Gillie and Marc Schattner are a British and Australian collaborative artist couple. Gillie and Marc are known for their animal, human-animal hybrid and abstract sculptures, which have been exhibited as public works of art in more than 250 cities worldwide.
The pair’s art is their way of bringing awareness to the plight of animal welfare in many countries, especially Africa. Gillie and Marc describe themselves as “Eco-Warrior Artists Using Love and Art to Save Wildlife”:
Our unifying mission is to fill the world with inspiring public art that spreads messages of love, equality, conservation and hope. As public sculpture artists and wildlife activists, our method is to put wildlife front and centre in cities across the planet, making unforgettable experiences and recreating connections with the wild world. We aim to inspire a community that passionately works for change and unity so we can all live in a better world tomorrow.
At the moment, the following two Gillie and Marc sculptures are on display in Toronto, although I believe the Yorkville one may be gone by now.
Sculpture 1: He Was On A Wild Ride To A Safer Place With Rabbitwoman and Dogman
Located at David Pecaut Square, beside Metro Hall on King Street West
From the sculpture’s description:
“Together with Rabbitwoman and Dogman , this wacky, wild crew are in search of safety. This white rhino is threatened by endangerment, mainly from poaching and habitat loss. His only chance of survival is if everyone comes together, lending their peddling power to save all species.”
“Rabbitwoman and Dogman tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together as best friends and soulmates. This beloved pair of characters work as our conduit with wildlife, helping us find joy in nature and rekindle our connection with the wild. In the last 50 years, 70% of the planet’s wildlife has been lost. We must act now to save them. Share your own photo with the hashtag #LoveTheLast and join the campaign for conservation”.
Sculpture 2: Table Of Love
Located at 120 Scollard Street in Yorkville
From the sculpture’s description:
Even Though It Was Their First Date,He Asked Her to Marry Him. And She Said YES
“They say when you know, you know, and Dogman and Rabbitwoman both did after just one date. They met, they had dinner, he asked, she said yes. And within a week of first meeting each other they were in Nepal getting married in the foothills of Mount Everest. They still love going on dates together, sharing food, laughter and conversation. And after all this time – to adventure, to chance, to each other – they always say yes.”
Gillie and Marc have an amazing, interesting and very extensive website, located here.
Everyone knows our famous TORONTO sign in Nathan Phillips Square, but how often have we taken a really close look at it? I hadn’t, until now. The current “wrap” (as these designs are called) has been in place since September of 2022; I’ve seen it so many times it’s burned into my memory, and I’ve taken the sign for granted without really looking closely at it.
I just learned that the City of Toronto will soon be removing the wrap and replacing it with a special FIFA World Cup 2026 display, so I thought I’d better grab a few close-up shots before the current wrap disappears forever. On close inspection the wrap reveals some very beautiful artwork.
Our iconic TORONTO sign was originally created for the 2015 Pan American Games as a temporary attraction meant to be dismantled in November 2016, but the City of Toronto decided to continue to operate the sign after it became popular with tourists and residents. A 3D leaf structure was added to the sign in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th birthday.
The current vinyl wrap is an artwork entitled Rekindle, designed by artist Joseph Sagaj in recognition of UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 to 2032). Joseph Sagaj is Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) of the Sturgeon Clan, from the remote community of Neskantaga, approximately 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
This 3D Medicine Wheel was installed on June 18, 2018 in honour of Indigenous Peoples and timed to elevate awareness of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 of that year. The Medicine Wheel symbol was chosen as it is an emblem of North American Indigenous cultural values, tradition and spirituality. Its four directions (East, South, West and North) symbolize completeness, wholeness, connectedness and strength.
A Few Fun Facts About the TORONTO Sign*
Each letter can be moved and placed on its own
Each letter is 3 m (10 ft) tall and rests on a weighted plinth (base)
The full word is 22 m (74 ft) long
The weight of the whole sign is 9,207 kg (20,300 lbs)
Each letter weighs approximately 136 kg (300 lbs)
Each letter plinth (base) weighs approximately 1,180 kg (2,600 lbs)
Each letter is equipped with LED lights and can transition to approximately 228 million different colours
The Sign contains approximately 396 m (1,300 ft) of LED lights
The letters are constructed with a steel frame, aluminum cladding and a translucent polycarbonate front and back
The colourful sides are covered in a changeable vinyl wrap, so the letters can be re-skinned with different designs
*Courtesy of the City of Toronto’s Toronto Sign web page
This past Sunday I set off downtown to photograph some architecture for the blog. I was pleasantly waylaid, though, by the Khalsa Day Parade snaking its way through the downtown core.
