Summertime graffiti project tags three more mural sites

At right, Jared VanderReest, Jessey Pacho, and Jasper Urbina pose in front of their own images at Youthlink InnerCity. The mural was painted as part of a program that Adam Vaughan describes as “a testament to the depth of talent of Toronto youth, to the

On Aug. 27, project co-ordinator and Room 13 Toronto artist-in-residence Michael Brown and four local youths from the Harbourfront Community Centre’s mural project led a 30-minute walking tour taking in three Downtown buildings they transformed with original works of art over the past eight weeks.

“For me it’s more than making a wall look pretty; it’s about creation, coming together with our thoughts and ideas and gaining experiences as well as memories,” says 17-year-old mural project artist Brittany Martel.

The project’s funders are delighted by the project’s results. “The mural program has a huge impact on neighbourhoods and on young people in our city,” comments Scott Mills, Toronto Crime Stoppers community youth officer and legal graffiti art co-ordinator.

While not everyone likes having their place of business transformed by grafitti art, Sabina Chatterjee, manager of Youthlink Innercity, is raving about it. “The team of youth worked their magic on our east facing wall. Initiatives like this that allow youth to engage with, shape and transform community is so important to our city!”

The mural project is funded by the city’s Graffiti Transformation Investment Program and RBC Foundation. Its focus is to join youth-with-promise with backgrounds in visual art and graffiti to work together as a team designing and rendering interior and exterior art murals.