Archive for April, 2025

my go to places

Posted: April 29, 2025 in general Toronto
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Queen Street East, old brick building in front of new glass and steel condo tower

“My Go to Places” was recently a photo challenge from John at Journeys with Johnbo, another wordpress blog.  Because my blog is very Toronto centered, I don’t usually play along with such games but last week I thought that I would make an exception because “my go to place” is/are the streets and alleys of Toronto.

Every street has a story to tell, you just have to get out there and explore.

part of a mural on the Danforth, a larger than life person in white jacket and dark jeans, walking off the wall

On the Danforth, part of a mural by Monica on the Moon (aka Monica Weikler).

I enjoy finding the quirks of the city – humorous signs in store windows,  bizarre or funny graffiti, the quirky things people put in their front yards, and more.  I like stumbling upon surprises that make me smile (or wince!).

A happy face and poetic words on a TTC bus stop pole – “She lives to see the sun and feel the wind and drink the rain”.  Not bad words to live by!

But sometimes the joy is found in the ordinary.

a woman is crouching down on a sidewalk to get a better photograph of a garden full of bright yellow daffodils, with the stone buildings of Emanuel College, U of T, in the background

Bright yellow signs of spring, and hope, in front of the stone buildings of Emanuel College, University of Toronto.

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Out on the streets the cliche of ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ holds true – it’s all there (have I complained recently about the street level ghastliness of some new condos?).  And not just the on the streets, but also underground, wandering through buildings, or crossing above

looking out an elevated pedestrian bridge, enclosed in glass, looking out to street, and downtown Toronto

Sick Kids Hospital, crossing over busy streets

below: Behaving well on the subway.

small white curly haired dog sitting on a blue TTC subway car seat, with a woman in a blur coat, red scarf, and large red bag, she is looking at her phone

White Hydrangeas (A haiku for each petal)
…
Ivory flowers
sprout in the graveyard near me
soil-bound miracle
…
This ground is neutral
apparently this is so all I know is not
…
Dirt sits on a son –
a boy, thousand times unearthed –
who looks just like me
…
Bouquets mask his name
this world is not meant for us
still, white hydrangeas

I walk through ravines and along the lakefront….. past places that everyone recognizes as well as places that are hidden away.

GO train on tracks, repair and maintenance trucks parked beside the tracks, CN Tower and downtown Toronto in the background

A GO train travels just west of the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. A small piece of the white roof of the SkyDome (Rogers Centre) can be seen at the base of the tower.

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two people walking along the side of the railway tracks, apartment buildings in the background,

Walking beside the railway tracks, somewhere in Toronto.

I’ve seen the streets where we work, where we play, and where we live.

 

workman, cutting pavement, or sidewalk, outside, making lots of dust,

three brick duplex houses in a row

Duplexes on Eglinton

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large inflatable Santa Claus on a front yard of a large house with dark blue shutters

Santa Claus visits the west end.

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downtown row house with larger apartment building behind

Urban living downtown

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And I know that good things usually happen when you get out and be a part of the city.  Of course we have problems (that Eglinton LRT is a mess isn’t it? and it’s a shame about the Science Centre, right?)  It’s a friendly place.

pedestrians and one cyclist crossing on a green light at college and spadina

Pedestrians, a few cars, and one cyclist, crossing at College and Spadina.

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beside uber 5000 mural on the side of the Toronto Humane Society, people crossing Queen Street towards THS, people standing in bus shelter beside the mural, big orange cat and large dog, both in the mural

At River and Queen East, cats and dogs in a mural by Uber 5000.

Like all story tellers, I bring along my history and my biases.  If you were to walk with me, you might notice different things than I do.  Or if we see the same things, you might offer a different perspective. You would possibly write a different story but that’s okay.   Sometimes I wonder if I am writing stories about Toronto or if I am just writing my own story and Toronto just happens to be the setting!

A young woman in floppy navy blue hat and holding a cup of coffee, pushes a stroller along a Yorkville downtown sidewalk, bright red building across the street,

Yorkville

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man sleeping on a TTC streetcar

Riding the TTC

hanging on the walls of Hart House

Posted: April 29, 2025 in galleries
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Hart House, at the University of Toronto, has two photography exhibitions on at the moment. Both are in hallways and both are open to the public.

Please remember that these are photos of pictures behind glass – don’t judge the quality of the image on display by the quality of the photo here on the blog! As usual, the real thing always looks better.