The Parade Assembles on Bay Street
Khalsa Day is a major Sikh festival celebrating the 1699 establishment of the Khalsa (the Sikh community). It commemorates the birth of the Sikh order, and emphasizes equality, service and commitment. Khalsa is celebrated with parades, hymns, and free food:
This was the first time I’d experienced the Khalsa Festival. I didn’t even know it existed until I literally stumbled upon it. Several friendly Sikhs approached me during the Parade to see if I knew what the celebration was about; they were pleased and proud to tell me about their culture and religion. I was fascinated by all the colour, positivity and sense of community that day.
The Parade headed across King Street West and up University Avenue:
The Sikh faith believes in the Creator 1, which is an Infinite Source all around us and is the Source of everything. With the 1, the human race is all equal. and has the 1’s light within. The 1’s light is free of gender, religion, race, nationality or sexual orientation. Sounds good to me.
The Sikh Motorcycle Club
Khalistan
What is Khalistan? Khalistan (meaning “Land of the Khalsa”) is a proposed independent Sikh sovereign state envisioned for the Punjab region, primarily intended to be carved out of northern India.
Massive Gurdwara at Nathan Phillips Square
Free food for all is a core principle of Sikh Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples). Everyone sits as equals to eat the same food, which is prepared by volunteers.
As the Parade returned to its point of origin – Nathan Phillips Square – huge crowds descended on the Square. Free food to all was provided. To enjoy the food, one needs to cover the head, remove shoes and socks, and wash hands (as best you can outside anyway):
Food was also enjoyed out on Queen Street West. This is in the spirit of Langar: a free, open vegetarian kitchen served to all attendees regardless of background:
As of 2026, Khalsa Day has been celebrated in Toronto for 40 years, with the inaugural parade taking place in 1986.
The Parade and event brought thousands of people into the downtown core. It was fascinating taking in the colour, sounds and culture of the event; it proved to be a great learning experience for yours truly.
Today we’ll take a short, rainy-day walk across Richmond Street West, roughly from Simcoe Street to John Street. Prior to researching it, I knew in general that this street was of historical significance in terms of Toronto’s old warehouse district. Delving a little deeper I learned a bit of background on some of the buildings along this stretch.
The Graphics Art Building – 73 Richmond Street West
These are live-and-work lofts and suites in an historic building with classic architectural details. Built in 1913, the limestone building features Ionic columns and cornice work. For years it was the headquarters of Saturday Night Magazine, an esteemed publication that featured the writing of many of Canada’s most acclaimed writers including Stephen Leacock, John McCrae, Robertson Davies and Margaret Atwood. The entrance still boasts the original Saturday Night signage.
The CHUM Studios – 250 Richmond Street West
Corner of Richmond Street West and Duncan Street. This historic 4-storey building on Richmond Street West near Duncan Street serves as the headquarters for iHeartRadio Canada, radio stations—CHUM-FM (104.5), CFRB (Newstalk 1010), and CKFM-FM (99.9 Virgin Radio).
The iconic vertical “CHUM” neon sign was moved from its original location at 1331 Yonge Street. Prior to becoming a Bell Media radio hub, the building was a nightclub venue (home to Go-Go’s and Whiskey Saigon in the late 80s and early 90s). The building achieved heritage significance in 2017, located within the King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District.
The building was constructed circa 1909 amid the area’s second wave of industrialization, which emphasized garment and light manufacturing activities.
RendezViews – 229 Richmond Street West
RendezViews is Toronto’s largest outdoor patio and event space, located at 229 Richmond Street West in the Entertainment District. Known for its vibrant, colourful painted picnic tables and massive murals, this former parking lot was transformed into a popular spot for watching sports, live entertainment, and social gatherings.
RendezViews aerial view. Photo: RendezViews
Reflections Mural – 229 Richmond Street West
Reflections is a massive 45,000-square-foot mural and art experience located at 229 Richmond Street West in Toronto, forming part of the RendezViews patio (see aerial shot above).
This impressive mural was created by artists Clandestinos (which consists of Bruno Smoky and Shalak Attack) in 2021. The mural covers the ground and walls with vibrant, kaleidoscopic colours, telling a story of optimism and community growth.
