Toronto’s first “street” art – a mural on the pavement, painted on the street itself. It’s located on Baldwin Street in the Kensington market area.
below: The mural was painted on Pedestrian Sunday (28 Aug) when the streets were closed anyhow.
Murals on the street aren’t legal in this city. In 2015 City council voted against making them legit. Instead, they allowed this one to go ahead as part of the StART Road Mural Pilot Project. Plans are afoot for a few more to be painted in the next couple of months. The city has imposed some restrictions as to where they can be painted, rules such as the murals need to be away from intersections and be on streets with a low volume of traffic. It is rumoured that future road murals will be on Condor Avenue (west of Greenwood subway yard), Lauder Avenue (near Dufferin and St. Clair), Hiawatha Road (Little India), and lastly, somewhere in North York
below: The next two pictures were taken from the upper level of the adjacent parking structure (where I had a chat with a security guard, private property and all that).
The pilot murals are all the result of work by community groups – people within a community working together to produce something representative of that community.
below: Painting a raspberry. The shapes were drawn by artist Victor Fraser and then painted by a number of artists and volunteers. It is an acrylic based paint that will wear off in 6 to 9 months.
below: From street level – peas in a pod, a clove of garlic, a bunch of spring onions, an artichoke, a banana, and in the distance a lot more!
This project was organized by Stas Ukhanov and supported by the Kensington Market BIA.
as I walk Toronto 