Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

Amnesty International Toronto Organization is a group that works in the to raise public awareness of human rights issues. One of the projects that it supports is  Urban Canvas.  Thirty murals were planned, each based on one of the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Art Alley Mural Project produced by Arts Etobicoke in 2010 was designed by  Susan Rowe Harrison and painted by William Lazos.  It incorporates a poem by Dionne Brand, Toronto’s Poet Laureate  in 2010 that is based on Article 13.   This article states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.”

A narrow lane, or pedestrian walkway, between two buildings.  On the left hand side wall there is a mural with a black and white background, and red letters.  The words are a poem about freedom of movement as stated in article 13 of the Declaration of Human Rights.

The mural is on the wall of 4893A Dundas St. West, alongside a narrow pedestrian walkway.

 

See also a previous post on two of Urban Canvas project murals at Parma Court 

Also, a mural celebrating education, article 26.

As you walk east on Wellesley towards Church St., you can’t miss the large mural on the side of Ho’s Team Barber and Hairstylist.  The red circle with it’s white words “I’m One Too” catch your attention.   The mural, by Will Craddock, is part of the Church Street Mural Project.

  street scene in winter, looking along the sidewalk with a couple of people on it.  On the left is a three storey red brick building in the background.  In the foreground is a shorter building (seen from the side) covered with a mural depicting buttons with slogans and sayings on them.

The circles in the mural are paintings of buttons from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

 Close up of part of a mural that is circular buttons from the gay and lesbian community with slogans and sayings on them.

There is actually a small lane that runs beside the button mural.  If you walk a little but down that lane and then look at the wall on the other side, you will see another artwork from the Church Street Mural Project.  ‘Kiss and Tell’ by Natalie Wood is a series of silhouette couples with their heads close together, either talking or kissing.

Two men talking to each other on a wall.  The men are shown from the waist up.  They are made of paper and pasted on the wall.  The paper is actually a collection of prints of book covers.

silhouettes of four couples either kissing or close together talking.  The silhouettes are collages of prints of book covers.

 

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The Bathhouse Raids by Christiano De Araujo is a mural on Church Street just south of Carlton.
Completed in the fall of 2013, it was the largest of the Church St. Mural Project pieces commissioned for WorldPride 2014.

The following photos were taken with a very wide angle lens
because of the size of the mural and because there are always cars parked in front of it.

large mural on the side of a building.  A number of cars are parked in front of it.  The mural depicts the bathhouse raids, an event in Toronto's history where police raided gay bath house and arrested those they found inside.  A yellow Toronto police car, a fire truck with its lights on are both in the picture.  An oversized person is in the center, hands held over her/his head.

On the 5th of February, 1981, Toronto police raided four bathhouses in what was known as ‘Operation Soap’.
Around 300 men were arrested.  Most charges connected to the incident were eventually dropped or discharged, although some bathhouse owners were fined.

part of a large mural showing a yellow Toronto police car from the 1980's, a couple of policemen and a crowd of men standing just back of the police car

part of a large mural showing a yellow Toronto police car from the 1980's, a couple of policemen and a crowd of men standing just back of the police car

The event marked a major turning point in the history of the LGBT community in Canada.
The raids led to protests – the night after the raids, 3,000 people marched on 52 Division police headquarters and on Queen’s Park, smashing car windows and setting fires.  That spring the city held its first Pride Parade.

right hand side of the bathhouse raid mural on Church St. showing a firetruck with its red flashing lights on

Graffiti on a wall on Queen St. West
at the west side of Trinity Bellwoods park.

A graffiti face high on a grey wall, with a pine tree branch  partially obscuring it

Close up of graffiti painted fingers in many bright colours.  They are very large.  Each fingernail has an eye.

Close up a piece of street art featuring brightly coloured fingers, with eyes on the fingernails.  Partially hidden behind pine trees.  Snow on the ground.

Close up a piece of street art featuring brightly coloured fingers, with eyes on the fingernails.  Partially hidden behind pine trees.  Snow on the ground.

Unfortunately, there is now an ugly black tag on the lower left corner.

Graffiti painting of a man high up on a grey wall, partially hidden behind two trees.  Unfortunately someone has painted a black tag over the lower left corner of the painting

In the corner of a piece of graffiti with a blue background is a signature of the artists, in blovk letters, LEXR & EVOKE

I walked around the corner and down a small dead end lane and this is what I saw.

near St. Clair West

garages and gates in fences in a snow covered lane.   Two of the doors have been painted in geometric designs.

On a brownish grey wall, some white paint has been applied to provide a backgound for some black line drawings of faces.   There are four faces.

A mural on a wall of two polar bears - an adult and a young cub.  It looks like they are walking on the snow.

Close up of the mural of two polar bears.  in this picture, the whole cub is visible but only the nose of the adult bear is seen.  The picture is signed J. Mora 2010

 

Development proposal sign

Bathurst and Robinson

an older two storey brick semidetached house at the corner of Bathurst and Robinson.  No other houses are next to it.

the sign says:
“…to permit the development of a nine storey mixed use building…..
….. consisting of ground and 2nd floors with commercial….
…. 28 residential units….
… zero parking spaces ….”

at the corner of Redpath and Roehampton

A single family, two storey house stands alone in an otherwise vacant lot.  The houses around it have been demolished.  This last house has just begun to be demolished.  There are many apartment buildings in the background.

