Since graduating from the Master of Landscape Architecture program in 2011 with a specialization in Knowledge Media Design, Denise Pinto has piloted an impressive multi-disciplinary career, incorporating civic engagement into a diverse range of fields. These days, Pinto is applying the work she does locally — which includes advocating for safe, accessible, and stimulating pedestrian environments and encouraging people to explore their city on foot — to a global scale. As Global Director of Jane’s Walk, an annual international festival of citizen-led walking tours, she has been convening conversations within communities in cities around the world.

Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies student Josie Harrison (HBA 2017) met with Pinto in advance of this year’s Jane’s Walks (taking place May 1-3) to learn more about walking tours as a form of civic engagement, Jane Jacobs’ influence in the online virtual world in Second Life, and how her Master of Landscape Architecture degree helped prepare her for the work she does today.

Can you describe Jane’s Walk?
Jane’s Walk is a global project of citizen-led walking tours inspired by writer and activist, Jane Jacobs. On the first weekend of May, we host an annual festival which takes place in over 100 cities. Last year, in Toronto alone, over 150 walking tours were held over the course of three days!
The project isn’t an expert-led initiative — we encourage people of all ages and abilities to explore and discuss the places they live, work and play. Everybody has a perspective or experience that can offer real insight into making better, more inclusive cities. The walks are an incredible platform for civic dialogue because people don’t feel intimidated to attend and participate like they might at a town hall meeting. Walkers are encouraged to explore neighbourhoods in a way that means something to them, and in some cases that even creates an appetite for grassroots action.

What are your responsibilities as Global Director?
As the Global Director, my responsibilities are to think about the project’s broad impacts. For example, we’ve grown Jane’s Walk to include in-class education for high school students, workshops in priority neighbourhoods, and facilitated conversations between organizers across different continents. I manage our staff, and help build partnerships in Toronto, across Canada, and in the United States. My goal is to bring together the constellation of people who are part of the project and engage them in a discussion about what civic dialogue looks like in different places, and what the walks can teach us about shaping good cities.


A Jane's Walk weaves along Spadina to explore women's labour in the city. Walk led by Tanya Ferguson / Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts, 2014. Photo by Moe Laverty

Your past work experience has involved a diverse range of projects that incorporate various forms of civic engagement. What inspired your interest in this area?
I started with an interest in human-centered design research, and that interest has stayed with me. HCD focuses on human interactions, persuasions, and habits. It understands messy systems and contradictions and incentives. Urban landscapes are some of the most complex and messy systems, so making them legible and understandable at the community scale is vital. Figuring out how and why people engage with, invest in, and steward public spaces is an intensely interesting question.

How did your experience at the Daniels Faculty prepare you for the work that you do today?
One of our goals is to increase "urban literacy." Urban literacy is about understanding that the city is a made thing, it can be reworked and appropriated. My background in Landscape Architecture gave me a set of methods and technical skills to design and critique public spaces which is essential to the advocacy part of my job. I also think that toggling between a great many scales, from a human interaction right up to regional and watershed issues, requires a mental flexibility that is sorely needed to take on today’s civic challenges.

Although you haven’t pursued a traditional career as a landscape architect, you have remained well connected to the field as a regular contributor to Ground, the magazine of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. How do you see your relationship to the field and your future within it?
What landscape architecture was when it first became a professional body is very different from where we are now. I see myself as occupying an “edge space” that explores where the profession is going, what it intersects with, and how to make sense of the overlaps. We have just started to think about how an age of pervasive data affects our relationship with urban places. That brings up all sorts of questions about how our experience with urban landscapes is mediated, amplified or enabled by our devices. Jane’s Walk deals with stewarding a global face-to-face movement through a website, so it looks to technology as an ally. Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to think about the world in terms of these kinds of spatial and social relationships.

That reminds me, I noticed that there’s going to be a digital Jane’s Walk this year.
It’s true! Vanessa Blaylock, an artist with a virtual-reality-based practice and an interest in walking, has signed on to organize a ‘walk’ in Second Life. Inspired by Jane Jacobs, she and her colleagues see the critique of car-centric culture paralleled in this massive virtual world, which has taken on a culture of its own. In Second Life, users are able to fly and teleport as a method of travel. Flying and teleporting, Baylock noticed, is the equivalent of driving — it’s detrimental to the community and social fabric in Second Life. They were moved by the idea that if we seal ourselves off from the world and the city’s streets (as we often do when driving), then we can’t observe, relate to, and engage deeply with the wonderful diversity of things around us. She and others launched a project called Pedestrian Access, which includes “no-fly, no-teleport” zones. In these zones, Second Life users have to walk around so that they will come across and interact with the stuff they would miss if they were simply going from point A to point B through flight or teleportation.

