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Black box with the words "West End Phoenix" written in white.

West End Phoenix

Black box with the words "West End Phoenix" written in white.
Logo for West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Illustration by Robyn Colangelo.

Logo for West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Illustration by Robyn Colangelo.

The Sports Issue, Issue 13, May 2019, West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Image by Javier Lovera.

The Sports Issue, Issue 13, May 2019, West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Image by Javier Lovera.

Four youth in orange T-shirts painting a white, brick wall. The closest person to the camera wears a black baseball cap and applies a paintbrush covered in orange paint to the wall.
Creating the Phoenix Rising mural, 2013. Image by Vincent Luk. Courtesy of STEPS Public Art.

Love In Action Issue, June 2021, West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Cover Illustration by Simone Heath.

Colour graphic of a futuristic city illustration. There is a train track, a bike path, a city garden, and lots of trees. There is a person flying with a jetpack over the city.

The ‘Future’ of Toronto, Issue 9, November 2018, West End Phoenix, a community heritage organization nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards. Cover Illustration by Michael Byers.

Founded in 2017 by a group of Toronto artists living in the west end of the city, West End Phoenix (WEP) is a periodical community newspaper focused on sharing the stories of Toronto.  WEP aims to provide a platform and voice for photographers, illustrators, and writers throughout Toronto, and over its four-year history has published a number of issues focused on Black and Indigenous communities. The stories and illustrations in each issue share a variety of perspectives on Toronto’s cultural heritage. They also touch on issues of environmental heritage and include stories about the structure and structures of the city – both literally and figuratively.

Originally produced for Toronto’s west end, the paper has grown a readership of 12,000.  It is hand-delivered across Toronto by a team of volunteers, and hundred of copies are mailed to national and international readers.