cultural landscapes

This is site makes available some of the work I’ve done on urban history, popular iconography of places, the internet, and memory.  

  • In Place — A Cuban family history that interweaves my family’s story with that of Havana’s urban development and the nation’s political  and social history up to and including the Special Period. Made available online to invite response and counter-interpretations. (2012)
  • Paving the Way to Paradise — An account of the life of Oakville’s millionaire paving magnate W.G. MacKendrick builder of Oakville Galleries at Gairloch Gardens as it illustrates the  inter-connected development of public parks, subdivisions and private country estates in Toronto and Oakville in the early twentieth century. Illustrated with photographs of William James,  pioneer of Canadian photo-journalism. (2010)
  • Ontario Farm History — a transcribed and annotated 1873 farm diary from Brampton (2014)
  • Back to the Park —  a local history blog linked to pop-up exhibits and discussion in the neighborhood farmers’ market. Covering urban space, food, health and art, it invites readers and market visitors to discover how the place memory of the St.Clair mid-town district is found in century-old press photography, news stories and art. (2014- 2016)
  • Oh Dear! — a curatorial essay and walking tour of linked site-specific installations in the heart of North York, June-August 2013
  • Home Truths — a  2002 community based residency project created for Oakville Galleries

Site Scope 2003 project series for Oakville Galleries: Jeff Thomas Kirsten Forkert

Pleasance Crawford