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Constructing contemporary artistic identities in Toronto neighbourhoods
Author(s) -
Bain Alison L.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
canadian geographer / le géographe canadien
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.35
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1541-0064
pISSN - 0008-3658
DOI - 10.1111/1541-0064.00024
Subject(s) - sustenance , downtown , neighbourhood (mathematics) , sociology , identity (music) , aesthetics , improvisation , space (punctuation) , place identity , state (computer science) , visual arts , media studies , geography , art , urban planning , political science , archaeology , law , civil engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , linguistics , philosophy , engineering , algorithm , computer science
This paper examines the role of the neighbourhood in the construction of artistic identities. Drawing upon in‐depth, semistructured interviews with Canadian visual artists from Toronto, I identify some of the common features of downtown Toronto neighbourhoods where artists congregate. I demonstrate that artists are drawn to neighbourhoods that have not been gentrified and do not directly reflect current dominant values in society. I focus, in particular, on the importance of marginal niches of improvisational space within the urban fabric. Marginal spaces, often neglected and overlooked, weakly classified and in a state of becoming, I argue, are essential to the development and sustenance of an artistic identity .