Tip Top Tailors “Ghost Sign” – 260 Richmond Street West
Located on the west facade of 260 Richmond Street West, east of John Street. Built in 1914/15, this historic World War I-period industrial building is the former warehouse for Tip Top Tailors. Its west-facing ghost sign reads: Home of Tip Top Tailors – Suits & O’Coats Always One Price – To Measure.
Tip Top Tailors was founded in 1909 by David Dunkelman, a Polish-Jewish immigrant. The company moved from this location to 637 Lake Shore Boulevard West in 1929. Today this Richmond Street West site is home to Bell Media.
Gelber Brothers Sign – 217-225 Richmond Street West
Moses and Louis Gelber were two Jewish immigrant brothers, arriving in Toronto in 1896. After each had great success in their ventures, the brothers consolidated their operations at 217-219 Richmond Street West, near Duncan Street. In 1923, they hired well-respected Jewish architect Benjamin Brown to build their warehouse and office building at the current address.
These shots were taken on Richmond Street West behind 299 Queen Street West. The building is the official headquarters of Bell Media (CTV Drama Channel, BNN Bloomberg, CTV Comedy Channel, E!, Oxygen True Crime, CTV Life Channel, Much, etc.).
The current five-storey building was originally constructed in 1913 as the headquarters of the Methodist Church of Canada by the architectural firm of Burke, Horwood and White. The Methodists joined with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925, for which the building served as the headquarters until 1959. By this time the Ryerson Press, originally the publishing arm of the Methodist Church, had grown to occupy the entire building.
Post-Rain Reflections – Richmond Street West
WeWork Building – 240 Richmond Street West
This building is home to “WeWork”, a six-floor co-working space in Toronto’s Entertainment District. WeWork offers flexible workspaces, including private offices, dedicated desks and meeting rooms, along with related amenities.
From the company’s website: Across three thoughtfully designed floors, you’ll find private offices, open lounges, and quiet nooks where teams and individuals can focus, meet, and create. Onsite staff, daily cleaning, and high-speed internet keep everything running seamlessly, while phone booths and well-equipped conference rooms make it easy to handle focused calls and client meetings. With bike storage, showers, micro-roasted coffee, and welcoming common areas, this location is built for comfortable workdays and steady energy.
This stretch of Richmond Street West is an interesting part of the downtown. The street is a vital, high-intensity corridor within Toronto’s King-Spadina area, functioning as a nexus for commercial growth and residential density.
Following a tradition that goes back to 1962, the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Toronto held its annual Good Friday Procession on the streets of Little Italy yesterday, Friday, April 3rd:
The mile-long Procession included religious statues, musical bands, and people representing different characters associated with re-enacting the fourteen Stations of the Cross (Jesus on his way to crucifixion).
The Procession, which has become a sight to behold due to its scale and grandeur alone, has not always been that way, according to current pastor Fr. Massimo Buttigieg:
This was something started by our people back in 1962, and it was originally a simple drama play done in the hall of the parish. They evolved over the years, and it wasn’t until they bought the statue (of the crucifix) that they started the procession with that statue.
Ever since those early days, we have added more statues, volunteers with costumes and different characters from the Passion. Today, we have eight statues in total and around 200 different characters in the street procession.
The Procession started at 3:00PM, but I’ve always found the more interesting shots are not of the Procession itself, but of the event participants getting ready at the St. Francis of Assisi Church, at the corner of Grace Street and Mansfield Avenue.
When I arrived I was surprised to find 30-35 other photographers already on site – paparazzi abounded!
Illuminite is a free, annual winter outdoor art festival organized by the Downtown Yonge BIA that transforms the Downtown Yonge area into a public gallery with interactive light installations. This year the event features five main installations focused on the theme of “Play”.
Each site features a playful, interactive experience designed to spark joy, movement, and connection in the heart of winter. Whether you’re a curious explorer or just passing through, Illuminite 2026 invites everyone to pause, play, and light up the city together.
This year the five art installations are located at:
Yonge-Dundas Square
Trinity Square Park
College Park
777 Bay Plaza
Granby Parkette
I paid a little visit to each site; here’s what I found (installation descriptions courtesy of the Illuminite 2026 website):
Pop!
Something Fun Is Popping Up Company: Gentilhomme Location: Yonge-Dundas Square (1 Dundas Street East)
Something playful is bubbling beneath the surface at Yonge-Dundas Square, and it’s ready to POP! Hidden inside glowing monoliths are five quirky characters – named Popo, Popup, Popli, Popette, and Popotin – just waiting to burst out and start the party.