I’m excited that this walk will be happening. It’s a novel context. It is the kind of mental flexing that I think we should encourage — a cross-pollination between two concepts that are not obviously similar. What can we learn from melding ideas like this?


Walkers ascend the staircase to Mabelle Park in Etobicoke to talk about "idea gardening." Walk led by Leah Houston / MabelleArts, 2013. Photo by Jeremy Kai.

When I was doing the research for this interview, I thought, “If I led a Walk, what would I discuss?” — and I realized that I had no idea. Do you know of any good brainstorming strategies?
This is a big, big question for us. One approach is to start using some of the existing tours given by citizen walk leaders in other places as story templates.

We also have tools that people can use to jump start the process. We take an asset-based community development approach (ABCD) to our workshops, which we host in libraries and community centres to draw in a wide audience. ABCD is about taking an inventory of all the things that are of value to a person in the places around them. We ask questions like “What spaces do you feel safe to walk around in? What’s one neighbourhood you go to often and why? What’s something that happened to you near where you live?” These prompts can become fodder for a really good tour.

The other thing you can do is to go for a walk with a friend. That’s often a really great way of sussing out topics that might come up in conversation. To capture the ideas that come up while you wander, we’re introducing an Instagram plugin so that people can walk around, take photos, tag them onto a map, and think about whether there’s a narrative arc that they can turn into a story.

The very last thing is a series of video tips for walk leaders, which you can access once you register on janeswalk.org. One of the videos discusses how to create dialogue by inviting responses and stories from people in the crowd. I went on a great walk that did this. The walk leader got to one of the stops, and said, “You know, I don’t know anything about this space,” and then passed the mic off. It was truly a conversation because everybody was able to share something.

That moment when you learn about how varied and storied the places around you are, and that you only have one slice of the experience, that’s what’s so special and wonderful. I haven’t yet found a project outside of Jane’s Walk that gets at community engagement in quite that way.

For more information on Jane’s Walk, visit janeswalk.org

Related:

• 11 Jane's Walks being led by Daniels Faculty alumni, faculty, and students this weekend in Toronto

A new Visual Studies faculty member, a new Visual Studies student, and a recent graduate of the Daniels Faculty’s Master of Visual Studies program received awards from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) earlier this month.

The OAAG Awards are annual, province-wide, juried art gallery awards of artistic merit and excellence. They recognize the new exhibitions, publications, programs and community partnerships that have been commissioned by and produced by Ontario’s public art galleries over the previous year.

Assistant Professor Charles Stankievech — an acclaimed artist, author, and curator working in the fields of architecture, landscape, and cultural geography who joined the faculty this year — was honoured with two awards: one for the exhibition CounterIntelligence (Themetic Exhibition of the Year: Budget over $20,000), another for a major essay written for the same exhibition (Curatorial writing award).

CounterIntellegence was organized by Barbara Fischer, Executive Director/Chief Curator of the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, where the exhibition was held, and the University of Toronto Art Centre. Fisher is also a Senior Lecturer and the Director of the Master of Visual Studies program in Curatorial Studies.

The exhibition included film screenings and a project by Stankievech that contemplated “the intersection of art and military intelligence communities.” It ran at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery from January 23 - March 16.

MVS curatorial studies student cheyanne turions (pictured above), whose curatorial projects have been presented at galleries in Toronto and Vancouver, received the inaugural award for Innovation in a collections-based exhibition for Other Electricities: Works from the AGW Collection for the Art Gallery of Windsor.

“This exhibition presented a rigorous and considered pairing and contrast of modern and contemporary artworks from a range of mediums found in the Art Gallery of Windsor’s permanent collection,” read the jury notes, which tureens posted on her website. “The sensitive juxtaposition and exploration of relationships between colonial and Indigenous cultures effectively brought to light issues of sovereignty and the strategies of cultural decolonization. This entire exhibition was further enhanced by the strong curatorial essay presented in the on-line publication which will provide a lasting legacy of this provocative collections-based exhibition.”

John G. Hampton (pictured above), who recently graduated from the Daniels Faculty’s MVS Curatorial Studies program, received an OAAG award for his exhibition Coming to Terms (Thematic Exhibition of the Year: Budget under $20,000). The exhibition was produced in collaboration with the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, and was financially supported by the Jackman Humanities Institute, as part of the Instututes 2013-2014 Program for the Arts on the theme of Translation. The show brought together the work of “seven international international interdisciplinary artists working within the intersection of translation studies and artistic practice.

For more information on the OAAG awards, visit: http://oaag.org/awards/2014winners.html

From September 2 - October 19, 2014, the Why Can't Minimal Exhibition was on display at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery. The exhibition was curated by Daniels Alumnus John G. Hampton as part of the requirements of the Master of Visual Studies—Curatorial Studies program at the University of Toronto.