The first is “Interwoven Identities, Unraveling Diaspora Narratives” with the goal of tracing “the threads of memory, migration, and identity that shape Asian diasporic experiences and mental health.” This quote is taken from the Asian Art and Culture Trust website.

below: Fangdan Chen’s photo seems like a collage of many different kinds of faces, some natural and some not.

Untitled photograph by Fangdan Chen, on display at Hart House

below: A photograph by Sarah Jihae Kaye titled, “I’ve Begun to Distrust my Body”.

Photograph by Sarah Jihae Kaye, on display at Hart House

below: “Gourd” by Phoung Nguyen

photograph by Phoung Nguyen, title is gourd, on display at hart house

below: “Imagined Ricefields” by Reginald Balanga  – a barren winter scene that is possibly as far away from any rice field as possible.

a photo of a blacket draped over oa chainlink fence, winter scene, snow on the ground, small leafless trees.

The second floor hallway has an exhibit that features work by the Hart House Camera Club. The winners of the 103rd Annual contest, in 9 categories. A sample below. If your favorite photo isn’t here, don’t take it personally, it’s probably because I had trouble with reflections in the glass of many of them.

below: Cosmo Chan “Home”

colour photograph of a large multi story building

below: “Gently” by Jacob Lee

Photograph by Jacob Lee, two people reaching out to touch each other, with focus on the hands

below:  A surreal blue scene by Ongphat Piyabenjarad titled, “Parallel Worlds”

surreal photo, all in blue, two people floating or swimming underwater, with cityscape, highrises, in the background,

below: “Veiled” by Jasmine Lu, part of a photographic essay.

photo of a woman with light clothing, standing knee deep in water, part of a series by Jasmine Lu

below:  A young man sitting on a bench in what might be a bus shelter.   This is “How to Start your Digital Detox” by Gerald Lerchbaumer.

colour photo, man sitting on bench with back to camera, street scene in front of him

below: Albert Huang, “Camel Man”

black and white photo of a man with two camels, by Albert Huang, title The Camel Man, on display in the hall of Hart House at University of Toronto

below:  “The Strongman” by David Williams.

A black and white frames photo on display on a brick wall, The Strongman by David Williams

below: Playing with reflections, in another David Williams photo.  Who is watching who?

black and white photo of a man looking out a window, by David Williams, with reflections of the photographer and the wall behind

two framed colour photos hanging on a brick wall, interior, as part of an exhibit by the hart house camera club

below: Auden Cole “Phone Hunch”

colour phiotograph, black silhouette of a man behind clear glass or plastic that has graffiti on it

The Hart House Camera Club exhibits ends 30th of April.

The “Interwoven Identities” show continues until 18th May. If you are interested in the subject, there is another exhibit at the STACKT Market during the month of May called “Interwoven Identities: Healing in Community” – information at the Asian Arts and Culture website.

of wisdom, patience, and other things…..

Posted: April 27, 2025 in events
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This past week there were some intriguing posters on a few utility poles around the St. George campus of U of T, all to promote this year’s Philosothon.  This is/was a two day event (April 26 & 27) to promote critical thinking as well as creative thinking.

below: “What wisdom hides in what you’ve allowed yourself to forget?”

poster on a utility pole on university of Toronto campus, asking a philosophical question. source - philosothon U of T.

below: “Where does you body truly end?”

below:  top: “What worlds exist in your peripheral vision?” bottom: “What have your eyes forgotten to see without help?”

below: “When did patience stop feeling like a virtue?”

below: top: Where in your body do you feel time passing? bottom: “When was the last time you felt truly irreplaceable?”

behind Ossington

Posted: April 13, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Moooo…. Hey there good looking!…  Here’s looking at you!  This was painted by Poser.  Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

street art mural of a black and white cow looking at you, on a garage

For a number of years now, there has been a lot of street art and graffiti in an alley that runs behind the east side of Ossington starting at Queen Street and ending one block north at Humbert. Some of it is interesting; some is not. A few garages and walls look the same as they did 12 or 13 years ago so some of these photos may look similar to older photos used in this blog.

building in an alley, northeast corner of queen west and ossington, street art and graffiti on the walls

below: In the background, an untitled piece by Caratoes.  It was one of 5 murals painted in Toronto in 2016 for the “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans” series.  In total, there were over 500 murals in 20 countries in this series.

graffiti on a wall in many colours, with a large grey tones mural in the background.

below: Six lit matches ready to go.  This crazy cat is up to something no good…

mural on a fence, a grey cat with matches in his mouth, playing with a bottle

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too.  The first street art in the alley dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

older mural by birdo, two creatures standing together on a rusty garage door in an alley

below: A pink rose between two women.

