April 2022 Walk

By James Rayner

This month we took a break from water-centric walks and enjoyed some outdoor art.  The “Crossings” exhibit has been seen in London, New York City, and Washington, D.C., among other sites.  This year it was Toronto’s turn to host this interpretation of the Stations of the Cross, the events on Good Friday that led to Jesus’s crucifixion.  The works consist of collages, posters, sculptures and stained glass, which shows the variety found in these installations.

On the way to the beginning of the exhibit, centered on the U of T campus, we passed other examples of outdoor art.  The area between Ossington station and Spadina is full of gorgeous examples of graffiti.  These are not the annoying scrawl of small adolescent minds, but rather, beautiful works of art that deserve praise.  Let’s start with the row of garages behind Montrose Ave., south of Bloor, fronting on Bickford Park.

Walking east along Harbord St., there are more examples of this “street art”, including a chic restaurant.

Arriving at the corner of Harbord and Spadina, turn south for a few steps and end up in from of Knox Presbyterian Church where the Crossings exhibition begins.  The first item is the Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, then at the Newman Centre, at St. George St., in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Continue east on Hoskin Ave. to Trinity College and across the road to Wylcliffe College for Judas betrays Jesus and Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin.

The next station, Peter denies Jesus, was difficult to access as it was at Knox College on St. George St. but the front campus is all torn up because of the UofT Landmark Project.  However, we made it through the detours.

After Knox College we headed back east through Queen’s Park to the Toronto School of Theology on Wellesley St.  The rest of the exhibits were centred on the campus of St. Michael’s College along St. Joseph St. and in front of St. Basil’s church, the last being the group’s favourite, a sculpture of Jesus carrying a cross encased in a crystal.  The rest of the Stations are found around Yonge and St. Clair but we didn’t have time to go there on the same day.

I have to end here because of space restraints, but everyone enjoyed the art, even if sometimes from a secular point of view.  The group ended the walk by having lunch at the Firkin pub on Bloor St., on the south side – just east of Yonge.