Western Fair mural marathon leaves lasting mark on Old East Village

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Twenty-five street artists. A 10-day festival. One lasting impact on Old East Village.  

Giant murals now grace three of the four sides of Queens Park, the green space on the northwest corner of the Western Fair Racetrack – the result of a marathon effort by Canadian and international street artists during this year’s Western Fair.  

“We’re doing a marquee thing at the Western Fair. We’re adding new meaning and new energy. . . . It’s amazing what you can do in 10 days,” said Ken Galloway, curator of The Summit. 

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“We’re trying to make the Old East Village a global destination for the urban arts.”  

The murals at Queens Park were completed as part of The Summit, a mini festival celebrating street art and culture within the Western Fair. Artists began work on the murals on Sept. 6, the start of the Western Fair, and will be finished by mid-week, Galloway said.

Several of The Summit mural artists have been involved in the Wet Paint Initiative, a community collective of street artists behind 32 murals in London’s Old East Village neighbourhood over the past three years.  

The two murals on the south side of the park, on the wall of The Grove at the Western Fair District, formerly the Progress Building, draw inspiration from the nearby racetrack. The shade and condition of the walls means these murals will last 10 to 15 years, Galloway said. 

The murals on the west side of the park, along the exterior of the Western Fair Farmers’ Market building, and to the north, across Dundas Street, all draw on the same theme, the Magic of the Harvest, Galloway said.  

“Nick Sweetman painted native pollinators,” Galloway said, adding other artists have brought Indigenous, southeast Asian and Japanese-Canadian influences to the murals.  

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“Everyone has taken this Magic of the Harvest idea and interpreted it through their own lenses.”  

Galloway has his sights set on the fence surrounding the track for next year’s project. At any future editions of The Summit, Galloway would like to bring together the street art and skate park, which was set up inside the Agriplex this year. 

“We’d love to add more action sports next year. We’d love to look at adding breakdancing,” Galloway said.  

The Summit mural project was intended to provide opportunities to established street artists and ones who don’t have the resources to bring their vision to life, including finding funding, locations, scaffolding, mechanical lifts and supplies, Galloway said.  

Galloway hopes The Summit will also send the message to young people that urban artists can be activists, leaders and change-makers in their communities. 

The mural project was done in partnership with the Western Fair and others, including Sherwin-Williams, and received some provincial and federal grant funding, Galloway said. 

It has been exciting to see the murals take shape in Queens Park over the fair’s 10-day run, said Greg Blanchard, Western Fair’s director of sales and retail operations.  

“They will catch people’s eyes as they drive and walk by that area,” he said. “It’s a way to embrace community culture and showcase all the incredible artists we have in the area while giving us a real focal point we can be proud of.” 

jbieman@postmedia.com 

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