Category: Artscape Weston Common

Upcoming events

If, like me, you haven’t had the chance to go on a knowledge-sharing bike tour with Sofija Theodoru, you’re running out of time. Sofija, Weston’s Climate Action Champion, is hosting tours every other Saturday, and the remaining two are on October 23 and November 6. The group meets at Lions Park from 11–3.

The city is also hiring new climate champions. If you’d like to be one, you can apply online.

The Weston Mount Dennis Community Hub has many programs coming up in October—more than I can list here. Happily, they are listed on their Twitter feed.

There will be a community clean up on Sunday, October 24 at 10 a.m. in Weston Lions Park.

There is an ongoing outdoor art exhibit at Artscape Weston Common: Jill Downen’s “I Spoke Truth and Someone Listened”. According to the artist, “The dangerous rise in disinformation alongside a global pandemic inspired the project that is an ongoing endeavor where I invite participants to generate audio recordings of themselves speaking truth. Encoded in each audio file is a sound wave pattern that I translate into a painting called a ‘truth line.’”

Weston Common Sold

Artscape Weston Common and the residential rental units in 2020. File.

Another stage of the Weston Common story has unfolded with the announcement yesterday that the entire complex at 22 John Street has been sold to three sections of a real estate company by the name of Dream. The purchase includes the Artscape managed Hub, both the old and new rental towers along with the 26 artist live/work studios. According to an article in RENX.ca the company stated that, “Dream’s intention is to increase the number of affordable units provided on-site as per CMHC’s definition of affordable rent for the area.”.

Upcoming events

Toronto Police are hosting an online meeting to discuss bringing the FOCUS program to 12 Division. The FOCUS program (as I understand it) coordinates a group of social programs to respond to people at acute risk of crisis or anti-social behaviour.

The meeting will be August 26 at 6:30. You can register online.

The city will be presenting their findings on laneway suite applications at two sessions: one on August 31, and another on September 1.

This isn’t a presentation for solely Weston and Mount Dennis, but it is an idea that could change housing (a little) here. We have a number of laneways that could be used to build additional housing as planing rules change.

Map of laneways near us from the city.

Another, similar housing option—garden suites—took a small step forward in a committee meeting in late June.

There will be free print-making and story-telling workshops every Wednesday this fall at the Weston Common.

Farmers Market Opens for 2020

The 2020 Weston Farmers Market season got under way today in beautiful weather. As is normal for such season openers (usually in May), attendance seemed sparse and there was an added inconvenience for patrons to wait patiently until they were admitted into the market space.  The market, second oldest in the city, is in almost exactly the same place it occupied five years ago although narrower and today had fewer stalls.

For years, traders have insisted that the specially designed market area at the end of John Street was too small and wouldn’t withstand the weight of delivery vehicles. The B.I.A. saved the day with the solution to use the Toronto Parking Authority lot on the other side of the building.

For the last few years the market has used the highly visible UP Express and Weston Baptist Church parking lots. That option is off the table. Unfortunately, the location at the end of John Street is invisible to traffic passing along Weston Road and so it will be a challenge to lure fresh customers to the site. In addition, former anchor tenant and actual farmer, Joe Gaeta has moved elsewhere.

The entrance to the market on John street featuring new signs.

Patrons wait in line to be admitted.

The market cordoned off to allow for physical distancing.

Looking towards John Street, a panorama of the farmers market in almost the same location back in August 2015. Click to enlarge.

The much vaunted and intended home of the farmers market sits empty.

Because the market now occupies the parking spaces intended for use by people visiting the er, market, John Street was in effect one-way thanks to parked vehicles occupying the inbound lane. As patron numbers increase, parking will become a greater issue. Let’s hope that some of the kinks can be worked out quickly. Incidentally, Grandpa Ken’s was there today.

Extra credit: How the Weston Hub was financed here.

UrbanArts virtual show this Thursday

UrbanArts and Artscape Weston Common have been hosting “Run It Black” for the past few weeks, and this Thursday will be their third (of six) live showcases.

You can tune in at 6:00 on Facebook Live to see Mighloe, a Toronto R&B artist perform.

UrbanArts says the series came about to respond to current events:

 In response to anti-Black racism, Artscape Weston Common, in partnership with programming partner, UrbanArts, and non-profit organization, MANIFESTO, has launched the ‘Run It Black’ live showcase series to amplify voices of young black artists, celebrate the rich diverse culture in Weston and Greater Toronto Area, and provide paid and safe performance opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.