A unique, place-based video initiative that started in Stratford has made its way to other parts of Ontario, including two high-traffic areas of Toronto.
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Magic Windows, produced by Stratford’s Ballinran Entertainment and supported through Stageview TV, its streaming service dedicated to the performing arts, uses projection mapping technology to showcase music and arts that celebrates diversity and illuminates vacant storefront windows in busy commercial neighborhoods.
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There have been six installations so far, two of which are now running in Toronto – on Eglinton Avenue West at Keele Street and on Bloor Street West. The initiative was originally launched as a Lights On Stratford event by Destination Stratford and featured an ensemble from the Stratford Symphony Orchestra. The high visibility of the pilot project quickly caught the attention of communities across Ontario eager to replicate the success of Magic Windows on their own main streets.
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The project has enjoyed the support of many partners.
“Arts and culture plays an important role contributing to the vibrancy of local communities but is often hidden and overlooked,” Ballinran Entertainment president and Stageview founder J. Craig Thompson said. “What better way to re-energize vacant storefront windows than to blend visuals, light, music, stories and interactive elements to create attention grabbing campaigns that revitalize neighborhoods and communities and their connection to arts and culture.”
The Eglinton Avenue West project is located in Toronto’s Little Jamaica, near the intersection with Keele Street, and was developed as a response to the delays and disruptions caused by the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown light rail line. The windows feature the rhythmic drumming of Amadou Krienou and Djeli Sira combining West African and Jamaican musical traditions. The second installation at 388 Bloor St. West features a musical performance by Aniqa Dear.
“At a time when arts groups across Canada are struggling to regain their in-person audiences, Magic Windows provides an innovative, highly visual way to engage passers-by in local neighborhoods, instantly creating a connection with the arts,” said M. Vernon Freedlander, the president of Grace Street Media, which is a consultancy working with Stageview.TV on the development of its new platform.
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