{"id":3617,"date":"2008-09-22T16:14:41","date_gmt":"2008-09-22T20:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/"},"modified":"2013-01-21T14:54:22","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T19:54:22","slug":"enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/","title":{"rendered":"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG\" alt=\"dsc_0689.JPG\" \/><strong>LONDON, ONT.<\/strong> &#8212; After a summer spent in Toronto where art festivals abound, I headed down to a city whose arts festival is a recent and exciting addition to its culture. Now in its third year, the London Ontario Live Arts festival is a free, four-day-long event that showcases local and international visual art and music. Open to all ages, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lolafest.com\/\">LOLA<\/a> gives people from all over London a reason to wander through their city&#8217;s center as they experience the festival&#8217;s musical performances, light projections on building facades, and installation works scattered throughout the downtown core.Many of the featured works raise questions about the ways in which the city&#8217;s public spaces have been conventionally valued and used.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lolafest.com\/artists\/mark.html\">Kelly Mark&#8217;s The Band<\/a>, for instance, promotes a fictional rock band in images posted on billboards and in light boxes, illustrating the absurdity of branding and the potential for spaces currently used for advertising.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0301.JPG\" alt=\"dsc_0301.JPG\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">From what I gathered in my conversations with festival goers, Londoners are generally not engaged with their downtown. Suburban sprawl has been on the rise since the city joined with surrounding municipalities in the early 1960s, providing businesses with incentive to start up on the outskirts of the city. Consequently, there is little drawing London residents into the city center, and the conveniences and joys of spending time in a high-density urban environment do not necessarily play a part in their daily lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0722_2_2.JPG\" alt=\"dsc_0722_2_2.JPG\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The fact that LOLA is situated in downtown London seems to play a particularly important part in the lives of the city&#8217;s youth. During the festival I met LOLA volunteer Emily Bennett, a born and bred Londoner who left town as soon as she was able, and has spent the past four years living in Montreal. As a teenager, she rarely went downtown with her friends for fun since there were few places that welcomed people of her age group. Bars required identification, and there was a shortage of cafes and outdoor public spaces. Like many other people I met, Emily was excited to see an event that was drawing London&#8217;s youth downtown\u00a0and to the city&#8217;s beautiful Victoria Park, where events have generally not exceeded the parameters of the established local craft sales.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">\u00a0Although this was my first trip to London and I didn&#8217;t have much to compare the festival ambiance to, it was clear that the city was abuzz. &#8220;I think this years festival was a roaring success,&#8221; says festival director Andrew Francis. &#8220;It&#8217;s confirmation that London is a place that will welcome and embrace contemporary artistic expression.&#8221; Unlike any festival in London&#8217;s past, LOLA&#8217;s art is accessible, stimulating, and is an invitation to explore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0569.JPG\" alt=\"dsc_0569.JPG\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LONDON, ONT. &#8212; After a summer spent in Toronto where art festivals abound, I headed down to a city whose arts festival is a recent and exciting addition to its culture. Now in its third year, the London Ontario Live Arts festival is a free, four-day-long event that showcases local and international visual art and<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Enlivening downtown London at LOLA&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4054,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21758,4],"tags":[10356,10355,10354,359,38,21,26,4213],"class_list":["post-3617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-culture","tag-andrew-francis","tag-emily-bennett","tag-festival-director","tag-london","tag-montreal","tag-other-cities","tag-people","tag-victoria-park"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LONDON, ONT. &#8212; After a summer spent in Toronto where art festivals abound, I headed down to a city whose arts festival is a recent and exciting addition to its culture. Now in its third year, the London Ontario Live Arts festival is a free, four-day-long event that showcases local and international visual art andContinue reading &quot;Enlivening downtown London at LOLA&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-09-22T20:14:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-21T19:54:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chloe Ellingson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chloe Ellingson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\",\"name\":\"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-09-22T20:14:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-21T19:54:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/818e7a77e74f1571b98dafe79505171b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\",\"name\":\"Spacing Toronto\",\"description\":\"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/818e7a77e74f1571b98dafe79505171b\",\"name\":\"Chloe Ellingson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b1d8940b014ee9278497bda24d6dac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b1d8940b014ee9278497bda24d6dac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chloe Ellingson\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/chloe\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto","og_description":"LONDON, ONT. &#8212; After a summer spent in Toronto where art festivals abound, I headed down to a city whose arts festival is a recent and exciting addition to its culture. Now in its third year, the London Ontario Live Arts festival is a free, four-day-long event that showcases local and international visual art andContinue reading \"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA\"","og_url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/","og_site_name":"Spacing Toronto","article_published_time":"2008-09-22T20:14:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-21T19:54:22+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Chloe Ellingson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spacing","twitter_site":"@Spacing","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chloe Ellingson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/","name":"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA - Spacing Toronto","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG","datePublished":"2008-09-22T20:14:41+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-21T19:54:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/818e7a77e74f1571b98dafe79505171b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG","contentUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2008\/09\/dsc_0689.JPG"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/09\/22\/enlivening-downtown-london-at-lola\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Enlivening downtown London at LOLA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/","name":"Spacing Toronto","description":"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered  |  Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/818e7a77e74f1571b98dafe79505171b","name":"Chloe Ellingson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b1d8940b014ee9278497bda24d6dac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b1d8940b014ee9278497bda24d6dac9?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Chloe Ellingson"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/"],"url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/chloe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4054"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3617"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39257,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions\/39257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}