Posts Tagged ‘mural’

Allan Garden hoardings

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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UPDATED: Construction here has finished and the hoardings have been removed.  These murals no longer exist.

A couple of years ago, the city started a project to replace the water mains that run under Gerrard Street. As part of that project, a section of Allan Gardens was dug up to provide access to the underground mains.   The site was barricaded by wood hoardings.  These hoardings have since been covered by a large mural titled  ‘Nindinawemaaganidok / All My Relations’.  Twenty one artists contributed to the painting of the mural.

The north side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens seen from back a bit, tees, construction equipment and a couple of people are also in the picture

Four themes appear in this mural,  Community, Water, Anishnawbe Teachings and History of the Land.  Animals such as buffalo, deer, wolves, turtles, and beaver are common motifs.

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a deer with antlers stands by a pine tree.

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - animals, beaver, turtle, eagle, bird,

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - the sun shones on a person lying on the ground.

The east side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, pine tree on a rock by a lake, under a full moon lit night sky

below: Sky Woman

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, blue woman's face, she is loking at the viewer, her long hair blowing in the breeze, rocks below her

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a leafless tree and a couple of smaller pines by a lake

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a eagle in flight and a man. construction equipment can be seen bei=hind

South side (along Gerrard Street):

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a young man's breath is stylized as blue ribbons streaming from his mouth

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a woman surrounded by circles (bubbles?) as she sits on the ground.

West side:

First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a row of 6 men's heads seen in profile, all looking to the right, their long hair blowing away from their faces.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a stylized eagle in bright colours in flight.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a couple walking hand in hand beside a circle divided into quarters, one is black and one is red and a head comes out of each quadrant.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens
If construction goes according to plan, the hoardings should come down by the end of May 2015.  As to whether or not this deadline will be met is anyone’s guess.

The artists: Tannis Nielsen, Phil Cote, Natasha Naveau, Rosary Spence, Gwen Lane, Angela Malley, Judy Rheume, Gary M. Johnston, Amanda Murray, Rebecca Baird, Cotee Harper, Graham Curry, Briana Stone, Lyndsey Lickers-Nyle Johnston, Isaac Weber, Honey Smith, Shelby Rain McDonald, Paula Gonzalez-Ossa, Kalmplex, Adrion Corey Charles, Ron Razor and Steven Henderson.

Link to more information (as well as a video) about this project

Dufferin skeins

Posted: April 16, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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On Dufferin St., just north of Eglinton there is a bridge under the Beltline Pathway.
The old railway bridge crosses the road and metal culverts provide passageways for the sidewalks on both sides of the street.  It was painted  in November 2014.

One of the sidewalks is closed because of construction on the north side.
In fact, the area looks a bit messy at the moment.

looking north up Dufferin street towards an old railway bridge. 4 orange construction signs in the photo as well as a lot of traffic on the street.
This was a  project by STEPS (Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Spaces) in collaboration with artists Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson, local residents,  Friends of the York Beltline and local Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Josh Colle.

culvert passageway over a sidewalk that has been painted in stripes except that the sidewalk is closed - a sign, a pole barrier and 2 orange cones to prevent people from crossing under.

A Dufferin street TTC bus passes under an old railway bridge. The concrete support on the far side has been painted with a brightly coloured skein of wool on a yellow background. In the foreground is a culvert that is used as a bridge over a sidewalk. It has been painted in bright vertical stripes.

The mural was funded by the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto program with support from area businesses and associations.

Mural of a skein of wool in bright colours on the underpass of a bridge

Close up of part of the mural of a skein of brightly coloured, multicoloured, wool on a bridge underpass, also the yellow part of a culvert that provides a passageway (tunnel) for the sidewalk. Some houses are in the background.

Close up of the brightly coloured strands of wool in the mural under the beltline on Dufferin Street

Link to a video on the making of this mural.

Niagara Street peeps

Posted: April 8, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Street art and murals
close to the intersection of Niagara Street and Graffiti Alley.

below:  A mural on the side of a house on Niagara Street.
Some of the paint is starting to peel but otherwise it is in good shape.

The side of a brick house is covered with a mural showing a woman's upper body and she has yellow and green hair. Also, there is a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her. There are lots of flowers including red roses and white lilies in the picture. The mural is signed by Robert (Reber?) Rian Cruz.

Signature at the top right seems to be Robert Rian Cruz.  Other names are written on the bottom left: doz, nose, cora, anto, wizwon, flur, and markis

Mural painting of a large woman's face. She has yellow and green hair. There are white and pink lilies in the picture too.

Part of a street art painting of a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her.

below: Make It by Aaron Li-Hill
In Graffiti Alley but visible from Queen St. West at Niagara.

mural of a fencer with sword drawn and ready. The words are "Make it". It is slightly abstracted and painted to look like there is motion in the picture.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal. Also in the picture is a heatpaste black and white picture of a woman riding a bicycle away from the viewer. She is wearing polka dot shorts. Someone has also painted yellow and black bee like creatures with faces (black masks) and brown hats.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal.

Square wheatpaste graffiti of a man on a bicycle on a city street. Two large pineapples have been painted on the wall too, one above the bicycle man and one to the right. The pineapples are bright colours, one is orange and yellow and the other is blue and purple.

Close up of picture of woman riding away on a bicycle. An I love Toronto CN TOwer personification sticker is also in the picture

Garrison Creek mural

Posted: March 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Quickly, before the leaves grow back and obscure the mural!

