Toronto: A Culture City

"Culture is at the centre of city-building in Toronto", proclaims the AGO on its website. An exhibition entitled "Culture City: New Toronto Buildings" (on now, through December) examines eleven architectural projects that demonstrate Toronto's "cultural critical mass". Scale models, maps and colour photographs of various architectural initiatives and transformations (the ROM, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, OCAD and the National Ballet School, to name a few) are included in the collection, intended as a spectacular display of Toronto's cultural innovation and prestige. The exhibit raises a few questions for consideration: is Toronto a world player on the culture scene? To what extent is the vibrancy of a city reflected in (or dependant on) its cultural institutions? What type of cultural (and national) identity is forged through these grandiose projects?