiner Expressway. This public artwork created by Douglas Coupland is viewed by millions of motorists a year. Tom Thomson is considered an “unofficial” but highly influential member of the Canadian landscape painters known as the Group of Seven. An avid outdoors person, Tom […]
Unflappable
October 24, 2023
Did you know: Toronto is located at the convergence of the Atlantic and Mississippi “flyways,”which are important routes for migrating birds in the spring and fall. It is estimated that more than one million birds die from window collisions in Toronto every year. It started with the pigeons. Arturo didn’t find he could walk so […]
These Ain’t Your Grandma’s Ghosts
October 24, 2023
With 30 residential towers built since 2001, CityPlace has one of the highest population densities in Toronto. 18,000 residents call the community home, and their stories will shape how we remember this neighbourhood in the future. We the Ghosts of CityPlace, hereby set down in words: THE GRIEVANCES OF THE MODERN GHOST. We, who have […]
Deceptively Simple, but Endlessly Complicated
October 24, 2023
For a (very) brief period in the early 2000s CityPlace was home to a 9-hole golf course and driving range. “A Gentleman’s Guide to Golf” – As dictated by a Ghost (who wished to remain anonymous) upon discovering the sport at the CityPlace Golf Club in the summer of 2000. *Editor’s Note: The CityPlace golf […]
A Public (Art) Notice
October 16, 2023
Synthetic Collective and Centre for Sustainable Curating, in partnership with The Bentway and Evergreen, are pleased to announce the launch of “A Public (Art) Notice,” a free poster and downloadable guide promoting more environmentally conscious ways to curate, create, and produce public art.
University of Toronto Furniture Build at The Bentway
September 27, 2023
Over a two week period, UofT Daniel’s students designed and constructed a set of accessible modular furniture pieces – nicknamed, Flippin’ Chillin’. The pieces can be arranged into a lounging play-scape or transformed into a bar for events.
Looking beyond concrete with Jochen Lempert
September 27, 2023
As the final installment of our Beyond Concrete story series, guest editor Brian Sholis reflects on what it is to look beyond the concrete through his engagement with the photographic work of German artist Jochen Lempert. This summer, we’ve published a series of essays, interviews, and other stories that relate to the themes of Beyond Concrete, a […]
Film Favourites from Lisa Jackson
September 18, 2023
Anishinaabe filmmaker and Beyond Concrete artist Lisa Jackson shares her cinematic favourites and why. This summer, we’re publishing a series of essays, interviews, and other stories that explore the themes of Beyond Concrete, a season of programs that explore the urban ecosystem beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where human-made infrastructure intertwines with flora and fauna. For Beyond Concrete, […]
Climate Emotions with Nocturnal Medicine
September 5, 2023
In July 2023, artist duo Nocturnal Medicine welcomed hundreds of guests to the Bentway for “Earth Dreams,” a summer party for climate grief and urgency. Here are some other recent reflections we’re turning to on how people are processing their responses to major environmental changes. The Bentway’s Beyond Concrete summer season explores the urban ecosystem […]
Flora and fauna of the urban ecosystem under the Gardiner
September 1, 2023
Zunaid Khan, nature photographer and president of the Toronto Field Naturalists, gets up close and personal to capture the flora and fauna of the dynamic natural world living under the Gardiner Expressway.
The future of architecture and building with Kelly Alvarez Doran
August 15, 2023
In this conversation with Kelly Alvarez Doran, he speaks about how he came to focus on sustainability in architecture, the design work he did in Africa, the challenges to sustainability in North America posed by construction-industry habits, and how we can begin lowering the embodied carbon in our cities. The Bentway’s Beyond Concrete summer season […]
“Groundcover”: Transforming Archival Gardiner Photos
August 8, 2023
Brooklyn-based artist Genesis Báez gives us a closer look at Groundcover, her contribution to Beyond Concrete, and the process of its creation. The installation features archival images of the Gardiner Expressway that Baéz re-photographed and buried in the soil beneath the highway. This summer, we’re publishing a series of essays, interviews, and other stories that explore the […]
Filling In: Anjulie Rao on “vacant” urban lands
July 27, 2023
Anjulie Rao explores the cultural and historical value, agency, and stewardship of Chicago’s vacant land in this personal essay. The Bentway’s Beyond Concrete summer season explores the urban ecosystem beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where human-made infrastructure intertwines with flora and fauna. The relationship between concrete and nature is complex and interconnected. In this story series, […]
The Ecology of Concrete: An Interview with Matthew Gandy
July 18, 2023
Beyond Concrete guest editor Brian Sholis talks with Matthew Gandy, author of Natura Urbana, about the ecology of concrete, engineered versus spontaneous landscapes, and the politics of design language. The Bentway’s Beyond Concrete summer season explores the urban ecosystem beneath the Gardiner Expressway, where human-made infrastructure intertwines with flora and fauna. The relationship between concrete and […]
Cheonggyecheon: Rip It Up and Start Again
June 28, 2023
After a massive public-works project in the 2000s, a stream once again flows through Seoul. In this personal essay, Andrew Russeth admires Cheonggyecheon, a 10.9km long stream and modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea.
Exploring public space in Sāo Paulo
June 15, 2023
Felipe Morozini, president of the Parque Minhocão community association, shares the challenges of creating vibrant public spaces in Sāo Paulo. This summer, we’re publishing a series of essays, interviews, and other stories that explore the themes in our Beyond Concrete season, highlighting local and global projects that centre interconnectedness. This story is inspired by Clarice Lima’s project Woods, […]
The Benchway: Salvaged Materials in Public Space
June 12, 2023
2023 Bentway Public Space Fellow Ella Hough considers the role public space could play in promoting deconstruction and material reuse. By tracing the history of the salvaged lumber used to make one public bench, The Benchway: Salvaged Materials in Public Space tells the story of ancestral forests, Toronto’s 20th century development, the changes that led […]
Dive Deeper into Beyond Concrete: Editor’s Letter
June 6, 2023
Brian Sholis, guest editor, introduces our new Beyond Concrete story series, and frames this series of essays and interviews that will roll out all summer long. Listen to this story Cliché has it that the city is a “concrete jungle.” But in the popular imagination, concrete prevails. Downtown is a place of stone and glass; full […]
In Conversation with Leeroy New
June 6, 2023
Beyond Concrete artist Leeroy New and Montreal-based artist Kelly Jazvac connect about the practice, poetry, and production of public art. Listen to this story Brian Sholis: The Bentway has invited me to guest edit an online publication related to “Beyond Concrete,” its summer 2023 programming season, and I’m pleased to be introducing an interview between Leeroy […]
Waterfront ReConnect: Other Finalists in the 2022 Design Competition
June 1, 2023
Waterfront ReConnect challenged proponents to explore and expose the layered histories of the Gardiner, to address safety, reinforce a sense of arrival and transition, and transform an obstacle into an opportunity for enhanced connectivity. Drawing on The Bentway’s spirit of adaptation and innovation, six design teams from across the country were selected to participate in […]
Waterfront ReConnect: Jury for the 2022 Design Competition
May 31, 2023
To select the winning Waterfront ReConnect proposals, we convened a dedicated group of key local stakeholders, design experts, public space animators, and Bentway staff. Jury: York Street Claire Breukel ProjectArt A graduate from the University of Cape Town and Hunter College New York (MA Hon), South African-born Claire Breukel was introduced to the USA through […]