Ever wonder what the inside of the Weston Bread Factory looks like?

The days of sweet, wafting aromas of baking bread in Leslieville are long gone, but Torontonians will have the chance to see inside an east end landmark this May.

The former Weston Bread Factory is opening its doors for two weekends as part of Wonder, a Scotiabank CONTACT Photography exhibition celebrating the building’s former life.

Toronto photographer Laird Kay was granted exclusive access to shoot inside the shuttered bakery at Eastern Ave. and Logan Ave. The resulting photographs form a curated, abstracted take on the industrial workings of the building.

A neighbourhood fixture and place of employment for scores of locals for decades, the venerable bakery closed its doors in 2014. 
 
“The details of the equipment are seen as sculpture, and as graphic design. This building is still a wonder — a word that fills us with optimism, stimulates the imagination, and makes us aware of the infinite possibilities that the future may hold,” says Kay.

Kay has a special fascination with mechanical and technical details. “Buildings grow, learn, and adapt. They are organic," he says. "Just like the bread that was made, proofed, and baked here in this building, the factory is changing, and still has many stories to tell."

The exhibition is n collaboration with Graywood and Alterra, the folks behind a proposal to redevelop the facility with an offering of condos, loft conversions and townhomes. 

“Anyone growing up in the neighbourhood would have been familiar with the smell of baking bread. It seemed a natural fit to team up with Laird Kay and give the community a chance to be welcomed once more into this evocative building,” remarks Neil Pattison, Vice President, Development Project Management at Graywood.

The free exhibition will be open to the public on May 12-13 and May 19-20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
 
The Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival is the largest photography event in the world, and a premiere cultural experience in Canada, with over 200 exhibitions and happenings throughout the month of May in the Greater Toronto Area.
 
For more information visit scotiabankcontactphoto.com.