It's not just the physical appearance of a building, but its uses and its stories that tell its history and reflect its impact on the community.
"Sometimes buildings help shape a community as well as vice-versa," said Phil Anderson, director of Gallery 1313 in Parkdale. "The different uses of the building, as well as the history the building has, can play a part."
The latest exhibit at Gallery 1313 plays off that concept. Architecture of Community features new work by emerging Canadian artists on the topic of transformational approaches to architectural spaces and their impact on community.
The show is currated by Anderson and Elizabeth Underhill, the current chair of the Gallery 1313 board.
The exhibit came about partly as a result of the unique location of Gallery 1313, in a building that has a rich history of serving the community, at 1313 Queen St. W.
The iconic brick building was built in 1931 as a police station (Division 6), Anderson explained. There was a horse stable in the back, and where the gallery is currently located, were the holding cells for prisoners.
In the 1960s, when the 6th Division was split into 11 and 14 divisions, the building served as emergency housing for the City of Toronto for more than 10 years. It then sat vacant for a number of years.
"They used the building a lot then for film shoots, like RoboCop, the series," Anderson said. "There is great footage I have seen of the front door of the building being strafed by machine gun bullets."
A number of music videos by well known artists were also shot at 1313 Queen St. W.
"At that time the Parkdale Village BIA, which had been supporting the Parkdale Village Arts Collective, was investigating the building and turning it into an arts complex," Anderson said. "They saw great potential for the building as something that would revitalize the neighbourhood."
It was turned over to Artscape - a not-for-profit, urban development organization that revitalizes buildings, neighbourhoods, and cities through the arts - to manage for 20 years in 1997.
"We had a lot of meetings to try to come to some ideas about what the space would become," Anderson said. "Artscape wanted to make sure there were a number of live/work spaces in it because they were going to be the manager of the property."
Toronto Mayor David Miller, then a Metro councillor, was instrumental in getting the Metro-owned building turned over to be managed by Artscape. This represented a turning point for Artscape in managing mixed use buildings.
Today the building has many tenants and functions as an important part of the community. A community board, called the Parkdale Arts and Culture Centre Community Board, manages all the space that is not Artscape live/work studios.
Also housed in the building is the BIA and the Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation. The old shooting range in the basement is used for storage and then there is the gallery.
"My argument for the gallery was that meant the building was accessible to the general public," Anderson said. "We have had so many different shows and exhibitions over the years... it has really been a great place."
The exhibit, Architecture of Community, features new work by artists Paul Aloisi, Taliya Cohen, Alisdair MacRae and Jaclyn Meloche.
In the Window Box space is a neon installation by Derek Liddington, entitled The Warriors Exhibit. In the Process Gallery is new media work by Zeesy Powers, sent from Berlin, while the Cell Gallery features paintings by Pat Rice and Kurt Rostek.
Related to the exhibit and the idea of architecture of community, there is an artist talk on Jan. 9 at 2 p.m., a panel discussion planned for Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., and a storytelling project on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m.
Gallery 1313, at 1313 Queen St. W., is open Wednesday to Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m. Architecture of Community runs until Jan. 24.