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the arts - toronto vs montreal

M

mettle

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i don't really like the versus debates, but i've a question that i really don't know much about.

i was talking to someone yesterday who has lived in both cities. she said that the art scene was better in montreal than toronto. is this true? if so, how?

her comments were likely specifically in regards to music and the visual arts, but i am just wondering in general (for example, dance, theatre, literature, etc.). and i'm not exactly sure what she meant by "better", but i think she meant "more progressive".

i'm really not trying to start a debate. for example, maybe both cities are excellent, just different. that's a perfectly acceptable answer to me.
 
Maybe she was referring to the art of making bagels, which we covered pretty thoroughly in another thread that I am too lazy to find right now.

Otherwise, the only other art I can think of that Montreal actually edges Toronto in is the art of feeling insecure enough about the place that non-specific, unprovable, generalized comparisons are required to make the citizenry feel better about themselves. We're good at that too, but I do concede the win in that department to Montreal.

They are both great cities.

42
 
My take...

I think Montreal is a slightly more artistic city on a per person basis. However, due to Toronto's size we end up with more. This is slowly changing though (even more in T.O.'s favour).

Whose art is better? Couldn't begin to answer that.
 
I think Montreal is a slightly more artistic city on a per person basis.
Click to expand...

That would be really tough to measure - except for numbers and size of tatoos and piercings. On that basis you'd be right.
 
thanks for the replies. :)

anything specific i could ask her to check out? maybe it'd help her to appreciate toronto more.
 
^Depends on what she likes, which is why the question is so hard to answer, if you can really answer it at all.

I don't think it is a matter of one city being more artistic than the other, just a matter of what you prefer. Both cities are strong in this respect. But I can see how someone might see Montreal as being more artistic just because the influences and the culture generate art and artistic styles that are somewhat unique to the city and Quebec as a whole and if someone has not been exposed to those ideas and that scene growing up (which is often the case) then it can seem as though Montreal is this artistic wonderland. It is not that people are more creative in the city, it is just that is often more on the surface than in Toronto or other cities.

The only place that Montreal has a clear lead is fashion, which often times gives the illusion that the city has more smart and artistic people than is actually the case.
 
Montrealers also still often like to characterize Toronto as a soulless, anal city, and often refuse to acknowledge the profound changes that Toronto has undergone (and is still going through).
However, I know that many of the arts leaders in Montreal are nervously looking over their shoulder at Toronto right now, given all that is happening here.
 
the lady in question is a musician. my friend's wife. it's not much of a concern to me, except that i was curious.

thank you for your observations, anarchosocialist. i've heard similar comments, that is, that toronto's art scene is vibrant, first rate, though somewhat less conspicuous.

i'm not terribly artsy myself; i just thought i'd point her to some toronto examples.
 
AnarchoSocialist said:
^Depends on what she likes, which is why the question is so hard to answer, if you can really answer it at all.

I don't think it is a matter of one city being more artistic than the other, just a matter of what you prefer. Both cities are strong in this respect. But I can see how someone might see Montreal as being more artistic just because the influences and the culture generate art and artistic styles that are somewhat unique to the city and Quebec as a whole and if someone has not been exposed to those ideas and that scene growing up (which is often the case) then it can seem as though Montreal is this artistic wonderland. It is not that people are more creative in the city, it is just that is often more on the surface than in Toronto or other cities.

The only place that Montreal has a clear lead is fashion, which often times gives the illusion that the city has more smart and artistic people than is actually the case.
Click to expand...

I would pretty much agree with this. In my experience, the French factor is enough to convince people that Montreal is the more artistic, creative city. I had one client return from Montreal with a business card he wanted duplicated. It was from a nice local hotel. The card was well done and perfect for the hotel...but it really wasn't anything that hadn't been done before; just the hotel's logo, foil stamped on a nice textured paper that matched the exterior of the hotel nicely. For him, though, it was something incredible that he hadn't seen before, and just demonstrated how "leading edge" the city is.
 
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