Why Can’t Minimal addresses the humorous side of minimal art by embracing its humanity and latent absurdity. The exhibition rejects the assumption that minimal art requires solemn, unmoving contemplation, and instead embraces the more intuitive, jovial, and personal pleasures that occur when one has fun with the comically utopian ambitions of unitary forms. Playing with the forms, traditions and incongruities of multiple minimalisms, the presented works elude rational thought, repositioning conceptual value away from cognitive labour, towards the instinctual recognition offered through levity, play, humour and sentiment.

With works by Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins, John Baldessari, John Boyle-Singfield, John Marriott, John Wood & Paul Harrison, Jon Sasaki, Ken Nicol, Liza Eurich, and Tammi Campbell.

When it came time to choose a topic for her final thesis, Master of Architecture student Tings Chak (MArch 2014) was interested in combining her architectural skills and knowledge with her political organizing work. The result was an investigation into migrant detention centres in Canada — “the fastest growing incarceration sector in an already booming prison construction industry.” Chak transformed her research into a graphic novel that documents the intimate experiences of detainees and the impact of the architecture in which they are forced to reside.

In fall 2014, Chak’s work was on display in the Daniels Faculty’s Eric Arthur Gallery as part of the exhibition Tactical Resilience. The show also featured an exhibit by Elisa Silva entitled “Pure Space: Public Space Transformations in Latin American Slums.” Both projects look closely at the political and material economies of space that permeate public and institutional settings occupied by some of North and South America’s most marginalized individuals.

Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies student Josie Northern Harrison (BA 2017) asked Chak about her work with the organization No One Is Illegal - Toronto, how it influenced her thesis, and her book Undocumented: The Architecture of Migrant Detention.

No One Is Illegal heavily influenced your thesis and professional work. Could you describe the work that they do?
No One Is Illegal is a grassroots, all-volunteer organization made up of migrants and allies. We lean heavily to the left and have a very critical analysis of the immigration system. Our broad work challenges detentions and deportations, supports Indigenous sovereignty struggles, and works with people who are undocumented to make sure that they can access essential services. Last September, 191 immigration detainees staged a mass hunger strike (which is featured in the book), but it sparked a larger effort for those of us on the outside to work in solidarity with people leading the resistance and to build a campaign around ending immigration detention.

How did you get involved with No One Is Illegal?
I got involved just after my first year of doing the Masters of Architecture program here at the Daniels Faculty. The first year of architecture school was extremely challenging. What I found the hardest was the isolation from communities and the political work that is really important to me. I was constantly searching for a more critical, political analysis of architecture and the built environment beyond form and aesthetic. I have also always been interested in themes of migration, displacement, and colonization, so for these reasons I joined the organization. It definitely made life strained at times — It's very hard to do any type of organizing as a student because of the intense culture of architecture school, but I felt like I needed it, in a way, to keep me going.

I should mention Scapegoat, which is a journal about architecture, landscape, and the political economy founded by a number of people who have been associated with the Daniels Faculty. It's great! I would highly recommend this to students who are also struggling with these political questions.

How did your experience with No One Is Illegal influence your thesis?
My education and my political work felt like two opposing worlds. I had a hard time bringing my work for No One is Illegal into my life as an architecture student. When it was time to do my thesis, when we could really explore our own interests, I started thinking about where architecture intersects with migration. I was looking at things like border infrastructure, ports of entry and airports, and that led me to consider migrant detention centres, which are the fastest growing incarceration sector in North America’s prison system. I started looking into why architects’ designs of these centres and prisons were not talked about, and why they are not featured in our design magazines even though architects are given huge commissions to design them. These investigations informed my thesis work and the book. Halfway through my thesis research, the migrant detainees in Lindsay began their strike, which made it feel urgent and necessary to feature their experiences and courageous actions.

Could you explain your decision to present your research in the form of a hand-drawn graphic novel?
Using hand drawings was not just an aesthetic decision. A lot of what I’m talking about is about paper, of having papers as a proof of personhood and the fragility of paper. Having certain documents can determine a lot of things in our lives. For a migrant, it can determine your freedom, what rights or services you have access to, and what protections you might have. Hand drawing the book helped emphasize that arbitrariness and fragility. Also hand drawings helped emphasise the role of architectural representation, and how the act of drawing and revealing can be a political practice.

You launched your graphic novel in September. What happened to your mother on the night of the launch?
Someone at the launch went up to my mom and said, “Oh, this is a book launch, are you supposed to be here?” This question — even if it’s said in the nicest tone — is clearly just saying: “You don’t belong here.”

