An art-filled Toronto apartment honouring Black artists and Jamaican roots
Lisa chose an older downtown Toronto building and filled it with work by Black and local artists, her books, plants and family photos.
Lisa could have picked a sleek new condo. She chose an older building in downtown Toronto. The city is changing fast, and she wanted to live somewhere that hasn't. Big windows give her a clear view and plenty of sun.
She calls herself an intentional maximalist. Above her blue sofa, four black-and-white pieces form a tight gallery wall. One is a portrait of Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver by a Scarborough artist she knows. The facing wall gets the colour, with a bright painting of Toronto faces and landmarks. Most of the art is by Black, POC and Toronto artists. Several pieces came to her through her work in community arts.
Family runs through every room. Lisa's mother came to Toronto from Jamaica in the 1980s, and vintage travel posters of Jamaica greet you at the door. Her nightstand belonged to the midwife who delivered her. Old photos of her grandfather and great-grandmother hang in one corner. Her sister, a Jamaican folk artist, painted the piece in her bedroom.
A former English major, she keeps the spines of her books facing out. Her plants all have names. A print of Honest Ed's in the kitchen takes her back to Saturday mornings there as a kid.
