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A Calendar by students of The Lyceum

Building Queen West is a tribute to the entrepreneurial and community spirit of the Queen West community. Each of the businesses featured here were chosen by our students because of the way they connect with the idea of “where we are”. This is an important theme at the moment, given the challenges and barriers these growing people face in forging community right now. This work folds into their ongoing study of the geo-cultural history of Queen Street West. For the calendar project, they researched the location at the archives, illustrated the business and interviewed the proprietors.

A portion of the proceeds of this calendar will go to the Parkdale Food Bank, who provide barrier-free food that respects choice and dignity for all. Now more than ever, food banks are sites of short-term assistance and advocacy. Escalating food bank use, destabilization of employment and the rapid disappearance of supported housing pose a frightening view the future.

We greatly appreciate your help in supporting their services by purchasing a calendar. Get yours (and maybe one for a friend) for $20 at thelyceumgallery.com.

Support your local:

• Silver Snail 809 Queen W — Get your pulp and paper fix.
• Type Books 839 Queen W — Your local independent bookstore, way more droog than Amazon.
• Terroni 720 Queen W —  There are no substitutions for quality.
• Oyster Boy 872 Queen St W — Shucking only the pearls in the oysters.
• La Palette 492 Queen St W — Service with panache, for twenty years!
• Hooky’s 893 Queen W — Get hooked!
• Fresh 1 Market 614 Queen St W Vicky — Supplies the Lyceum’s food progamme with fresh produce every day.
• Edulis  169 Niagara Street — Creating inspired food that meditates on the details.
• Garrison’s Barber Shop 254 Niagara Street — Get your locks chopped in fine style!
• The Spice Trader 877 Queen St — Heady, exotic, aromatic delights to tantalise your palette.
• Nadege Patisserie Ltd. 780 Queen St W — A fourth-generation pastry chef from Lyon, Nadege ensures each creation is a work of art.

Queen Street West, a hub for small business and the arts in Toronto, is a storied street. This collection of photographic studies by Lyceum students detail the ways in which locations in our immediate environment have changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All around us, the new normal speaks to the spirit of Queen Street West: its responsiveness, ingenuity and its ability to flex and adapt with the times. Through grit and determination, this vibrant community has stuck together through the pandemic but as we face another lockdown, there is need for us to stay together: to buy local, support each other and lend a hand to those in need.

All proceeds from the sale of  this  calendar will go to the Parkdale Food Bank. Calendars cost $30 each and are available for purchase in our online shop. If you live in the Queen West neighbourhood, we will personally deliver your calendar. Otherwise, we can ship it for free. At the checkout, please selet “pickup at The Lyceum Gallery”.

Our Artist in Residence, Marina Dempster, nabs the cover of Blank Spaces magazine for a story on her internship at the Lyceum. Blank Spaces is a tremendous promoter of Canadian artists and has featured several who’ve shown at The Lyceum Gallery.  Buy your copy of Marina’s cover issue on their website. Yearly print and digital subscriptions are also available.

“Every day is a prize and a surprise; an opportunity to create, innovate, curate, and collaborate, ” says Marina Dempster,  The Lyceum Gallery’s Artist in Residence. Marina is a sculptural fibre artist, she was recently featured on artfully.ca. In her interview she discusses the genesis of her career as a fibre artist and her role here at the Lyceum, where she is an art mentor to the Lyceum students.