Closing Time

Art began at Liberty Tax in June, 2006 with the St. Clair Kick-It! Soccer Festival, during which we transformed the tax office into a gallery. Vincenzo Pietropaolo’s photos of the 1982 Italia World Cup victory celebrations on St. Clair brought back memories from neighbourhood participants, and a sense of our community history to everyone. 
That fall the tax office became a St. Clair ArtWalk venue. The exhibition Art@Liberty celebrated some quirky features of our neighbourhood, such as the topiary garden on Glenholme Ave and the tiniest house in the province. The exhibition included clay and plaster casts, photography, video, and edible cornbread manhole covers.
In February, 2007, in addition to the Liberty Tax office, the side space became our primary local exhibition venue. Since then Side Space has continuously mounted new shows featuring aspects of our community and city. We have explored local topography, residents, artists, built form and artifacts. We have examined our location on the escarpment, our relationship to Lake Ontario, the cafés of St. Clair and the street itself, the demise of a local diner, and many other subjects portrayed by a wide spectrum of outstanding local artists. 
Liberty Tax has always generously contributed its office space for art events and opening receptions, thanks to business owner Mr. Ron Horst.  Use of the side space itself was donated by former building owner Mr. Joe Lo Curto in support of improving the St. Clair W streetscape, and because, as he said, “I like art.” In the spirit of liberty, he placed no constraints on the exhibition space.  “Art is art – I like everything.”    Labour to turn the space into a gallery was donated by artists I brought together and curated because I too like art (but not everything.)

Since the beginning in 2006 every discussion of upcoming exhibitions included the proviso that all plans were contingent on conditions out of my hands.  Gradually over the years that apprehension receded – the gallery seemed to just continue going on, a fixture in our community. But tenant and owner benefactors move on, and so must we.  Although not unanticipated, it still comes as a surprise to have to say that the gallery will be gone before the end of October.
I want to thank our neighbourhood, rich with artists, inspiration and generous community spirit, which has kept this gallery going. 

Schuster Gindin
Founder and curator of SideSpace Gallery
October, 2011

Side Space Gallery is a venue for local art exhibition and performance which aims to connect and integrate art with life along St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The exhibition space is a large window gallery, and the art is viewable 24/7 from outside.

For more info click on Current Exhibitions in the menu.

Contact: Curatorsidespacegallery.com

Need a map to the gallery? Click here