A creative take on realism, which is generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural elements.
Native flowers provide much needed food for Toronto’s pollinators, like these different species of native bees and butterflies.
Painted in 2019 by: Nick Sweetman, and funded by Street Art Toronto’s Partnership Program, with support from David Suzuki Foundation and Dallington Public School.
Assisted by: Menelik Powell, Meg Oldhues, Omen, Christina Mazzulla and Phil Saunders. Special thanks to Dulux Paint.
The mural depicts two scenes: On the right is a scene from 1955 in Mississippi where Emmett Till’s mother, Mamie Till, is burying her murdered son. His killers were found not guilty after tampering by local law enforcement. On the left is Breonna Taylor’s apartment, where she was killed while sleeping by police officers in Louisville, Kentucky in 2020 – officers who faced no prosecution for her senseless death. However, thanks to the words and actions of Mamie Till, her son’s death led to public outcry and significant change. Breonna’s mother Tamika Palmer has been on the frontlines of the Black Lives Matter protests that exploded all over the US and the world in 2020. Both of these events highlight what James Baldwin meant when he said “Ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
Painted in 2020 by Elicser, Nick Sweetman, Sight and Spy1
Funded in part by Street Art Toronto.
Two sides of a long underpass on Thirtieth, completed by Nick Sweetman and Philip Cote in 2019 as part of the Street Art Toronto Partnership Program, with support from Lakeshore Arts and the office of Councillor Mark Grimes. Philip’s black designs in the Woodland style depict various indigenous narratives that weave in and out of Nick’s colourful background, populated by wildlife that lives along the lake shore (or in some cases used to). Throughout the mural, smoke from the 4 sacred plants – cedar, sweet grass, tobacco and sage – connects all the living things.
Artists: Nick Sweetman and Philip Cote
The mural is painted on 3 support pillars at the front entrance to the building. It features front line heroes – a doctor, a nurse, a personal support worker (PSW) and several residents, young and old. The uniformed heroes have their hands raised, working with the community, supporting the building, and protecting the residents. In medical uniforms, but they have superhero crests and the doctors lab coat flies like a cape, offering safety from harm to a senior.
Artist: Karen Roberts
Going Home is a bright colourful mural depicting Canada Geese flying across a stylized sunset, past the tall trees, rocky outcrops and hills of northern Ontario. This commission is on private property that was prone to tagging and graffiti. Medium – spray paint.
Artist: Karen Roberts
Created June 2014 for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Artist: Francesca Pang
The design for Lakeshore Residences reflects Toronto scenes, buildings, and local biodiversity that make the city’s Lakeshore a rare treasure. The sky and lake mirror each other, while translucent windows from iconic buildings show peaceful vistas of the skyline. As you walk along, look for some of Lake Ontario’s fish, birds, and aquatic plant life that are shown at-scale.
Organization: PATCH Project
Client: Greenland Group
Date: January 2020
Photo: May Shi
Artist: Pam Lostracco
Bringing awareness to an endangered species, two macaws enjoy the view of a tropical jungle.
Artist: AndreaCataRo
This mural is 5 panels 7.5′ x 3′ installed at Gordon Neighbourhood House on January 4th.
The panels feature 46 portraits of people in the community I collected. Each person asked to participate at a safe social distance or sent in electronically drew their self-portrait with 1 single line, with eyes closed. Artist: Deanna Flinn
Womxn Paint, 2018, Toronto, On. 15’ x 20’ (300 square feet)
Created for the Womxn Paint festival in downtown, Toronto, a festival celebrating women in street arts, while revitalizing Toronto’s laneways.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
Grow old with me, the best is yet to be, Underpass Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The “Mural Routes, Multipli’city Project” is a project to revitalize and brighten up urban underpasses to encourage public community engagement and make areas safer for the Toronto community. For this project the artists elected to represent age diversity in urban environments, celebrating the elderly who help shape communities and lives as the wise story-tellers and most experienced members of society. Lacey and Layla’s mural is a celebration of ageing, and a reminder that with age and experience comes to a new joy and sense of humour the redefines the expression young at heart. Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
Joeys Restaurant Bell Tower, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 90 x 9 ft.
Northern Crossing is an exterior mural commissioned by the Joey’s Restaurant Group for their location in Edmonton at Bell Tower. This mural is a celebration of the beauty and wonder of northern Alberta’s wilderness.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Quoth the Raven, Nevermore” 900 ft2, acrylic paint, Nelson, British Columbia, 2020. Funding Body: Nelson International Mural Festival.
This annual mural festival is held in the charming mountain town of Nelson in British Columbia. The mural was inspired by the surrounding natural splendour and allure of the rich forest and wildlife. This colourful depiction of the raven will be the personification of the winged mystery that has captured the imaginations of cultures globally and for centuries. This adaptable and highly intelligent bird has appeared in myths and stories as the wise teacher, the trickster, the creator and the companion.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Colour Outside the Lines”- 1800 ft2 acrylic paint, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, 2020. Funding body: StreetARToronto. Budget $33,000.00.
