A Time for Pollinators

The mural’s ‘Bees and Urban Pollinators’ theme recognizes Riverside’s hidden green spaces that maintain wildflowers and local hives, as well as the area’s growing bee-keeping culture in the east-end. Pollinators are essential for food production and the health of a city’s ecosystem. The Riverside colourscape is used artfully with time and clock themes.The pollinator mural’s time and clock theme is an homage to Albert Edelstein, a long-time clockmaker and jeweller in Riverside who was integral to founding the Riverside Business Improvement Area (BIA) in the 1980s.

Edelstein is also a personification of ‘The Pollinator’: someone working hard on tiny things with thousands of moving parts, but the whole of the fruits of their work has an enormous impact. In the same vein, the ‘Gears’ in the mural represent small things working together to make big things happen – like bees in a hive, or a community in a neighbourhood. Like clockmakers, pollinators are important members of society and their toils must be given proper respect, as they play an essential role in allowing people to thrive and exist.

The ‘Time’ theme also continues in line with Riverside’s architectural and artistic history, referencing Eldon Garnet’s ‘Time & A Clock’ public art series that has been iconic in Riverside since 1996. The ‘Clock’ in the mural also mirrors the Ralph Thornton Centre’s iconic clock tower just west across the street, designed by famed Toronto architect E.J. Lennox. Meanwhile, the pollinator mural’s colours and style portray Riverside’s ebbs and flows through time and its vibrancy today.

About the Artist:
Nick Sweetman is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. He holds an MFA from OCAD University’s Interdisciplinary Art, Media & Design program, and completed the Mural Routes Leadership Training in Mural-Making certificate. Since 2014, he has been working in public space on mural projects, often in collaboration with other artists and organizations. He has worked primarily in Toronto but has also been invited to paint all over Canada and internationally. Many of his projects raise awareness about social and environmental issues, and he is best known for painting enormous bees and butterflies towering over city streets to highlight the importance of pollinators.

This project was made possible with funding support by the City of Toronto and Riverside BIA

Learn More:
https://riverside-to.com/40-years-40-stories-a-time-for-pollinators/

Where to Find This Mural

Location: 777 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1H5 Get Directions

Accessibility: Easily Accessible, (west-facing wall, best viewed from Saulter Street near Queen Street East)