/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
City News

Why writer Tabatha Southey and artist-architect Philip Beesley are smitten with Toronto

Copy link
AN URBAN AFFAIR

The place: C5 at the ROM. The people: writer Tabatha Southey and artist–architect Philip Beesley. The subject: why they’re smitten

Globe and Mail columnist Tabatha Southey is known for her quick wit, but her latest project was a slow burn. Ten years ago, her son Basil’s school asked parents to compose a valentine for their kids. Southey wrote a poem about the make-believe house she wanted to build for Basil, a burgeon­ing architecture fan. That poem is now a storybook, It Must Be As Tall As a Lighthouse, illustrated by starchitect Will Alsop and recently published by Parkdale’s new artisanal press The Book Bakery, which focuses on small print runs of beautiful, visually driven books. Think of it as the locavore movement for the lit set.) Artist and architect Philip Beesley is equally at home in the world of whimsy. An international figure in the trippy field of responsive architecture, he creates structures that change form, colour or shape depending on their environment. This month, he unleashes his hovering, undulating art installation, Sargasso, on the Brookfield Place atrium as part of the Luminato Festival. We brought the design-obsessed duo to one of the city’s most divisive architectural attractions, the ROM Crystal, sprang for lunch and listened in.

FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION »

ART Sargasso Philip Beesley June 8 to 18 Brookfield Place
BOOKS It Must Be As Tall As a Lighthouse Tabatha Southey On shelves May 1
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR
AN URBAN AFFAIR

THIS CITY

Obsessive coverage of Toronto, straight to your inbox

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

The Cheese Boutique is throwing a CNE-style street party next month

The Cheese Boutique is throwing a CNE-style street party next month

Inside the Latest Issue

The June issue of Toronto Life features our annual ranking of the best new restaurants. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.