Go Ahead in the Rain

 

Location: Laneway off Pelham Avenue

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

A perfect mural for our showery April but it's also a call out to 90s hip hop band A Tribe Called Quest. Go Ahead in the Rain was a track on their first album and it's also the name of an award winning book about the group. 

Dumpster Fire

 

Location: 48 Pelham Avenue

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

More awesome raccoon antics courtesy of Emily May Rose, paired with the work of Erika James. The wall was done in 2021 as part of a Laneway Jam organized by KJ Bit Collective and supported by the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

Mayan mural

 

Location: Symington Avenue, north of Dupont

Date photo taken: 17 November 2022

This Mayan figure stands facing north, part of a larger mural spanning the west side of the rail underpass on Symington Avenue. Between tagging and flaking, this mural, created around 2009, has seen better days, but this figure, and Isis on the south end, remain relatively unscathed. 

Purple cat

 

Location: Laneway near Davenport and Uxbridge

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

For today, a splash of colour. This kitty is part of a larger wall featuring the work of three different artists. This is by Jieun (June) Kim and while this picture doesn't do the colours justice, it gives you an idea of her glorious, trippy style. 

Hockey Heritage Mural - Summit Series

Location: Rail underpass on Davenport near Caledonia Park Rd.
Date photo taken: 10 September 2015

It was 45 years ago this week that Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in game eight to clinch the first Canada-USSR Summit Series. That moment, with Henderson celebrating and being embraced by teammate Yvan Cournoyer, was captured by Canadian Press photographer Frank Lennon. That image has been recreated on a railway underpass at Davenport and Calendonia Park as part of a hockey heritage mural. At over thirty metres wide it depicts personalities and moments from Canada's golden years of hockey, from 1951 to 1993. Created by the Davenport Arts Community, they endeavour to go beyond the creation of static murals, incorporating augmented reality and interactive animation into their designs, a process they call murography, allowing the viewer to interact through their smartphone. I wish I had known this when I visited the site. If you've interacted with the mural, please leave a comment below and share your experience.