Focus on Gerrard
A section of Gerrard Street in the east end of Toronto is known as the “Gerrard India Bazaar” or simply “Little India”. It owes much of its signature identity to Gian Naz, who rented a movie theatre on Gerrard Street in 1972 and began screening Bollywood films exclusively, the first theatre to do so in North America. It drew large crowds to the area and was followed by businesses that catered to the South Asian community: sari shops, a record store, jewelry stores and restaurants.
Businesses along this stretch of Gerrard have been predominantly South Asian for over forty years, but like many neighbourhoods in rapidly growing Toronto, things are changing. As gentrification continues to creep outwards from the city centre, non-Asian businesses and families are entering the area, and as a consequence, the cultural legacy of the neighborhood is at risk.
Undertaken in collaboration with the 6ix Clicks, “Focus on Gerrard” is a documentary exhibition portraying local businesses, institutions and residents, both old and new. Through portraits and interviews of business owners, workers, and residents, the people most impacted by these changes provide their impressions, while also documenting and celebrating their contributions to their neighborhood.
More broadly, this project addresses the challenges that many of Toronto’s neighbourhoods face as the city’s growth necessitates the welcome of new communities into its historic cultural enclaves. Maintaining community identities in the face of these changes is a challenge felt across many neighborhoods. “Focus on Gerrard” is a case study that can be easily translated to other neighborhoods in Toronto.
Exhibited Mar., 2017 at the Riverdale Gallery in the heart of Little India as part of the Myseum Intersections Festival, the project consisted of 33 large panels comprised of a portrait and interview text. The Focus on Gerrard image gallery contains the portraits and/or interviews I conducted. The entire exhibition can be viewed on the 6ix Clicks website.