Art Gallery of Hamilton, rooftopHamilton Conservatory for the Arts Building, James Street South
Growth in the arts and culture sector has garnered high level media attention for Hamilton.[citation needed] A Globe and Mail article in 2006, entitled "Go West, Young Artist," focused on the growing art scene in Hamilton. The second Friday of every month brings the James North Art Crawl where residents and visitors stroll the area's lively sidewalks, savouring the diverse flavours of local artists and nearby cafes and restaurants. James Street is one of Hamilton's most historic neighbourhoods.[3] The Factory Media Centre[4] opened up a new home on James Street North in 2006. Hamilton Artists Inc., founded in 1975, is also located in the downtown core on the corner of James St. N. and Cannon St. and is one of the oldest artist-run centres in Canada. The collective has a membership of over 250 artists from around the area, and recently featured the work of Attila Richard Lukacs. Art galleries are springing up on many streets across the City[when?]: James Street, King William Street, Locke Street and King Street, to name a few. This, coupled with growth in the Downtown condo market set to draw people back to the Core, is having a strong, positive impact on the cultural fabric of the city. Steve Balaban CFA initiated its largest rollup of over 200 billboards, promoting entertainment within the city.[5] The opening of the Downtown Arts Centre[6] on Rebecca Street has spurred further creative activities in the Core. The Community Centre for Media Arts[7] (CCMA) continues to operate in Downtown Hamilton. The CCMA works with marginalized populations and combines new media services such as website development, graphic design, video, and information technology, with arts education and skills development programming.[8]
The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA), founded at McMaster University in 1967, houses and exhibits the university's art collection of more than 7,000 objects,[9] including historical, modern and contemporary art, notably the Levy Collection of Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings and a collection of over 300 German Expressionist prints. It also presents the McMaster School of the Arts studio art program graduation exhibition (aka SUMMA) each spring.
The Hammertheatre Company, founded in January 2007, is a company devoted to theatre research in Hamilton and also devoted to the plays of artistic director Sky Gilbert whose plays will deal with issues of gender and sexuality. Gilbert is also the founder of legendary Toronto theatre, Buddies in Bad Times. There, Gilbert's iconic gay plays found an enthusiastic, vast audience. The theatre is at the old Ancient Order of Foresters building in the James Street North neighbourhood where Hamilton's Art scene continues to grow[citation needed] and where Sky has been living since 2003.[10]
The 70-seat Staircase Cafe Theatre[11] on Dundurn Street North provides space for a variety of cultural activities. The Staircase originally was opened by Hugh MacLeod in 1998, evolving and expanding from an improvisational comedy workshop to include an artist's gallery, a cafe, a theatre for film and live acts, and a rehearsal space. A former variety store next door was also acquired. The store has been converted into an additional multi-purpose space on the lower level, and houses Think|Haus, Hamilton's Hackerspace, on the upper level.[12]
Percentage of labour force in culture occupations in Hamilton and other Canadian cities.[13]
Canadian city
Culture labour force
Percentage
Toronto
65,520
2.6
Montreal
42,140
2.39
Vancouver
28,120
2.68
Ottawa-Gatineau
12,760
2.18
Winnipeg
6,300
1.74
Hamilton
5,090
1.49
Halifax
3,840
1.98
Kitchener
3,400
1.48
London
3,240
1.42
Dollars spent by cities on arts funding per resident annually (2006 figures) [14]
Hamilton
Toronto
Thunder Bay
Ottawa
Windsor
London
Sudbury
Waterloo
$2.6
$6
$4.8
$3.9
$3.5
$3.4
$2.9
$0.8
Music
Ronnie Hawkins came to Canada in 1958. His first gig was at the Golden Rail in Hamilton where he became an overnight success. It was a result of Hawkins success in Hamilton that he decided to move to Canada permanently. His career spans over five decades and 25 records. His hits include, "Forty Days", "Mary Lou", and "Hey Bo Diddley".[15] Colonel Harold Kudlats, was given nickname "The Colonel" by Ronnie Hawkins. It was Kudlats who booked Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks in Hamilton for the first time. He has worked with acts Fats Domino, Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong. Kudlats later went on to become agent for Levon Helm and The Band. He is also the Eugene Levy's uncle.[16] Also in 1958, Conway Twitty, singer-songwriter and his band were in town and were playing at the Flamingo Lounge where Hamilton Place is located today. Legend has it that the drummer, Jack Nance, wrote "It's Only Make Believe" between sets, although another story puts them at the nearby Fischer Hotel. The song was recorded in 1958 and became the first of nine Top 40 hits for Twitty, selling eight million copies.[17]
