We are a multi-use space in Toronto’s Roncesvalles Village offering lectures, workshops, art exhibits and courses for kids and adults in photography, video and other arts.

Our New Project: Collecting Seniors' Stories

Mapping our Memories

We’re embarking on an ambitious new project at Back Lane called Mapping our Memories, and we would love you to join us. Our plan: Collect seniors’ memories and link them to digital maps. This Mapping our Memories project was inspired by our friend Lois Broad, 97, and her stories about Growing up in the Junction. As part of this project, we have scheduled a new six-week video-making workshop for this fall, Wednesdays, starting Oct. 23, 1:00-3:00 pm at Humbercrest United Church. We’re hoping participants will help us add to the stories we are mapping. More details here. This program is supported by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP).

An Extraordinary Woman: The Thriller Writer!

You’ve probably seen or heard about the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley or Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. But do  you much about the woman who created those chilling sociopathic characters? Join us for our next Extraordinary Woman event at the Revue Cinema, Sunday, Nov. 17, at 12:30 pm and learn about writer Patricia Highsmith. Born in 1921 and a lesbian, she was forced  to lead a double life, hiding her love affairs from family and public. We are screening the 2022 documentary Loving Highsmith, with guest speaker Janice Kulyk Keefer, author, detective fiction fan and former  literature professor.  Watch the trailer! Buy tickets through the Revue website. Tickets: $16, general; $13 students and seniors. 

 

 

Exhibit: A Unique Perspective!

How often do you go to an art exhibit and are given a puzzle to solve? That’s what Gwen Zezulka has done with her show of photographs. Your challenge: Guess what real-life objects she has zeroed in on to find the remarkable images she has on display at Back Lane Studios.  How about a detail from a muffin mix, or petals and oil floating on water pooling at a storm water drain? There’s beauty and texture there — and Gwen has found it. Her exhibit of photographs continues photos at Back Lane Studios until Sunday, Nov. 17. She will be at the studio on weekends, Fridays 6:00-10:00 pm and Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 am-4:00 pm. Drop by and play the guessing game!!

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Going to the Runnymede Theatre was a thrill for kids in the 1930s and '40s. Lois Broad, now 95, remembers. Click on the photo to watch her story!


Going to the Runnymede Theatre was a thrill for kids in the 1930s and '40s. Lois Broad, now 95, remembers. Click on the photo to watch her story!


Going to the Runnymede Theatre was a thrill for kids in the 1930s and '40s. Lois Broad, now 95, remembers. Click on the photo to watch her story!

Other Events and Projects

Extraordinary Women: Thanks to our Jackie Shane panel

We were thrilled to have film director Lukah Rosenberg-Lee, musicologist Rob Bowman and trans activist Susan Gapka join us at the Revue Cinema for a discussion after the screening of Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story. The documentary, an NFB and Banger Films co-production, told the story of the trans black singer who became a popular attraction at clubs in Toronto during the 1960s and early ’70s.  The film was a moving portrayal of Jackie; the panel added more to the story. Thank you!

 

Mapping our Memories: Video-making class

We are well into another video-making program at Humbercrest United Church. We are using smartphones to record interviews and will be using iMovie or Clipchamp (for PCs) for editing. Thanks to the church’s administrator Chris Higgins for arranging for us to meet in the church; local realtors Katherine Stevens and Robin McDonald for supplying some delicious treats; and videographer Cheryl Rondeau, our instructor (who took the photo!). The goal is to create short videos 2-3 minutes in length for our Mapping our Memories project — and for all of the participants to learn video-making skills. The workshops are supported by funding from the Government of Canada’ New Horizons for Seniors’ Program (NHSP).

Workshops: Intermediate smartphone photo workshop

Our instructor Diana Nazareth if back in town early in December. We’ve tentatively scheduled another smartphone workshop with her for Sunday, Dec. 8, from 10:30pm to 12:30pm. This will be an intermediate-level program for people who have attended earlier classes with her or for others who are already familiar and comfortable with their phone cameras. Interested? Please email us to reserve a place. The fee: $35.

 

Our Publication: Food and memories

This Back Lane Studios’ book, compiled during Covid lockdowns, is a collection of recipes and stories about seniors’ favourite childhood foods illustrated with wonderful family photos. We are grateful to everyone who contributed. Not only does it offer some classic comfort food dishes, but it also offers some fascinating glimpses of history. It would make a great gift! To order, please email us: info@backlanestudios.ca. The book is $20, plus $8 to mail if we can’t deliver in person!  Meanwhile, read several food stories here, and watch some video versions!

Mapping archival photos: Time travel with OldTO.org

 

elcome to OldTO. It’s an interactive map featuring a wealth of digitized historic photos from the City of Toronto Archives.

Are you interested in what your neighbourhood might have looked like? Do you want to revisit downtown before all of the condos went up? Have a look at the map and see. There are thousands of images, some dating back to 1856.

The map was originally created by Sidewalk Labs, the Google affiliate that was planning a downtown development in Toronto’s Portlands. Sidewalk abandoned its project in 2020 and eventually stopped hosting OldTO.org. However, they kindly left the source code freely available.

At Back Lane Studios, we were sad to see OldTO.org vanish. One of our main projects is our Mapping our Memories endeavour. This photo map parallels this interest, and we are thrilled to be able to restore it.

We will be forever grateful to software developer Michael Lenaghan for his terrific work bringing this mapping tool back to life! (Check the browser you use to access oldto.org. Try Chrome if you’re having problems.)

 

 

In the Studio: Film Club Nov. 3, 2:00 pm

To mark Remembrance Day, we chose this moving film set in 1938 fascist Italy and starring these two luminous stars, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, in unexpected roles.  The New York Times called their performances in this 1977 production “an acting tour de force”: “their brief encounter lights up the screen with the kind of radiance you get only from great movie actors who also are great stars.” The film takes place on the day of Hitler’s state visit to Rome. One can’t help but cringe at the fascist environment and the parallels we see today.  If you haven’t seen it, look for it (there are copies at the library, as well as online sources). It deserves to be seen! Watch the trailer here.

Our next Film Club meeting is Sunday, Dec. 1, 2:00 to 4:00 pm.  

 

 

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