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MARCH 2011 | Acrylic on Canvas | 9″ x 12″ | View Larger »

This painting shows shoppers browsing the produce at Oxford Fruit at the corner of Nassau and Augusta in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood. The photo inspiration for this was taken late last summer, and I wish I could say that struggling with this sunny painting kept me warm through most of this miserable winter. It didn’t.

Unlike St. Lawrence Market, which consists of a trio of centrally managed public buildings, Kensington Market is an eclectic, gritty neighbourhood of small businesses. The area is located just west of Spadina Avenue between Dundas and College streets [map].

Over the past century Kensington has been transformed numerous times, often serving as the first stop for new immigrant communities. Until World War II the neighbourhood was primarily home to Jewish and Italian immigrants from Europe. As they moved uptown after the war, their businesses were taken over by new waves of arrivals from Portugal, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. During the Vietnam War the district became a gathering point for American draft dodgers and war resisters.

Evidence of all these communities remains today, and there has been fierce local resistance to gentrification attempts by corporations such as Nike and Starbucks. How long the counterculture vibe will last is unknown. Upscale businesses continue to nip at the perimeter even as hipster bars spring up in the core.

Kensington is my favourite place in Toronto to find authentic Mexican tacos, Latin American empanadas, Spanish tapas, stellar coffee, as well as produce and groceries that are hard to find elsewhere in the city. Where else could you eat at a Hungarian-Thai fusion restaurant, or smoke pot in a bring-your-own café called the Hot Box (subject to only occasional half-hearted police raids)? The chaotic vibe of the neighbourhood is unique to Toronto, especially in the summer when the market is crowded with an oddly inspiring mix of hippies, foodies, musicians, crack addicts and tourists.

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