A number of recording studios call Hamilton home. The Sonic Unyon label started and fostered the Hamilton sound in the early 1990s and continues today as one of Canada's most successful independent record labels and distributors.[27] In 1985 Daniel Lanois, opened Grant Avenue Studios a landmark in Hamilton.[28] A solo artist in his own right he's made his mark as a producer for some of the world's biggest musical acts. Some of these include Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and U2.[29] Steve Negas is also a producer with a studio in town. Some of his clients include Chris De Burgh, The Nylons, Liona Boyd and Saga.[19]
Hamilton was the location of a local cassette scene during the 2010s, consisting of artists releasing experimental music, especially ambient, drone, and noise music.[31] Notable artists from this scene included Scott Johnson (a.k.a. Thoughts On Air), Connor Bennett and Nate Ivanco; some labels part of this scene were Perdu, Cloud Valley, HAVN Records and Barton Street Tapes.[31]
Festivals
Gage Park, George R. Robinson BandshellGage Park
Hamilton has hosted several cultural and craft fairs since the 1960s, notably Festival of Friends, which made it a major tourist destination. The Festival of Friends, founded in 1975, is the largest annual free music event in the country. Burton Cummings, Lighthouse, Bruce Cockburn, Steve Earle and Richie Havens have been among the main stage headliners at Gage Park on Gage Avenue.[32]WestJet is a major sponsor of the festival.[33]Supercrawl is an annual, free, two-day festival featuring indie music and art, and attracts over 100,000 visitors.[34] The Winona Peach Festival will be celebrating its 40th-anniversary in the summer of 2007; established in 1967. 4-time winner of the "Top 50 Ontario Festivals" from Festivals and Events Ontario. The 2006 attendance was in excess of 230,000 and attracts attendees from Ontario the Western New York area. It's a food and beverage festival that includes free entertainment, arts & crafts, a midway, pageant and car show that features vintage vehicles, hot rods & classics.[35] Hamilton is also home to the Mustard Festival because Hamilton is home to the largest miller of dry mustard in the world. It's held annually at Ferguson Station, Ferguson Avenue at Hamilton's International Village and is another summertime food & beverage festival that features some of the top Blues and Jazz acts in the region.[36] Hamilton is also home to the Fix Our World Festival, bringing awareness to poverty, environment, peace and AIDS. It's held annually at Pier 4 Waterfront Park, Pier 4 Waterfront Park and is another summertime music festival featuring some of the top local talent in the region.[37]
Ottawa Street, is known as the Textile District and is Hamilton's "Decor Destination." It is the largest Fabric and Textile District in Canada. It also hosts and annual Ottawa Street Streetfest, a shopping extravaganza that includes shopping deals, entertainment, foods, crafts, all part of outdoor street sale.[38]
Locke Street, has festivals held throughout the year. The first noteworthy one is called Spring Blooms on Locke. It's an annual festival that marks the end of winter and is also a fund raiser for sick children. Then there is the one simply called The Locke Street Festival where each September the street is closed off for live entertainment, street vendors and food. There is also the Christmas Open House where they welcome the holidays with late opening, food, drink and carollers each November.[39]
The Great Lakes Expo7 is a 3-day annual springtime festival held at Bayfront Park and Pier 4 Park. The purpose of the festival is to improve people's knowledge of how everyone can improve and protect the fresh water within the Great Lakes. Also included, an Adventure Zone, Enviro Zone, Kid's Zone, Full size Midway, Live Music, Food vendors, Arts & Crafts and more. In 2007 the festival will be held the last weekend of May.[41]
The Royal Botanical Gardens plays host to a number of festivals throughout the year. Some of these include the Tulip Celebration, Mother's Day Brunch, Lilac Celebration, Iris Festival, Rose Celebration and Music @ THE GARDENS.
