Sessional instructor Marcin Kedzior, who is also director of the Willowbank Centre for Cultural Landscape, will be a participant in Modern Horzions' "Rhythm, Duration, Presence" conference on October 25th. He'll be lecturing on the cultural landscape of Kensington Market, a lively and eclectic neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.

During the early part of the 20th century, Kensington was the centre of a thriving eastern-European Jewish community, but subsequent waves of immigrants from Central America, Asia, and the Caribbean have transformed the area into a multicultural mix. Kensington's secluded, pedestrian-friendly retail strip has made it a frequent site of street festivals and other public celebrations.

"My talk is about this idea that it's not just the physical architecture of a neighbourhood that's significant," Kedzior says. "What matters is the mixture of tangible and intangible elements — the intangible elements being things like rituals, habits, performances, and festivals. Kensington Market seems like the perfect place to think about the way these intangible elements are foregrounded."

Kedzior's lecture will be open to the public, and admission will be free of charge. It will take place in room 206 at the University of Toronto's Victoria College (73 Queen's Park Crescent) on Friday, October 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Photograph by Dick Darrell, from the Toronto Star Archives.