Art & Culture

Healthy, sustainable communities are vibrant and appealing – and in Toronto, they’re also culturally rich. As part of our commitment to beautifying and revitalizing communities, Greenest City has helped create a medley of art-related projects and installations that reflect some of the cultures represented in the Parkdale neighbourhood.

Art installations:

As part of the HOPE garden, we enlisted four local artists to design the four sides of the garden shed.

Tsultrim, a Tibetan monk from India, painted the side of the shed facing north.

Laurie Satok, a local artist, painted the side facing the garden.

The two murals below were painted by Ezekiel and Victor respectively. The artists are connected to the garden through our partnership with Sketch, an art studio drop-in for street involved youth.
   

The HOPE garden sign was made for us by Sketch.

Various, smaller art objects have been ‘planted’ throughout the HOPE garden. They lend a whimsical, personal touch to the park. The one above the gate was made for us by Victor, from Sketch.

This mural was made for us by 7th Generation Image Makers. Greenest City commissioned this mural with help from the City of Toronto, and it is displayed beside the main entrance of the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre.

The youth garden in the Dunn Parkette is also adorned with art installments. The wooden paintings on the fence were made by Ozzi, DD, Amber and various Sketch members, and the mural was created by Ashton.

The funky mural below was created by a group of OCAD students and Victor.

Victor, our chief artist extraordinaire, created the wild and colourful art piece displayed in the entrance of our basement office. A visiting youth artist from Mexico, Victor has been involved with our garden from the very beginning, and we hope to share more of his talents and passion in the coming days.

Community Art

Creating art is also a central part of our public gatherings. At our “Food, Earth and Culture Festival” participants are invited to create art together in a fun and festive outdoor setting. These art projects enliven the atmosphere and encourage people to express themselves and celebrate the community.

Our festivals also showcase the diversity of cultures represented in the Greenest City community. Our Festival has featured performances by Tibetan dancers, an African drumming group, a hip hop DJ, and a children’s artist, among many others.

We are fortunate to have an accomplished photographer on staff. Gelek Badheytsang, our Communications Manager, has been documenting stories of the growing Greenest City community since we moved to Parkdale in 2008. They say that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ – and these pictures definitely prove it.