avatarAaron Paulson

Summary

The web content discusses the evolution and current state of street art in Toronto, highlighting the transformation of areas like Graffiti Alley and the impact of public art on the city's identity.

Abstract

The article provides a personal narrative on the street art scene in Toronto, reflecting on its growth from the 1970s to the present day. It describes how once-marginal areas like Graffiti Alley have become popular tourist attractions, symbolizing the city's embrace of its multicultural and artistic heritage. The author, Aaron Paulson, shares his recent experiences and photographs from his visit to Toronto, showcasing the vibrant murals and public art that now define neighborhoods and reflect the city's cosmopolitan evolution. The piece also acknowledges the work of other artists and contributors to the street art culture in Toronto, emphasizing the dynamic and ever-changing nature of urban art in the city.

Opinions

  • The author appreciates the transformation of Toronto's street art, viewing it as a positive reflection of the city's cultural diversity and forward-thinking attitude.
  • There is a sense of nostalgia for the city's past, with the author noting the contrast between the cleanliness of Toronto in the 1970s and the intentional grittiness of areas like Graffiti Alley today.
  • The author suggests that the proliferation of public art is a response to the rapid architectural changes in the city, particularly the construction of condominiums and the evolution of traditional neighborhoods.
  • While acknowledging the commercial aspect of some street art, the author seems to value the authenticity and rebellious spirit of less mainstream works.
  • The article implies that street art is an essential component of Toronto's neighborhood identities and contributes to the city's aspiration to be a cosmopolitan metropolis.

Street Art Challenge: Toronto

Back Alleys — “Graffiti Alley” — Street Art — Rebel Art

All images © Aaron Paulson

Thanks to Anne Bonfert for this month’s challenge. As it happens, I have just returned from a summer visit to my first adopted hometown, Toronto – my first visit in five years – where I spent a lot of time walking and snapping pictures.

I grew up in the Toronto the Good of the 1970s and 80s (not that I helped the city earn that reputation — but that’s another story). There was a joke we used to tell about The City when I was in primary school: One day a film crew were shooting a street scene meant to look like New York City. They filled an alley downtown with garbage to give it that gritty urban look. When they returned the next morning to continue shooting, the trash had been cleaned up.

Even so, in areas such as the leafy Annex near the University of Toronto, local artists and homeowners splashed colour along the back alley garage faces and other pockets of the city, a tradition which continues and has expanded today.

By the 90s, when T.O. had a thriving alternative music and culture scene, hipster areas such as Queen West and Kensington Market had become public showcases for public street art, though these displays were still mostly off the beaten path, again in back alleys and industrial zones just being converted into artist lofts.

I visited my adopted hometown this summer (2023), and was happy to see some of the same out-of-the-way local colour, but also a more front-facing public art on streets and buildings and even the subways that reflect the city’s growing cosmopolitanism.

The area around Queen West, which used to be considered a little dangerous and was mostly taken up by empty light industry and music studios, today is a popular tourist attraction.

Taking pictures of The Big Smoke’s public art in its various forms was a highlight of my summer photo holiday.

Toronto has always been a forward-leaning city, more focused on the future than the past. The wholesale condo-zation of the city is one example of this tendency, as traditional neighbourhoods are transformed to house the influx of immigrants to the city. In the process of all this change, the city is really growing into the cosmopolitan metropolis it aspired to be when I was growing up in sometimes struggling first-generation immigrant neighbourhoods.

The changes in the city are reflected in the proliferation of public, multicultural art even as traditional neighbourhoods give way to the glass and steel architecture of the international style. But the topic of architecture in Toronto, gentle reader, is a topic for another post…

Back Alleys

A network of back alleys extends throughout the west-central heart of the city with the Annex at its beating heart. Many of the houses in these neighbourhoods have detached garages at the back of the property, which have become murals for property owners to showcase their creative side.

Graffiti Alley

Today this once-sketchy part of the city, off Spadina and Queen, is a popular tourist sight. I have to admit, this ever-changing palimpsest of mural art is cool, even if it feels more… commercial than the work in other, less-known parts of the city.

Street Art

As in most medium to large cities, Toronto has its share of public art installed by shops, galleries, and companies — with varying degrees of success. Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, and many of these neighbourhoods express their public identity through mural art.

Rebel Art

From posting bills over others’ work to political graffiti and other transgressive statements, these images capture a different kind of street energy than the previous works. Love ‘’em Or hate ‘’em, each of these pictures makes a statement meant to provoke.

Until Next Visit…

I would like to give a shout-out to three other recent street art posts here on Globetrotters:

Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

Adrienne Beaumont 😇

Darren Weir

Monthly Challenge
Street Art
Photography
Toronto
Travel
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