Site 1: Crossing Paths with History
@ 440 Water Street (south east corner at Brock Street)
Artspace gallery location, 1974-77
The image here is of the long-gone building that hosted Artspace during its first years. It was the cover image of the Toronto publication of ArtMagazine issue 34 in 1977.
Underneath the title “ArtMagazine/34” is the text:
‘Featuring. From Rags to Riches. A Cross-Canada Look at Parallel Galleries.”
The magazine cover shows a red brick building with green and yellow paint and the sign “Artspace” and “40” in black paint. In front of the photo there are approximately 30 people, sitting and standing in front of the building, presumably artists, staff, family and friends of Artspace. All around the building and people is a cloudy blue sky. The image was designed by David Bierk.
Scroll down to read a story about the site written by Peg Town in the summer of 2024.
For as long as I have lived in Peterborough, The St. John’s Centre and its tenants have occupied 440 Water Street. Maybe you’ve lived here long enough to remember when a small two-story building was on this same corner. I read that it was once the Boy Scouts’ Hall and then from 1974 to ‘77, it was the first location of Artspace. That building is long gone, but the early years of Peterborough’s first artist-run centre are well documented in local archives and remembered by the people who made it happen 50 years ago.
Do you recognize anyone in the image above from the cover of ArtMagazine in 1977?Maybe you are in the photo! Over the years, I have met 10 of those people, and this summer I met 2 more members of the original Artspace collective. These encounters attest to the importance of being connected to the community and learning about its history/ies.
Standing on this corner, I wonder about the immeasurable number of encounters that did, do and will happen here. Looking north east to Victoria Park, I think of Winter when my friends and I tobogganed down that hill, and when we watched a performance of The Wailing, by local artist Laurel Paluck on a lovely day in Spring.
Who would remember when there was water in the fountain with its beautiful black stone turtles? Who would remember when those great maple trees were saplings? Who would remember when there was a Roma encampment there? Many of us remember 5 years ago when another encampment was in the park following the closure of a shelter for unhoused people.
For time immemorial, this has always been a place where people gather to find community.
Photo courtesy of Wayne Cardinalli
Pictured here is the old Artspace building with light brown bricks, green and yellow paint, and “Artspace” in red. Some colours are different from the ArtMagazine/34 image, this might be due to building modifications or editing done prior to the magazine’s publication. To the left is a “one way” sign, the road, and a snow covered park.
Shown here is St. John’s Centre at the corner of Water St. and Brock St. It is a multi-level retirement centre with red bricks and multiple rectangular windows.
This is where Artspace used to be located.
To the left you can see the same sign, road, and park pictured in the old Artspace photograph.
Reflective Question
Where do you place yourself in the history of this community?
Site 1: Crossing Paths with History
Site 2: Crossing Paths with Performance
Site 3: Crossing Paths with Community
Site 4: Crossing Paths with Nogojiwanong
Site 5: Crossing Paths with Gardeners
Site 6: Crossing Paths with Collaboration
Site 7: Crossing Paths with Diversity
Site 8: Crossing Paths with Climate Change
Site 9: Crossing Paths with Infrastructure
Site 10: Crossing Paths with Today and Tomorrow
