Outside, it felt like Toronto's first real day of Spring, but stepping into the Hearn Generating Station meant stepping out of the warm April afternoon. Inside, it felt like another world. Such is the scale of the long-defunct plant—three times the size of London's Tate Modern—that at this time of year, the place seems more like its own (colder) climate than the interior of a building. Decommissioned since 1983, the Port Lands generating station has now been announced as the Luminato Festival's first unique venue. And it promises to be a venue like no other in the world.
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The Hearn Generating Station, image by Jack Landau
Touring the Hearn in advance of this June's festival, the potential was easy to see. The space is really, really big. Looking down the length of the building—now a hollow husk of concrete, pipes, and girders—it's suddenly easy to believe that the space will house both the 1,200 seat Hearn theatre and the 5,000 person standing room Music Stage, alongside a wealth of visual arts displays, dining spaces, and performance venues.
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Inside Toronto's concrete cathedral, image by Jack Landau
Jorn Weisbrodt, Luminato's Artistic Director, described the festival's unprecedented 10th anniversary programming as a concentrated "attempt to sketch out a vision for a cultural institution of the 21st century reflecting the diversity of Toronto and Canada. Visitors and audiences can move through the majestic Hearn—wandering from various exhibitions to a meal in the open air beer garden, participate in a parkour workout session, see a play, hear a baroque concert, and end with a hip-hop club event—all in one massive space without any walls."
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Looking down the length of the interior, image by Jack Landau
By June, the Hearn will be transformed into what Luminato described as "the world’s largest temporary community and cultural centre under one roof." Working with theatre and acoustics consultants Charcoalblue, Toronto's own PARTISANS will transform the space into a temporary cultural hotbed.
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The 5,000 person music stage, image courtesy of PARTISANS and Norm Li
The design team unveiled a simple program that highlights the Hearn's industrial grandeur. To facilitate flexible temporary spaces, shipping containers will be used to create distinct venues while preserving the quality of space.
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Rendering of the 1,200 seat Hearn theatre, image courtesy of PARTISANS and Norm Li
Describing the Hearn as "a temple of industry," PARTISANS co-founder Alex Josephson explained that much of the work will focus on making the space safe for the public. (Puddles of water and uneven grade saw one UrbanToronto staff member take a tumble during the tour).
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Puddles cover much of the floor during our visit, image by Jack Landau
Tall enough to house an upright Statue of Liberty, being inside the Hearn as golden beams of sun pour in through the windows feels almost like standing in some impossibly massive cathedral. In its derelict grandeur, it is an unsettlingly beautiful place.
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Looking up, plenty of Toronto's new condos could fit inside, image by Jack Landau
According to Luminato, this year's ticketed programming will include: The James Plays, an epic 5-star theatre trilogy; Situation Rooms, a multi-player video experience; Unsound Toronto, Poland’s electrifying music festival; monumental, an explosive contemporary dance show with live music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor; and Rufus Wainwright’s remount of Rufus Does Judy, a recreation of Judy Garland’s 1961 comeback concert.
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The basic floor plan for Luminato's programming, image courtesy of Luminato
For the Festival, this year will be the first time that Luminato will be held in a single space. Previously dispersed across venus throughout Downtown, the 17-day showcase will now focus its creative energies in a central hub. The concentration of activity is meant to foster cultural cross-pollination, attempting to democratize the experience of art by bringing a very diverse assortment of programming under one roof.
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The 215 metre chimney was once the tallest structure in the city, image by Jack Landau
At this point, the Hearn has been decommissioned longer than it was ever active, and it is the patina of neglect that now characterizes the space as much as its architecture. For Luminato, it is "an art installation in itself."
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A truck, image by Jack Landau
We look forward to returning to the Hearn as Luminato gets underway on June 10th. This year's festival will run until June 26th. More information about the #TurnOnTheHearn project is available on Luminato's official website. Want to share your thoughts about this year's unique programming? Feel free to leave a comment in the space below this page.