Friends with Nikakohsa:’a (dandelion)
Outside the Box traffic box mural by Kaya Joan titled “Friends with Nikakonhsa:’a (dandelion), completed in 2022.
Collinsgrove and Lawrence Signal Box
This signal box, painted with a vibrant yellow background, displays a number of creative and unique faces appearing in different and odd angles, painted in a dark blue. Between the faces, hearts, eyes and bubbles decorate the box, giving one much to look at as they wait for the bus.
:P
Part of a StART initiative, this mural is one of many in the laneway that brighten up garage doors. Given that garages are a place to park, I gave it a fun reference to our city’s Green P.
Lively City Part 2
Toronto is a busy city. Most of us are buzzing from place to place with a purpose. I get inspiration from long wanders along our streets, appreciating the little things and imagining the lives quintessential parts our city could be living; like pigeons, what do they do when we’re not looking? Could be anything, even riding a unicycle for all we know. This artwork encourages us to stop a moment and let our imaginations run wild, rather than running wildly ourselves from A to B. This is part of a series.
Lively City Part 1
At the corner of Huron and Harbord street, sits a cheerful signal box. The front of the signal box displays a hot dog vendor selling hot dogs for two dollars, while the rear face of the signal box hosts a raccoon, swinging from a tree, holding a hot dog.
Body
Street Art Toronto Concrete Barrier Project
Water, Nature, Park Life
Street ART Toronto, Toronto Parks
Birds of Paradise
For Street Art Toronto’s Outside the box program. This is a colourful design with birds among flowers and leafy plants. Birds are some of my favorite animals. It is always a special thing to see birds in the city and living near the Don valley, I see so many varieties of them. Sometimes birds escape their cages and you will see a rare bird outside that is not found here. This box is like a rare sighting of a few beautiful and unique tropical birds sitting together.
Dancing People
Made with Street Art Toronto for Conlins Road Cycle Track. For the theme of Body, I created an energetic design full of colourful moving bodies, dancing and overlapping.
Starlight
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) “3rd Annual Festival Street” Live Mural Painting “Starlight” in response to the theme “Toronto is the Star”, as part of #StARTatTIFF “Art Walk” Activation, commissioned by Surface Art, StreetARToronto, TIFF, Toronto
Perpetual Freedom II
Mural Facilitator and Muralist for the 3rd Annual Mural on Baldwin Street, in response to the theme “The Future without Oppression”, Kensington Market, Facilitated by StreetARToronto, Friends of Kensington Market [Facilitators: Serena Purdy, Curtia Wright & Jai Smith], Toronto.
Ego vs. Spirit & Spiritual Manifestation
This section of the cycle track stretches North from the bridge over the 401 on both the East and West side to just south of Auto Mall Drive on Conlins Road.
This cycle track project was organized by StreetARToronto. The theme was dissolved from community engagement and feedback surveys conducted by StreetARToronto within the Meadoway and Conlins Road communities.
Summer Evenings
The designs are themed around the natural beauty of the area (Rouge National Park), the wildlife that inhabits it and childhood nostalgia; being out late into the summer evenings enjoying the weather and summer activities with friends. The tall grasses are a throwback to the meadows. The murals were painted with outdoor exterior acrylic paint for Street Art Toronto as part of their concrete barrier art program.
March of the Suffragettes
Located on the northeast corner of College and Elizabeth Streets, ‘March of the Suffragettes’ displays five figures in Victorian-era dresses and hats with sashes across their outfits. On the approach to Women’s College Hospital, on a street also called Dr. Emily Stowe Way, this Signal Box reminds passers-by of the events related to the writing and enacting of bills, acts and other legal pathways in the ongoing fight for gender equality in this country, fought by many, notably the aforementioned Dr. Stowe, an icon in Canada’s suffrage movement. This signal box reminds us, that by not being dedicated just to Dr. Stowe but to the actions of the many, that history making events occur through the actions of the many, not the one.
Peace for Ukraine
Featuring a dark blue background that wraps around the signal box, its front face displays two sunflowers, painted in miraculous yellow with strong black stems and leaves, surrounded by smaller white petaled flowers. Its back face shows one large sunflower, while its sides show three white doves on each side, separated by black hearts.
Craven and Gerrard Mural
“Corner of Craven and Gerrard in Little India. (…) Huge thanks to the @leslievilledanceandmusic for having me adorn the side of your building with my flowers. Thanks to my dad for helping me do the hard labour of getting two coats of primer on this wall and multiple coats of all these blocks of colour. A dream project indeed.”
Faces
“I finished painting the traffic box outside of @oldscoolgeneralstore at Lumsden and westlake ave in my own hood. Grateful to have been assigned this particular box outside of this amazing Community hub. Representation matters and I’m honoured to contribute to this corner in a colourful and uplifting (hopefully) way.”
The Jazz Band
‘The Jazz Band’ mural is located on the north-facing side of Grossman’s Tavern in Downtown Toronto, seen best from Cecil Street. Created in partnership with what is now the Cecil Community Centre and StreetARToronto, the mural reflects that Grossman’s is a Jazz hotspot in Toronto. Completed in 1999 and restored in 2010, this mural depicts the outline of four figures on a dark blue background, painted as though they are neon pink and green signs. This band comprises a harmonica player, a double bassist, a vocalist and an acoustic guitarist.
No Vacancy
The design features a collage of the various Motel signs that are iconic to the Kingston Road strip that runs through Scarborough between Brimley Road and Bellamy Road. In the past few decades, these once resort-like establishments have now become the primary residence for newly landed immigrants and refugees, completely redefining their purpose.
335 College St. Mural
335 College St.’s western-facing wall displays a portrait mural of Jonah Yano, a singer-songwriter from Toronto. Capturing Yano’s likeness excellently, mural artist Emmanuel Jarus painted Yano looking to the sky, sitting on a rooftop that overlooks an urban area, filled with trees.
River of Time
The ‘River of Time’ mural was undertaken by artists Natalie Very B., Bareket Kezwer, Julii McMillan and Julia Prajza, as part of the Neighbourhood Love Collective’s Gateway Mural Project. The mural depicts artistically rendered wildlife, rivers and other nature scenes flowing through the seasons, the observer’s eyes following a series of unbroken rolling hills that pass through the seasons.
Markham and Kingston Road Signal Box (The Fox Box)
Kaitlin Brough’s signal box at the northeast corner of Markham and Kingston depicts a realistically painted American red fox on its Kingston-facing panel and an eastern cottontail rabbit on its Markham-facing side. A dark green grass makes its painted background, alluding to the natural beauty of the area.
Markham and Greencrest Signal Box
Located on the southeast corner of Markham Road and Greencrest Circuit, this signal box uses blues and yellows in deep and gorgeous contrast. It displays a sizeable yellow lotus on its face, four rows of dark and light blue triangles, separated by light yellow rectangles. Its rear side shows a figure with dark hair and features, circled by a light yellow halo.
Smile Signal Box
“Together, we can build inclusive, multilingual neighbourhoods that celebrate diversity. Smile at your neighbours, connect with strangers. Open your hearts and embrace your community. By helping other people find their light, we can all shine brighter together.”