In November of 2018, the artists developed and held art workshops with elementary school children of The Mississauga’s of the New Credit First Nation to collaborate on a vibrant mural intended to highlight the beauty and whimsy of children’s imaginations. This mural was installed on unceded land near a historical Indigenous burial site in Scarborough.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Pillars of the Community”, Rogers Place Arena, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2016. Approximately 2,227 square feet (67.5 ft x 33 ft)
Pillars of the Community is a public art project that reflects the diverse culture, character and spirit of Edmonton’s inner-city community. Working together with Boyle Street Community Services- an inner-city initiative to combat homelessness and poverty- the artists photographed people from all walks of life to capture the very real essence of the Edmonton core. This project is about the honesty of urban life- the daily faces, the overlooked and the under-praised that all contribute to the vast culture of this urban wilderness. The use of colour and lines draw connections and help to highlight Edmonton’s reality – complex, urban, vibrant and yet still connected.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Passage” created for the Wall2Wall Mural Festival in downtown Winnipeg, MB in 2019. Location “The Forks” Market, 864 square feet (36’x12’ x 2 murals)
“Passage” is a diptych about time and place, place in one’s life, one’s city, and one’s heart. With this project, we wanted to paint an idea, rather than an individual, a representation of the complexity of human life, evoking a conversation on issues of loneliness, community, compassion and the challenges we each pass through in our life. This elderly figure, who has lived a life full of both trauma and triumph gazes deeply into the beauty of a prairie sunset. These tunnel walls at The Forks is the perfect location to represent the love and comfort provided by proximity to nature. We hope that viewers passing by this project will find a connection, both with their own relationship to nature and their compassion for humanity.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Langland Farms” 2,300ft2, acrylic paint, Bruce County, ON, 2019. Funding body: Langland Farms.
This mural project was undertaken to highlight the beauty of farm life while repurposing an underutilized farm structure and creating an outdoor gallery for this small rural community. It can be seen from a major route of travel in the area and has since become a local tourist attraction, highlighting the dedication of local families to rural life.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
Notre jeunesse, notre future (our youth, our future), Ferme Michel Dignard et Jeannette Mongeon, Embrun, Ontario, Canada. 4,175 square feet.
Popsilos was a Canada 150 project to celebrate and encourage tourism in rural areas,
Lacey and Layla Art were granted one of five massive farm silos to paint in the Prescott-Russell farmlands of Ontario. Working within the themes of the Government of Canada’s 150th celebration, we consulted with local Algonquin community members to create an original artwork that would positively reflect important themes symbols to move forward with unity and hope for the future of Canada.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“To be seen” was a project created during the 2019 BUMP mural festival of the Beltline district of Calgary, Alberta, approximately 5,000 square feet.
“This mural is a celebration of the people of inner-city Calgary, a walk-through portrait of real people from the community that contribute to the daily experience. This is an important concept to us, one we repeat often- that authentic people, coming from all backgrounds and living all walks of life deserve to be celebrated and visible. Life in our urban environments are over-saturated and over-stimulated, and therefore we try to use public art as a reminder of the importance of each and every individual, from the baker to the banker to the impoverished. We hope “To be seen” will help encourage a little more humanity, to take the time to recognize and appreciate the unique individual in those around you. We’d like to thank the Mustard Seed, The Albert Tower Seniors residence, street photographer @calgarystreets, and BUMP festival for their aid with this project.”
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Leif (1993-2019)” 1900 ft2 acrylic paint, Montreal, Quebec, 2020.
This project was undertaken as a memorial to honour and celebrate the life of Leif. The funding of the production materials and equipment was fundraised with the help of Leif’s family and the artists donated the entirety of the production of the mural.
Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
“Look Closely” was a self-initiated project funded by us, and subsidized by a personal art auction and kind donations by patrons, friends and family. Our intent with this project is to celebrate and promote age diversity and the beauty and wisdom in growing older in the bustling heart of Montreal’s trendy and young Plateau neighbourhood.
Artist: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)
The construction site for a new Toronto sewage purification plant at Lakeshore and Coxwell [Beaches]. A project organized by Wallnoize – a city-funded mural jam run in partnership with StreetARToronto and the surrounding Coxwell community.
Theme: Water
My concept sketch for this mural was the last sketch of mine that my Father ever saw…so I had to bring it to life. Rest in Peace my beautiful Daddy – Love you forever and always.
This 18 x 35′ mural on the edge of Ottawa’s Chinatown was commissioned by the Somerset St. W/Chinatown BIA and the City of Ottawa. The Peonies were requested as they are good luck in Chinese culture. Medium: Spray Paint and Acrylic on Brick. May, 2020.
Artist: Dom Laporte
Assistant: Anais Labreque
Photo Credit: Reg Albino
This 15 x 57′ mural was commissioned by the Bank St. BIA / City of Ottawa. This mural is one of two tributes to our health care and front line workers here in Ottawa and all of Ontario. The rainbow effect in the nurse represents the areas support for the LGBTQ community in Centre town and Ottawa as a whole.
Artist: Dom Laporte
Assisstant: Anais Labreque
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