Photo by Jenneen Beattie
Five murals displayed on a sunny day at the Toronto Zoo. The murals are of realistically painted individuals emerging from pink, purple and blue flowers, as well as abstractly painted shrubbery.
Note: This mural is no longer available for viewing.
Artist(s): The E.W.O.C. Project, Claire Browne, Connie Tong, and Sarah Alinia Ziazi

In Our Nature

MR Circle: The E.W.o.C. Project Completed: September - November 2021

*Please note: this was a temporary mural installation.

In our Nature is a community-minded multidisciplinary public art project that celebrates Women of Colour in the Scarborough community through five mural panel installations and musical performances. The murals will spotlight BIPOC women in Scarborough, who are active in community work, and feature them in a green space, changing the narrative around this group’s access, perceived safety and sense of belonging in public spaces. The artwork will purposefully degrade over time to reveal the underset images of the featured individuals beneath the greenery – their faces will be seen emerging from the ground. This is a 2021 City of Toronto Cultural Hotspot Signature Project in partnership with Mural Routes, the E.W.O.C. Project, the Community Arts Guild and the Toronto Zoo.

Each of the 5 panels feature portraits of Women of Colour who are community workers, social activists, mentors and artists from Toronto, who are making a change in their communities. Not all forms of community work happen at the same scale and we believe that all acts of care for your community are valuable. To reflect that, we are featuring racialized women doing that work in all capacities.

The portraits have been painted over with floral and greenery to submerge the portraits in nature. From the Launch in September until the Reveal in October, the floral and greenery will fade away to reveal the portraits underneath. Viewers are encouraged to experience a sense of joy and celebration when engaging with this public art installation and to further interact with the panels through prompts to access the Scarborough-based Community Arts Guild choir on their headphones or by taking selfies with the panels.

Visit the Cultural Hotspot website to see all the amazing 2021 projects.
Follow along! #CulturalHotspot, #CultureTO and #ShowLoveTO

Launch Day took place on September 11th, 2021 from 2pm-4pm at the Toronto Zoo.

Reveal Day took place on October 16th, 2021 from 2pm-4pm at the Toronto Zoo.

This was a temporary mural public art installation on view at the Toronto Zoo from September until November 2021.

For more information on this mural visit:
https://muralroutes.ca/in-our-nature/

Commentary from the lead artist, The E.W.O.C. Project, on In Our Nature: 2021 Cultural Hotspot Signature Project.

Where to Find This Mural

Location: Toronto Zoo, 2000 Meadowvale Rd, Toronto, Scarborough, ON M1B 5K7, Canada Get Directions