The Garrison Creek mural is on King St. West at Sudbury Ave.,
close to the railway overpass. 

A mural is painted on a retaining wall at the bottom of a small hill that separates some row houses and the street. Many small trees are in front of the mural but it is winter time so there are no leaves on the trees. The mural is a stylized creek that flows through hills with some animals standing beside it - fox, frog, turtle and beaver.

On the north side of King St. West

 

Part of a mural showing a fox standing beside a creek. A bare tree is in front of the mural

Part of a mural showing a large green turtle swimming in a creek. A tree with no leaves is in front of the mural

Part of a mural showing a large green frog sitting beside a creek. A tree with no leaves is in front of the mural

signature, or label, on the garrison creek mural

Cecil Harbourfront Community Centre, 
a Graffiti Transformation Project,
painted in 2004

birdo on Borden

Posted: March 25, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Birdo street art on the side wall  of Amato Pizza,
corner of Borden and College Streets.

birdo street art on a rust coloured brick wall. Two animal like creatures in greens, blues and rusts. They are larger than life size, taking up most of the side of the building, up to the second storey level.

birdo street art, close up of multicoloured creature over a doorway. Belly and legs are visible in the photo

birdo street art on a rust coloured wall. Yellow stylized bir with wing, claw and head in the picture

Sanko wall

Posted: March 20, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Mural on the wall of the Sanko Trading Company
(a Japanese Canadian business, since 1968),
corner of Claremont and Queen St. West,

Looking across a city intersection to a store on the corner that has a large mural painted on the side of it. Many Japanese motifs, many colours too.
There are many Japanese motifs in the mural including sushi.

sushi street art, part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

A robot is at the door.

Street art, part of Japanese-Canadian mural, of a robot looking down at the door.

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. left part of the mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. Arched bridge over a stream with a fish jumping out of the water, Japanese maple tree beside the water, street art, large mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. A girls face. Her hair is pink and blue and she has big green eyes.

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looking up the side of a two storey building to the underside of the overhang above. part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

Painted by Ken Galloway, Timothy Fukakusa, Mitsuo Kimura, Takashi Iwasaki, Darcy Obokata, and Shogo Okada in the winter of 2013-2014

More on the Japantown Mural

the Great Wall of Chinatown

Posted: March 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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In an alley to the southeast of Huron St. and  Dundas West is a mural of the Great Wall of China.  It is 147 feet long (almost 45 m) and 12 feet high.

large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, wide angle view with two people walking in front of it

part of large mural of the great wall of China in an alley with a telephone pole in front of it.

part large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, the street end of the alley with part of the mural, the back door of a shop on the other side of the alley is also in view

part of large mural of the great wall of China in an alley, painting of a few people walking towards a building on the great wall

the signature part of a mural, Chinatown BIA, Chinese lettering and the names of the artists.

Chinatown BIA.
Mural painted by Blinc Studios artists: Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Rick Sauve,  Brian Broders, Jesse McQuaig and Ming Lau.
Painted in the summer of 2013.

Regent Park hoardings

Posted: March 13, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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Located at the northwest corner of Regent Park Blvd and St. David St.,
(which is south of Dundas East and east of Sackville)
painted on the wood hoardings around a construction site.

 This wall was painted as part of The Patch Project
PATCH = “Public Art Through Construction Hoarding”

Unfortunately, one photo that is missing is one of the section of the wall that is a large section that says “Conquer Adversity with Diversity”, the title of this work.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Scenes of people and faces, kids on bikes, activities. The word Welcome is written in red cursive. Two apartment buildings are in thebackground.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. The words Regent Park are written in large blue & purple cursive writing. An entrance to the construction site is between the two words.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A woman's head and three men's faces in profile. They are all under the same pink head covering.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A large woman in head scarf with her eyes closed, people on bikes riding on a path

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site.Young man in blue baseball cap

graffiti people. One of whom has there hands over their mouth.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Six stylized hands in a row, on blue background. Highrise apartment building is in the background.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Large blue boy's face with a large bird taking flight beside him

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Street art of six stylized hands on a blue background.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Two men punching, one is punching while the other stands beside him with fists clenched

Street art painting of two guys on a wall around a construction site. There are words in the picture. The first word ends with e n c h I think. The other words are Generation Rising Still

More information on The Patch Project

Chinatown mural

Posted: February 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Chinatown Mural
2011 by Alexa Hatanaka and Aaron Li-Hill
Commissioned by the Chinatown BIA & located in an alley near Dundas & Spadina.
The mural is based on scenes from everyday life in Toronto’s Chinatown.

Part of a mural on an alley wall. There are two parts of the mural visible in this photograph. An older man is riding a bicycle in one part and twp people are sharing an umrella and walking away from the viewer in the other part

fish eye lens photo of the mural, taken from the left hand side, older man on bicycle is the closest picture on the mural, next are the two people sharing an umbrella. The remaining parts of the mural are more difficult to discern. There is a car parked in the alley

mural showing three people, a child, the head of a middle aged man with a brimmed hat in profile, and an older man sitting

fish eye pens photo of the whole Chinatown mural

part of the Chinatown mural

Part of the Chinatown mural - an older woman is with a small child

Right end of the Chinatown mural, the end that is closest to Dundas St. The shop that is next to the alley in which the mural is painted can be seen in the photo.

A bike is leaning against a wall of an alley, there is snow on the ground. On the wall is the right hand end of a long mural

article 13

Posted: February 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
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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.

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