Murals on Church Street for World Pride 2014

Kristyn Wong-Tam —

In June 2014, Toronto will play host to World Pride and to hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country and around the globe. As the historical home to Toronto’s LGBT2IQ community, The Church-Wellesley Village will be a central hub for visitors and for World Pride events. StreetARToronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Tourism Toronto, Dulux Paints, The Home Depot, the Church-Wellesley Village BIA, and The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives have partnered together with Councillor Wong-Tam’s Office to celebrate this rich history and invigorate the streetscape of the Village in preparation for World Pride through the Church Street Mural Project.

Church-st.-mural

The project will celebrate and re-affirm Village identity through a series of 11 publically accessible murals. Thirteen professional, gallery quality artists have been selected from a group of over 50 applicants to bring the history, culture and community stories of the neighbourhood to life for visitors and long-time residents alike. This project will make The Village home to one of the largest open-air galleries and will remain for years to come once World Pride is over.

Painting for The Church Street Mural Project has already begun and will be completed by November 1st, 2013. A website for this project is live at www.churchstreetmurals.com.
Councillor Wong-Tam will hold a community meeting on April 23 with area residents and stakeholders to discuss the future of Jarvis Street at Jarvis Collegiate Institute. The meeting will start at 6:30 pm.

In 2009, work on an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Jarvis was halted, stopping the development of a plan to recognize the street’s historic and cultural significance through a comprehensive streetscaping strategy. Though Jarvis was the home to nearly all of Toronto’s early residents and prominent families, much of that history has been lost with new development pressures and neglect by the city.