Celebration of the arts

 

Location: East wall of 290 Adelaide Street West

Date photo taken: 5 February 2022

On a big blank wall next to a parking lot at John and Adelaide is this gorgeous tribute to arts and culture. It's by Alexander Bacon, a Canadian graffiti artist, and was created as a Partnership Project through StART in 2019. If you're curious, the portraits he has incorporated are of real people, whom he credits in his Instagram feed as @que_rock_, @anniecwh and @allblckerthing.

People Walking 2006

Location: 333 Bloor Street East

Date photo taken: 10 July 2019

Mirroring the hustle and bustle of a weekday late afternoon, figures of light traverse this large black screen positioned just steps away from the sidewalk on Bloor Street East. There are nine figures in total although I only know this from reading about the piece - their appearances are randomized so while watching from the sidewalk, the impression is of a much greater multitude. Commissioned by Rogers, and billed as Toronto's first LED-based piece of public art, it was created by British artist Julian Opie. On his website, I found it interesting to see what other cities feature "walking" pieces like ours. Spoiler alert - they include Shanghai and Taipei.

 

East Point Pavilion

Location: East Point Park

Date photo taken: 4 February 2024

This structure is part of a viewing pavilion designed to enhance the bird watching experience in East Point Park. According to the City's website, the park, which is located atop the Scarborough Bluffs, is a migratory staging area for monarch butterflies and over 178 species of birds. As part of an initiative to enhance and protect bird habitat within its borders, the City has designated the eastern portion of the park as a bird sanctuary. The design of this weathered steel wall reflects that. It is laser cut with a swarm of tiny birds, below which are included the common and scientific names of many of the birds that can be spotted in the park. The pavilions and other improvements to the site were the work of PLANT Architect Inc. and their work won them a Toronto Urban Design Award. In creating the site, they took pains to disturb as little as possible, including routing the paths through the park to minimize tree destruction and timing construction around the nesting seasons of local birds. 

Hugman

 

Location: The PATH, Exchange Tower

Date photo taken: 8 September 2024

If you've been in the Financial District in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a bit of a quiet invasion. Scattered inside and out, across several properties, are a number of Hugman sculptures. These crude human figures, which range from pint-sized to roughly adult height, are the work of Nathan Sawaya, an American artist, and they are made completely out of Lego. What started out as a street art project in New York has now spread to cities around the world. Brookfield Properties is responsible for bringing Hugman to Canada, first to Calgary, and now most recently, to Toronto. While to some eyes the tree-hugging stance may evoke thoughts of protest, Hugman just likes to hug. According to signage, the series was inspired by the simple idea of embracing others. 

Limelight Hydrangeas

Location: Berkeley Street 

Date photo taken: 18 September 2024

Walking up Berkely Street, there's a garden bed planted with small shrubs that have for some time been simply overflowing with the most magnificent flowers. Thanks to the signage so thoughtfully included by whoever planted these, I know that they are Limelight Hydrangeas and that I should be able to appreciate the blooms for a few more weeks yet. While there are great apps to help the curious identify plants, I love that in this case, I didn't have to pull out my phone to know what I was looking at, especially considering that this bed isn't part of a city park or associated with a garden centre.

Flyer

Location: Princes' Blvd, Canadian National Exhibition

Date photo taken: 24 August 2024

For those with an interest in heritage, there is always something to appreciate at the Ex. Most of the time it's in the background, like the Charles McKechnie figures in the Heritage Court or the outline of Fort Rouillé in the southern garden, but this year history is deliberately more in focus. An exhibit in the Withrow Common Gallery looks back at the relationship between the CNE and the AGO, and in the Enercare Centre, the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions is celebrated with an exhibit dedicated to carnivals. On display are photos, ephemera and artifacts from past midways, including cars from the Flyer, a roller coaster built on the CNE grounds in 1953. The cars, like the illuminated letters pictured here, were salvaged when the Flyer was dismantled in 1992. The CNE Association refurbished the sign and restored the cars and both are now ready for your selfie moment. 

Traffic Signal Box - Painted Ladies

Location: Dundas St. West at Wimbleton

Date photo taken: 25 June 2024

Image #21 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

I have to admit, I have no idea if these are Painted Lady butterflies. They could very well be American Ladies, which are similar, or something else entirely. Both Painted Ladies and American Ladies regularly migrate between Mexico and Ontario, and while most of the time neither are particularly plentiful here, every once in awhile they will arrive in great numbers.