Hamilton also hosts a number of free Concerts in the city, most of which are held in the summer months. Concerts are located at Gore Park, Whitehern Museum, International Village, Sam Lawrence Park, Lloyd D. Jackson Square (Plaze level, rooftop gardens) and the Hamilton Farmer's Market.[42]
Hamilton also hosts several key venues operated by Core Entertainment. Core Entertainment is the engine that drives over 400 events to FirstOntario Centre, FirstOntario Concert Hall (both the Great Hall and The Studio) and Molson Canadian Studio. Core Entertainment is powered by Comcast Spectacor. Among these facilities is Hamilton's largest venue, FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum), a 17,500-seat enclosed arena that has served as the home for the Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) ice hockey club since 2015 and routinely features a variety of sport, commercial and concert events throughout the year. Notable artists who have performed at FirstOntario Centre include U2, Tool, System of a Down, Metallica, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Aerosmith. Further events can be found just down the road at FirstOntario Concert Hall, a 2,193 seat performing arts theatre located less than a two-minute walk from FirstOntario Centre. FirstOntario Concert Hall is the home of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and boasts one of the leading architectural designs for acoustics in Canada. Notable performances include the annual festive production of 'The Nutcracker' and a number of internationally recognized entertainers such as Tom Jones, Sarah McLachlan, Hall & Oates and Billy Connolly.
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which encompasses Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is situated approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Toronto in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
Dundas is an urban district and former town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the Valley Town because of its topographical location at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment on the western edge of Lake Ontario. The population has been stable for decades at about 20,000, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley Conservation Area.
Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central Calgary, Alberta. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided into several residential, commercial, corporate, and mixed-use neighbourhoods, including the Financial District (CBD), Eau Claire, Chinatown, East Village, Beltline, and the West End.
Hosting the region's largest urban population, Halifax, Nova Scotia is an important cultural centre in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is home to a vibrant arts and culture community that enjoys considerable support and participation from the general population. As the largest community and the administrative centre of the Atlantic region since its founding in 1749, Halifax has long-standing tradition of being a cultural generator. While provincial arts and culture policies have tended to distribute investment and support of the arts throughout the province, sometimes to the detriment of more populous Halifax, cultural production in the region is increasingly being recognized for its economic benefits, as well as its purely cultural aspects.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Many immigrant cultures have brought their traditions languages and music to Toronto. Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario's northwestern shore. It's a dynamic metropolis with a core of soaring skyscrapers, all dwarfed by the iconic, free-standing CN Tower. Toronto also has many green spaces, from the orderly oval of Queen's Park to 400-acre High Park and its trails, sports facilities and zoo.
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
Transport in Hamilton, Ontario consists of a variety of modes.
Below is a timeline of events in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Bay Street is a lower city arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Inglewood Drive, just South of Aberdeen Avenue, as a collector road with only two lanes, then eventually becomes a six lane thoroughfare at its peak. Bay Street also passes through downtown Hamilton, where many high-rise buildings are found. Bay Street is a one-way street from Aberdeen Avenue to Cannon Street West. Bay Street continues as an arterial route to Strachan Street, where it is downgraded to a neighbourhood collector and eventually ends at a curb at Pier 4 Park at Burlington Street in the city's North End.
