Surrounding the construction site of the property formally known as 48 Abell St is an installation by Artist Corwyn Lund entitled “Word Count”
Demolished in winter 2012, this former three-story warehouse had served for decades as studios and unsanctioned affordable housing for artists, its redevelopment is supposed to mark a new era in live/work spaces for Toronto artists, given what is occurring at Phase 1 of this project it’s doubtful the vision for the future will match the reality.
The exhibit was supposed to have run April 25th to June 30, a few short days after it’s installation piece of the hoarding containing sections of this project were removed to make way for construction, but there’s a beauty in that because it speaks to the reality of the fate of artists in this once thriving artistic community.
There’s a section on the south-side wall that speaks with great optimism and gratefulness for his new home at 180 Sudbury St with a nod toward Section 37 agreements that made it all possible. It’s unfortunate the same agreement that made live/work units possible and provided a home was not fully realized as workshop space in the building has not been provided, leaving the potential for a thriving artist community at 180 Sudbury just out of grasp.
The full text full text of Word Count is available here.
Related articles
- Excerpts from the Section 37 Agreement – 180 Sudbury St (section37.org)
- Install (mikolajkozak.com)
Section 37 