Location: 1628 Dundas Street East, just west of Brock Avenue
Date photo taken: 9 July 2022
Apart from the size, you could almost describe this mural in Little Portugal as understated. The faded appearance is the result of the way in which it was created - not painted, but rather excavated. The artist, known as Vhils, creates his murals by chipping away at the layers already in place, revealing what is underneath. Which is a perfect fit for the theme of the mural. It features faces and scenes drawn from archival photos and reports, of women, predominently Portuguese immigrants, who worked as cleaners at Queen's Park. In the 1970s they came together and organized to demand better pay and working conditions and sparked a major labour movement that would become known as the Cleaners' Action.
You can learn more about the labour movement and the women behind it on this site. For more information on Vhils and his creation of the mural, there is an interesting article by David Ganhão.
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