What do we lose when spaces for artists disappear? Rosina Kazi tells us what it means for our communities

Tucked away on a quiet street just west of downtown Toronto is Sterling Road. It's a neighbourhood known for its bustling arts scene, industrial buildings converted into studios, affordable performance spaces, and mom and pop shops.

Over the last few years, big companies have moved in, rent prices have risen, and the artists that have lived and worked on the street for years are being forced to move.

Rosina Kazi has lived on Sterling Road for more than a decade and she's been watching these changes happen in real time. Along with being in the Polaris Prize-nominated band LAL, Kazi runs Unit 2, an affordable, safe performance space for LQBTQ2 artists and artists of colour.

She joined q's Tom Power to talk about how these changes happening all across the country are pushing artists out and what this means for our communities. 

Click 'listen' above to hear the full conversation with Rosina Kazi.

— Produced by ​Vanessa Nigro