Toronto designates Bloor Street West, Bathurst to Bay, a Cultural Corridor

TORONTO, October 6, 2016 - The Bloor St. Culture Corridor is thrilled to announce that the City of Toronto has designated Bloor St. West, between Bathurst and Bay streets, a City of Toronto cultural corridor.

  

City Councillor Joe Cressy said, "Culture is at the very heart of this corridor. Within the neighbourhood, arts and culture have always been there, and the Bloor St. Culture Corridor has put a stamp on it. This is tremendous for the city, it's tremendous for the organizations who have long given life and vibrancy to the corridor, and for our residents as well. This is an arts district for the whole City of Toronto." 

Councillor Michael Thompson, Chair of the City of Toronto Economic Development and Culture Committee, said, "Recognition of this area as a cultural corridor will enhance the neighbourhood's 'brand' and have a significant impact on its economic, as well as cultural, development. As the corridor evolves and flourishes, its success will strengthen the arts and culture sector across the entire city." 

The Bloor St. Culture Corridor, created by the arts and culture organizations along Bloor St. West and launched in 2014, is a creative cluster where arts and culture organizations are working in partnership to increase culture sector collaboration and to promote the area as a cultural destination - an arts district - for Torontonians and tourists. The Bloor St. Culture Corridor is multi-organizational, multi-disciplinary, and multi-cultural. It is Toronto's most diverse arts and culture district.

All of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor organizations present arts and cultural events for the public year-round in destination venues located along a vibrant stretch of Bloor Street West. People can enjoy a wide variety of arts genres, including museum and art exhibitions, music concerts, films, theatre, arts classes, and culture talks, and opportunities to experience some of Toronto's cultural diversity, including French, Jewish, Italian, Japanese, Estonian, and Aboriginal arts and culture. Hundreds of arts and culture events take place on the Bloor St. Culture Corridor every month.

The Bloor St. Culture Corridor welcomes more than three million people to its organizations each year, employs more than 5500 people, and generates more than $629,000,000 in economic impact every year.

The Bloor St. Culture Corridor includes: 

• 918 Bathurst Centre
• Alliance Française de Toronto
• Bata Shoe Museum
• Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema
• Gardiner Museum
• Istituto Italiano di Cultura
• The Japan Foundation
• Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre
• Museum of Estonians Abroad
• Native Canadian Centre of Toronto
• The Randolph Centre for the Arts
• Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
• Soundstreams
• The Royal Conservatory of Music / Koerner Hall
• Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
• Talisker Players
• The Toronto Consort
• Toronto Reference Library
• University of Toronto Faculty of Music

The Bloor St. Culture Corridor submitted a request to the City of Toronto asking for official designation of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor as a City of Toronto cultural corridor. The City of Toronto created a Staff Report recommending the designation of Bloor St. West, Bathurst to Bay, as one of Toronto's cultural corridors. The Staff Report went to the Economic Development and Culture Committee, where, on Monday, September 19,  it was unanimously approved. It then went to City Council, where it was adopted into effect. The Bloor St. Culture Corridor will continue to function independently as a consortium, and will collaborate with the City of Toronto.

"Our hope is that this recognition of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor will provide visibility as one of the city's designated cultural corridors, and the ability to work with the City of Toronto on initiatives such as culture sector development, positioning and promoting the City of Toronto as a cultural destination, the City's Music Strategy, and city planning. We look forward to collaborating with the City, other cultural corridors and consortiums in Toronto and around the world, and to continuing to develop the Bloor St. Culture Corridor as a hub of arts and culture events," said Heather Kelly, who gathered the arts organizations in the area to create the Bloor St. Culture Corridor. 

"The Bloor St. Culture Corridor looks forward to working together with the City of Toronto to continue to develop our city as a vibrant, innovative, creative and cultural city." 

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