“Jane At Home” At Urbanspace Gallery

In addition to Jane’s Walk on May 6-8,  2016, the Urbanspace Gallery at 401 Richmond is hosting an impressive exhibition entitled “Jane At Home”. The show, curated by Jim Jacobs and Caitlin Broms-Jacobs (Jane’s son and granddaughter, respectively), celebrates Jane Jacobs the person.

Jane At Home

“Jane At Home” displays Jacobs’ personal items, and provides an inside lookinto how she lived in her own home: from her bed to work desk to her huge collection of books and buttons to her camera to her trademark glasses.

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On hand for the duration of the show was Jim Jacobs and his wife, who were very gracious in answering questions and telling stories about Jane. I visited on May 4th – Jane’s birthday – and learned that Jane loved chocolate cake. It was also nice to learn about her work setup and process: typewriter, cigarette and ashtray…and garbage pale. If Jane didn’t like something she wrote, she would toss it in the bin, and maybe, just maybe, one could scour the trash and find a nugget of her discarded brilliance.

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This was stitched by Jane’s daughter-in-law for her birthday. 100 candles!

“Jane At Home” is on until Sunday, May 8, 2016 at the Urbanspace Gallery at 401 Richmond.

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“Wandering Wishing Well Acres!” Jane’s Walk

On May 6-8, 2016, Toronto will be hosting its tenth edition of Jane’s Walks. The festival features a large number of city-wide, free, citizen-led walking (and talking) tours, which aim to get people exploring their own (or others’) neighbourhoods, learn, tell stories, and connect with others.

Jane Jacobs was an untrained urban theorist from New York City and later Toronto who developed her ideas about cities through observing people. Jane’s Walks began in 2007 following Jane’s death in 2006 as a way for her friends and followers to honour her. This year would have been her 100th birthday.

JAne's Walk
Source: Jane’s Walk

I myself was first introduced to Jane Jacobs and her famed The Death and Life of Great American Cities in a third-year university class. I have also been taking in Jane’s Walks for the last 4 years. Last year, I summarized my experience.

This year, in addition to attending other leaders’ walks, I will be hosting one myself! My recent interest in the history and makeup of Scarborough communities near where I grew up has inspired me to adapt my Wishing Well Acres exploration into a Jane’s Walk!

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“Wandering Wishing Well Acres!” will run on May 8th at 11:00am. We will start in the middle of Wishing Well Woods at Pharmarcy & Sheppard and wind our way around the neighbourhood to unpack the layers and the stories of this early post-war subdivision (1955-6!).

 

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