pink rose sprayed painted on green wood, beside a figure dressed in white paste up

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

old graffiti on a wall

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

spud bombs street art, little grey bombs with cheery faces, on a wall in an alley behind ossington avenue

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

street art mural

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

street art mural by elicser elliott of two people, man and woman, in purple stream, title is swim

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

on a garage in an alley, painting by artist called peru,

part of a street art mural, man that looks ancient greek or roman sitting, holding a large pot, wearing a toga and sandals

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

pink and white swirls and curls, mural in alley

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains.  I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here.  See next image.

old street art painting of a moose partially covered with pywood

below: This is what it looked like back in 2012 or 2013.

old street art mural by aaron li-hill of a moose with full antler rack, open mouth,

below: A newer Catchoo sticker.

little daisy sticker by catchoo on a metal pipe in an alley

below: A couple of faces taken from many faces around a garage.

below: Part of a Troy Lovegates mural (as are the next three images)

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington, two merged heads with necks that come out of the same hole in the red and blue sweater that they are wearing. One face is yellow and the other face is half grey and half purple

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto. In the middle is a framed recessed box in the wall with 3 egg shapes in it

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington

below: Looking south. The closest garage on the right has a mural painted by Spud.

alley, with garages on one side, mural on the wall of a building on the left

below: Durothethird paints peanut butter & (probably) chocolate

street art on a garage door in an alley, peanut butter,

below: Horus, “Well and good”

street art on a garage door in an alley by horus

garages covered with street art and graffiti, in alley on west side of ossington avenue in toronto, just north of queen street west

street art on a garage door in an alley pink polka dots on red

below: At the north end of the alley

buildings in alley covered with graffiti and street art

small part of a larger painting, street art, on side of garage in an alley, three fuzzy balls, each with one eye. Balls are yellow, and a red, and one blue.

weathered street art and graffiti on a wood garage in an alley

purple line drawing in spray paint of a man, with yellow wings, graffiti added to it, alley

below: Writing on black and purple

white line drawing on black line drawing of a man with glasses and a beard, mural in an alley

below: Portrait of George Sully, Canadian designer

portrait of a young black man, with a triangle behind his head, in a mural in an alley

below: Love yourself, over and over again, and in many different colours!

on a black wall in an alley, in cursive writing, the words love yourself written in many colours, many times

below: An old stikman in a frame, weathered but still there.

weathered street art paint on wood, with a tiny wood frame, inside frame is an old stikman graffiti piece

below: And lastly…  Too extraterrestrial, which someone seems to love

black wall, with graffiti, hand drawn character with words too extra terrestrial,

below: Looking north

alley behind ossington, on the west side, garages covered in street art and graffiti

garage in alley covered with paintings of bright flowers

between West Lodge and Lansdowne

Posted: April 12, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Running west off of West Lodge Ave., there is an alley behind Queen Street West on the north side.  The upper part of this long, low building was painted blue a number of years ago.  Since then it has been tagged and used as a place to put graffiti.

alley, long low building on right hand side, painted blue, with windows,

below: T-bonez from Urban Ninja Squadron practises yoga positions.

below: A bright red door that has unfortunately been scrawled on.  Beside it is a black figure that seems to be diving backwards while holding a bunch of colourful balloons.

below: Once it was a pink cat with green whiskers

below: Holding tight to that red rose.

stencil on a wall in an alley, a fist holding a red rose

Continuing west towards Lansdowne ….

below: Faces in the alley, with a bit too much gold

below: Chubby cheeks and big fat lips…. and how many eyes?

below: Faces, many faces with their eyes closed and their hair swirling around.  Mural painted by Carol Ann Apilado

below: “Tell me its all going to be okay?  Not sure if I can do that buddy…..

graffiti on a black garage, white drawing of a person with fingers in peace sign, with text Tell me it's all going to be okay?

below: Patterns and shapes on fence, by Hello Kirsten

murals on a fence in an alley including one by hello kirsten, design patterns, also a woman in purple,

murals in an alley, a garage painted all orange, paintings on fence, face and cacti painted in side a car port under an apartment

motorcycle parked in front of blue fence, beside a garage in a lane, near Queen Street West and Lansdowne

mini cooper car parked in an alley beside a garage with street art and graffiti on it

green spray paint and black drippy paint graffiti on red brick wall

alley views

below: Enough!  Although once upon a time it said more than that…..

close up of painting on a wood fence, abstract shapes and colours, with texture

This post also appears on my street art blog, Eyes on the Streets.