Ellen Fairclough Building is an 18-storey high-rise office building built in 1981. It is the 5th tallest building in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the corner of King Street West and MacNab Street South, and is primarily used to house provincial government offices.
James Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the base of the Niagara Escarpment from James Mountain Road, a mountain-access road in the city. It was one of many arterials in the central business district converted to one-way operation in 1956 when the city retained Wilbur Smith and Associates to develop a Traffic and Transportation Plan. Parts of it were restored to two-way operation in 2002. It extends north to the city's waterfront at the North End where it ends at Guise Street West right in front of the Harbour West Marina Complex and the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club.
King William Street is a Lower City collector road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the western-end at James Street North and is a one-way street (Eastbound) until Mary Street, where it becomes a two-way street that ends at Wentworth Street North. It is named after King William IV of the United Kingdom.
King Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, also known as Highway 8. The western-end starts off beside McMaster University Medical Centre as a two-way street and passes through Westdale. At Paradise Road, King Street switches over to a one-way street (westbound) right through the city's core up to "the Delta", a spot in town where King and Main streets intersect. From the Delta onwards, King Street then switches over to become a two-way street again and ends at Highway 8 in Stoney Creek.
Lloyd D. Jackson Square, or simply Jackson Square, is an indoor shopping mall, commercial, and entertainment complex located in the downtown core of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which is named after Lloyd Douglas Jackson, who served as mayor of the city from 1950 to 1962. The civic square is located in the centre of the city, bounded by several major roads: King Street (south), Bay Street (west), York Boulevard (north) and James Street (east), with the appointed address being 2 King Street West. The mall opened in 1972.
Beasley is a neighbourhood in the Lower City area of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Beasley neighbourhood is bounded in the north by the Canadian National Railway tracks just north of Barton Street, James Street (west), Main Street (south) and Wellington Street (east).
York Boulevard is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Highway 2 and Highway 6, it starts in Burlington, Ontario, at Plains Road West as a two-way arterial road that wraps around and over Hamilton Harbour, enters the city of Hamilton in the west end at Dundurn Park, and ends at James Street North. It has a one-way section from Queen Street to Bay Street North, and continues east of James Street North as Wilson Street.)
Brott Music Festival presents annual classical, opera, jazz, pops, and children's education concerts in Hamilton, Halton and Niagara regions in Ontario, Canada as well as touring to other music festivals in southern Ontario. The festival was founded by late conductor Boris Brott and has grown into Ontario's only and Canada's largest orchestral music festival. The orchestra in residence is the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Canada's only professional orchestral training program. It is also home to BrottOpera, a training program for Canadian emerging opera singers. Its current artistic director is Tania Miller.
FirstOntario Concert Hall is a music and performing arts venue in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The venue was originally known as Hamilton Place, and in 1998, became known as the Ronald V. Joyce Centre for the Performing Arts at Hamilton Place after receiving a donation from the Joyce Family Foundation. In 2016 FirstOntario Credit Union made a $2.5 million deal for the naming rights.
Supercrawl is an annual art and indie music festival held each September in downtown Hamilton, Ontario.
↑ Foley, Doug (2007-01-16). "Vive The Staircase Theatre". The Hamilton Spectator. pp.Go 10.
↑ "Hamilton Next, Focus on the Future City: "Painting a better future"" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator- Souvenir Edition page HN3. October 31, 2007.
↑ "Hamilton Next, Focus on the Future City: "City of Hamilton funding for the arts (2007)"" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator- Souvenir Edition page HN3. October 31, 2007.
↑ "The Hamilton Memory Project;" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator- Souvenir Edition page MP43. June 10, 2006.
↑ "The Hamilton Memory Project;" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator- Souvenir Edition page MP38. June 10, 2006.
↑ "The Hamilton Memory Project;" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator Newspaper- Souvenir Edition page MP44. June 10, 2006.
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