Street art seen in a small lane, on the side of 314 Adelaide East.

A dog and a face partially obscured by swirls.  There are also some chemical structures in this grey and blue painting.

above: painted by Aaron Li-Hill

IAH media graffiti in blues and greys on a black wall, very geometric.  Sidewalk in front has snow on it.

above: painted by IAH Media

HUG graffiti tag and drawing in blues, greys and purples on a black and white wall.

Graffiti picture of two people, a man and a woman,

people painted by Elicser

Mural of a group of people, one in a chef's outfit, one on a bike,
314 Adelaide East is the home of Artik, a custom T-shirt (and other things) printing company.

mural scene of two people working at a desk amongst paint cans

mural scene of two men working on a machine that is printing designs on t-shirts

 

Stand Together,
a mural on Richmond St. East between Church and Jarvis streets.

Stand Together mural on Richmond Street, it is the back of a building as well as the back wall of a parking lot.  Four cars are parked in front of the mural which is 4 large arms and hands.  Together the hands are holding a city that is under a rainbow.

Painted by Spud, 2014

Far right side of mural, behind a low fence, bright green background with a long arm reaching across the photo.  A small tree stands in the corner of the parking lot, on the far right of this picture.  An apartment building is behind.  Spud bomb logo in the bottom right,  Center part of mural showing a city in 3D under a rainbow, on an orange background, and being held up by four large hands. The center part of the mural is a little 3D Toronto under a rainbow.
The CN Tower is there as well as a few cranes.  Perhaps you recognize other buildings?
It even has a painting of the mural in it!

Part of a mural showing wrists of two arms.  The upper arm is tattooed in black ink and the tattoo includes the word SPUD..  The bottom wrist is wearing a large blue bracelet.  The background is bright green and orange.

The whole mural from a close up angle, looking along the mural from right to left.

The Ontario Bread Company is located near Dundas and Ossington.
It had an Ossington Ave address but it is surrounded by lanes.
In September of 2013 it went out of business.  The building is still there but it is empty.

A slightly snow covered parking lot between two low rise buildings, both of which have murals painted on them. .

street art on a wall.  In the middle is a brown loaf of bread with the words Ontario Bread Co written around it.  There is a black and white tag on either side.  two windows and a door of the building are also in the photo.

Lovebot is now on their mailbox!

a small black and white lovebot sticker, the one that looks like a king of hearts playing card, is on the mailbox

The bakery was founded in 1935 by Polish immigrants and they specialized in Polish, and other Eastern European, breads.  BlogTO did an interesting piece about the bakery in August 2013.

 There is a lumber yard adjacent to the bakery on the same lane.
What follows are some of the photos that I took as I walked the “block” of lanes around the bakery and the lumber yard.   Some of the graffiti has been there for a few years.

 

Lifelike painting of a beaver, but larger than life.  Very realistic looking, sharp front teeth, little arms and big flat tail.

Old graffiti taf in yellows and blues on a grey brick wall.  Two windows have been bricked over in red brick.  One window has a green wood covering.  It includes the words "RIP Ryan Dunn"

jumble of different scribbles and tags and old graffiti along a wall.

A view of the back wall.

looking down an alley with the side of a two storey building being the dominant part of the picture.  It has a large number of colourful graffiti tags painted on it.

The words on this one say “It’s a bittersweet symphony”

A large colourful tag and street art piece.  It's a bittersweet symphony is written into it.  The left side is dark with a black background, the right side is brighter with a yellow and orange background.

This pair stands under the shower in a quiet corner.

Wheatpaste paste up picture of a woman in a long black sleeveless dress who is pouring water from a jug over the back of her head.   The water is falling on a girl who is sitting behind the woman.  The girl is holding an umbrella.
Rob Ford may no longer be mayor, but his legacy lives on …. in the form of anti-Ford graffiti.

tags on a brick wall in black, orange and white.  Anti Rob Ford graffiti also there in the form of a crack pipe with Fords face on it.  "Spud doesn't condone crack"  I think are the words written beside the crack pipe.

colorful graffiti tags on a brick wall

colorful graffiti tags on a brick wall

colorful graffiti tags on a brick wall

colorful graffiti tags on a brick wall
graffiti tag in greens and purples on a wall on a snowy day.  Above the tag is a weathered sign that is peeling but it can still be read - No Dumping Along this wall.

This piece is on Rolyat Street, just north of the Ontario Bread Co.

A wheatpaste paper graffiti piece of a girl's head in duplicate, looks like she's reflected below.  Long black hair. Big black eyes.

The last two pieces of street art are in a neighbouring lane, just to the northwest.

large pink creature street art, a small pink heart with the words 'lost doggy' is beside the creature

graffiti buzzard and tag behind a house.