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THE SCENE ON QUEEN
One of the criticisms lobbed at the art world is that it often appears unapproachable. Aloof even. But a group of younger artists and entrepreneurs in toronto has decided to bring art to everyone. The plan appears to be working.

Text: JOYCE MASON

SINCE THE SEVENTIES, THE TORONTO ARTISTS' neighbourhood known as Queen West has shifted gradually westward from Spadina. Always known for its bars and boutiques, the area is now home to nearly three dozen storefront galleries - a concentration unparalleled in Canada. One association even officially promotes a "West Queen West Gallery District." But as photography dealer Stephen Bulger reminds us the neighbourhood is more than a gallery ghetto: "A lot of people here are making a living from their passion - be it photography, furniture or food." So the Queen West gallerists fit right in. In search of an audience and an income, these new, storefront retailers are successfully ad-libbing their way to both ends in record time.

Artist Katharine Mulherin is the perfect example of this passionate pragmatism. Her first gallery was a single mom's attempt at financial survival - she rented part of her space to fellow artists for exhibitions. Three years, two moves, a waitress gig and many galleries later, she makes a living from three art spaces between Ossington and Dovercourt: 1080 Bus and BusStop (which she rents to artists) and Katharine Mulherin Gallery (where she represents a mix of early- to mid-career artists). Mulherin exhibits her own artwork elsewhere, including Zsa Zsa. Andrew Harwood's Zsa Zsa is typical of the storefront galleries. Its smallish 11-by-16 gallery has a large bay window, making it perfect for 24/7 window shopping. Harwood does it "because it's fun and it helps cover the rent." Artists rent Zsa Zsa for two or four weeks, cover promotional expenses, sit the gallery and keep revenue from sales. Harwood helps install the art and hosts an opening reception.

Galleries like Harwood's and Mulherin's are willing to give artists their first shows, offering exposure without the bureaucracy of non-profit centres. Galleries and artists alike benefit from the fact that the area is already on the art map. Many artists, dealers and critics live in the district, which has been recognized as an art destination since the mid-1990s. Nearby, on King, the Ydessa Hendeles Foundation tops the to-see lists among art-savvy visitors to Toronto. Hendeles curates from a private collection that's like a who's who of the art world. A few doors west, the artist-run Art Metropole is world-renowned as a purveyor of artists' multiples - works in various media including books, CDs and prints. The storefront galleries have simply broadened the area's art spectrum.

Exhibiting publicly is vital for all artists. And although artists don't make a living from the rental galleries, most cover out-of-pocket costs and some do a little better. Of course, since the gallerists try to select artists whose work can sell, smallish paintings priced from $500 to $2,000 dominate the fledgling spaces. But even modest sales allow the galleries to continue and encourage artists to keep exploring ideas and developing their technique.

Few people will go out of their way to find the work of a single unknown artist so artists everywhere pool resources to mount group exhibitions. But, since collectors' confidence grows with familiarity, intermittent ventures do little to develop a market. Ongoing collective galleries, such as Guerilla Commercial in Fredericton, and temporary shows at familiar art addresses, like 372 or 460 Ste. Catherine W. in Montreal, have more potential.

Queen West works because of a convergence of realities. First, these fledgling galleries, often devoid of start-up capital, occupy relatively cheap street-level spaces. Then, condo development helped spawn new restaurants, bars, local designers and furniture shops, which in turn attracted outsiders looking for something beyond mass-market mall culture. And now, storefront galleries are making art accessible - physically and financially - to people, creating a new wave of first-time art-buyers.

Success breeds success. More established dealers like Vancouver's Monte Clark opened a new gallery here this fall and Toronto's Paul Petro moved his to the neighbourhood. The range of venues is now wide, increasing artists' options for exhibitions and audiences' opportunities for discovery. It's not all great art, but with so much on view, it's not hard to find something likable, something intriguing and something you want to take home.