The Gallerist

In 2009, Belinda Chun was working as a fundraiser at the ROM when she applied to law school. A lifelong art lover, she figured she’d specialize in copyright or arts and entertainment law. But, first, she went on a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and visited an elephant sanctuary that was run by former tech entrepreneurs who’d left the industry to pursue their dreams. “I realized I had to follow my passion,” says Chun. Instead of going to law school, she decided to open a gallery.

Upon returning to Toronto, she bought a three-storey building in the Junction Triangle that was previously owned by an office-cleaning company. It had red carpeting on the floors and walls and fluorescent lighting, but it was spacious enough to be both a home and a business. She still needed to work out the details, though. “When I got the keys, I went to the rooftop, drank a beer and thought, Oh my god—what have I done?”

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She commissioned Altius Architecture to reimagine the building as a live-work space, with an art gallery on the ground floor, an open kitchen/living area in the middle and bedrooms above. In 2010, she opened Gallery House.

The biggest perk of Chun’s living arrangement is proximity to art. In 2012, when she presented an exhibition by painter Ray Caesar, one of her favourite pieces by the artist, Siren, was right there in her gallery. “I’d go downstairs just to marvel at it,” says Chun.