For me, it was important to make a small statement on Facebook afterwards to acknowledge that we have a lot to work to do in terms of creating welcoming spaces. It’s very easy to say, “It's a public space. It’s a free space. It’s inclusive.” But we are constantly excluding people, and here in academia, as well as in artist or activist spaces, we have to be conscious about those levels of exclusion and what "publics" we serve.

It’s interesting that my parents reacted differently, whether to be offended or to brush it off. People learn different ways of dealing with these common subtle forms of racism.

In your work, there seems to be a conflict between your desire to become a designer of spaces that affect people’s identity and your determination to shine a light on the way that spaces can oppress people’s identity. Have you found a way to resolve this conflict in your professional practice?
Most of the people I’ve befriended who remain in the architectural discipline are people who teach and are not practitioners. I don't think that's a coincidence! I think people who are politically minded tend choose a path that’s not around practice because there are a lot of the real problems associated with it. But that’s not to say that I’m ruling it out. There are design practices that try to complement research-based work, though, in a time of global austerity, this work tends to involve small-scale interventions rather than large permanent projects.

Occasionally, I do see amazing projects that enhance community life in a real way and further social movements. I often wonder though: are those involved in this work just independently wealthy, or do they rely on having a permanent paid gig that allows them to do something collaborative on the side?

But these are important questions to think about, like: What is the role of service in architecture? Is this a public service? If so, who is it accountable to and who gets to access it?

How does it feel to come back to the Daniels Faculty as a recent graduate?
The fact that the Daniels Faculty is showing support for my work and exhibiting it is not just great on a personal level; it’s great because the Faculty is engaging challenging political questions. It's also exciting to see new political projects emerge like speaker-series being organized by students [Editor's note: more on this to come!]. There is obviously a need for this type of work, and people are organizing to make it happen.

The exhibition Tactical Resilience runs until November 28th in the Eric Arthur Gallery.

Now magazine recently profiled recent Master of Visual Studies graduate John G. Hampton for its monthly education and career training feature "Class Action." Hampton is the programming director at Trinity Square Video, a not-for-profit centre that provides video production and post-production support for artists and community organizations at accessible rates, as well as community workshops, exhibitions and screenings.

Hampton received his undergraduate degree in visual art at the University of Regina and a diploma in 3D animation and game design from the New Media Campus in Regina. At the time of the interview with Now, his was in his last few weeks of visual and curatorial studies at the Daniels Faculty.

Says Hampton:

The program divides the curriculum between curatorial studies and studio art. I entered it primarily because I was trying to decide which career to pursue and thought it would give me an education that worked with both.

Curator is a strange profession. This program is as close to a professional degree as you can get for curatorial practice. It’s somewhat similar to doing an MFA for an artist. There are opportunities for students to curate exhibitions as they’re going along. Last year I curated a screening of undergrad video work for an annual exchange with an institute in Stuttgart, Germany.

…

The program helps with the intellectual aspects of being a curator. A big part of the job is framing contemporary artwork through writing and how you speak about it. The university is well suited to train you for that. Access to the various departments at the University of Toronto – the program is interdisciplinary – means you can seek out the types of advisers you need. I’m taking classes in the philosophy department and in museum studies to gain administrative-type skills.

For the full article, visit Now’s website.

The Toronto Star wrote an article on Toronto's 99th library, which is now under construction and set to open in November. Near the historic Fort York to the east of the Bathurst Street bridge, the modern building was designed by University of Toronto Alumna Shirley Blumberg of the award winning Toronto firm KPMB.

"It’s an elegant glass pavilion that will glow like a welcoming lantern at night," says Star writer Leslie Scrivener. "It’s such a presence that the neighbourhood of condominium towers and community housing has been named by the developer, Context, in its honour: the Library District."

Scrivener speaks to Blumberg about the odd angles and trapezoid shape of the building as well as the architect's approach to designing a library on such a historic site.

When it’s finished, the building will have perforated vertical fins that will hold illustrations by artist Charles Pachter. They are taken from a book, The Journals of Susanna Moodie, a collaboration of Margaret Atwood’s poetry and his drawings. (Moodie was a 19th century settler whose book Roughing it in the Bush is a lively account of pioneer struggles.) Sections of Atwood’s poetry will be used on the exterior, too.

The Toronto Public Library’s 100th branch, designed by LGA Architectural Partners (formerly Levitt Goodman) with Philip H. Carter, Architect will open in Scarborough in 2014.

For the full article visit the Toronto Star.

Architecture Canada | RAIC has announced Taymoore Balbaa, MRAIC, as the first recipient of its Young Architect Award.

The Young Architect Award recognizes an architect under the age of 35 for excellence in design, leadership and/or service to the profession. It is intended that this award will inspire other young architects to become licensed and to strive for excellence in their work.

For more information, see: RAIC