Across Time and Space

Location: Pedestrian walkway running west from Bay St., just south of Dundas

Date photo taken: 17 Nov 2013

This composite image brings together two ends of a public art piece which adorns a pedestrian link between Bay Street and the relatively new Motion by Concert rental apartments. It beautifully fits the space, providing interest at both ends of this narrow lane. Two children sit and gaze at each other down the length of the alley. On the wall between them, the name of the piece: "Across time and space, two children of Toronto meet..."  The piece is the work of Canadian artist Ken Lum and it speaks to Toronto's identity as a city of immigrants, to the ways in which we interact and accept each other as fellow urban citizens, and to the passage of time. The work was commissioned as part of the City of Toronto's Percent for Public Art Program, and was completed in 2013.

David A. Balfour Park

Location: Access off of Mount Pleasant Rd., south of St. Clair Ave. E.

Date photo taken: 19 Sep 2013

Itching for the great outdoors but can't afford the time or expense of a cottage getaway? Why not spend some time exploring some of Toronto's parks? This descent into greenery is an access point for David A. Balfour Park, a 20.5 hectare park running roughly north to south along Yellow Creek, near Yonge and St. Clair. In addition to a number of wooded trails, the park also includes the large grassy expanse of the Rosehill Reservoir and if you follow the main trail to the south it leads you to Craigleigh Gardens, a gated garden space. The park is easily accessed by transit, and if you decide you want to keep on hiking, you can easily turn your stroll into a longer circuit by adding the Beltline Trail through Evergreen Brick Works, Moore Park Ravine and Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Painting Murals at PANAMANIA

Location: Distillery District
Date photo taken: 11 July 2015

In case you hadn't noticed, the Pan Am Games are on and that means so is PANAMANIA, the 35 day arts and culture festival that surrounds the games. The Distillery District is one of the event hubs for the festival, hosting both free and ticketed events. Also on site are additional opportunities to eat and shop, thanks to an influx of these mini container units. This weekend, artists were at work painting murals on some of the containers. Here, Erica Balon, aka EGR, is adding the final touches to hers.

Born This Way Mural

Location: Humber River Recreational Trail, where it passes under the 401
Date photo taken: 22 May 2015
Image 17 in the Mural Series

This is one small section of a long, beautiful mural painted this May by Essencia Art Collective. As the title suggests, the mural seeks to address discrimination based on sexual orientation and it is yet another legacy of the Pan Am games being hosted here. Like the vuducatz work featured a few weeks ago, it's located on the Pam Am Path, where the Humber River Recreation Trail passes under the 401, just south of Pine Point Park.

Centennial sidewalk stamp

Location: Bright Street
Date photo taken: 23 February 2014

They're everywhere under our feet and if you watch for them, they can provide clues to how the area around you has developed. I'm talking about the contractors' stamps on the sidewalk. Most of the time they simply identify the company that laid that particular section of the sidewalk and when it was done. This allows the city to perform audits and to evaluate the quality of work by different contractors. Sometimes however there's something a little extra special. Like this stamp, which identifies a section of sidewalk laid by city staff in 1967, which incorporates Stuart Ash's iconic centennial logo. If you stop and think about it, this stamp tells you that this particular patch of sidewalk has been around and in use for almost 50 years!