Artists Take Leonard Cohen's Music to the Streets of Toronto In Tribute To His Glenn Gould Prize

May 11, 2012

The "Torontoist" posted a great article with some excellent photos of the artists performing Leonard Cohen's music and words on the streets of Toronto.  The photo above has a nice shot of the banner displayed to identify the happening. Leonard Cohen's Unified Heart motif is quite prominent.

There are more photos of street performances included in the "Torontoist" article by Brendan Ross with photos by Dean Bradley here

(In part)

From his books of poetry and fiction, to his role in the 1960s folk-music scene, to his decades of haunting and iconic songs, Leonard Cohen is undoubtedly one of Canada’s most prolific and beloved artists. This weekend, to celebrate the singer/songwriter winning the Glenn Gould Prize, more than 30 musicians are taking Cohen’s music to the streets of Toronto.

The impromptu concerts coincide with a week of events that culminates on Monday with a gala concert celebrating Cohen. Cohen is the ninth laureate of the Glenn Gould Prize, an international award established in 1987 to recognize people who have made a lifelong contribution to the arts.

This is the first time the Glenn Gould Foundation, the organization that administers the prize, is putting on such a large-scale public performance. The foundation’s executive director, Brian Levine, says the decision came out of the popularity of Cohen’s music and the desire to put young Canadian artists in the spotlight. “Given that there’s such a widespread love for Leonard and his work, this provided a forum to not only express that across the community…but also as a way of helping to bring to light some really wonderful young talent

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Street Tribute banner from the Glenn Gould Foundation website..

The photo above was actually taken at the southwest corner of University Avenue and Bloor Street West, facing north.

Trivia: North of Bloor, where the church is situated at the northeast corner, University changes name to Avenue Road. I was once asked by a young lad visiting Toronto, why didn't they just name it "Street Street".  I can see his point.