To set them free, you’ll need to call out, sing, or dance your way into their world. As each figure responds with movement, sound, and colour, the installation transforms into a joyful, collective celebration of music, surprise, and togetherness.
Domino Effect
Sparks In Sequence Artist: Ingrid Ingrid Location: Trinity Square Park (19 Trinity Square, behind Eaton Centre)
Get ready to knock down winter blues with a musical chain reaction! Domino Effect invites visitors of all ages to play, collaborate, and co-create a symphony of sound and light using giant pastel-coloured dominos.
Each domino triggers a unique note, from vocals to percussion, and every cascade becomes a playful performance of rhythm, colour, and connection. Work together to build longer sequences, reverse the direction, and unlock new melodies in this interactive orchestra of joy.
Horizon
The Light Is In Sight Artist: MattCreative Location: College Park – Yonge Street Entrance (420 Yonge Street)
Step into a glowing field of motion and colour. Horizon is a large-scale 3D LED matrix that visualizes waves of light as they move through space and time. With over 3,000 LEDs and interactive controls, this immersive installation invites you to shape shifting patterns of light in real time, turning College Park into a dynamic playground of sight and sound.
Oval Swings
Coming Full Circle Company: Prevail Activations Location: 777 Bay Plaza (777 Bay Street)
Feel the glow and let yourself sway. Oval Swings bring playful energy and luminous charm to 777 Bay Plaza. Designed for all ages, these glowing LED swings invite you to pause, connect, and capture the moment: a joyful blend of movement, light, and pure winter magic.
A delightful, hands-on experience that turns Trinity Square Park into a hub of movement, laughter, and collective creativity.
Granby Parkette comes alive with Hearts at Play, a vibrant trio of interactive sculptures that celebrate community, creativity, and connection in Downtown Yonge.
Bold in colour and glowing with light, these artworks encourage visitors to pause, play, reflect, and rediscover the heart of the city, and their place within it.
Illuminite runs until March 8, 2026. The event is now in its third year.
This past long weekend was a celebration of the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Horse. In recognition of this, a weekend-long event was held at Nathan Philips Square, entitled Toronto Spring Festival Celebration: The Lunar New Year.
This Lunar Festival is a fairly new effort; this was only its second annual. The premiere of this event last year was an enormous success, with over 50,000 people attending.
This weekend there was a Market selling interesting Asian items, plenty of Asian food, and a Main Stage which hosted variety shows and cultural performances. There were also several heated tents where attendees could escape the cold to watch various performances.
Light and fireworks played a large part in the event. In Chinese culture, fireworks are far more than festive lights – they are a profound symbol of courage and hope. Rooted in over 2,000 years of tradition driving away the legendary beast Nian, these lights now shine over Toronto, bridging the past and the future.1
Much of the Festival this year took place on Nathan Phillip Square’s huge ice rink. There was figure skating, showcasing some very talented skaters. The Dragon and Lion Dances also took place on the ice, in addition to a slightly bizarre fashion show.
VIP tickets were available for purchase – this admitted the visitor to reserved seating in the heated tents to experience the robot shows and several other cultural events. The aforementioned robots were brought in from Asia for this event. Apparently one of their main tasks was to dance with performers onstage just before the closing fireworks on Sunday night – I’m not sure how all of that turned out as I didn’t stay long enough to catch the closing event.
Figure Skating
Dragon Dancing
And one of the more oddly-presented fashion shows I’ve ever seen:
Couture on Ice Grand Fashion Show: designer Adam X Atelier presenting
It was a good time, generating positivity and cultural pride; I hope the event continues in the years to come.
600 Parliament Street in St. James Town is a visual reminder of resistance to the area’s development in the 1960s. Sitting on Parliament Street near Wellesley Street East, I have passed this building hundreds of times; every time I pass by it strikes me as incongruous to the rest of the neighbourhood.
The family of Lucio Casaccio had owned the semi-detached building since 1910, running a tailoring business from the premises. When the St. James Town apartment complex was planned in the 1960s, many of the old row houses along Parliament Street had to be demolished to make way for the new towers. When approached, the owner, Lucio Casaccio, refused to sell his house unless the developers paid him $100,000 – twice the amount paid for neighbouring houses. When negotiations failed, developers tore down the other half of the semi and built a Y-shaped, 32-storey building called The Halifax, which wraps around the former Casaccio home:
Lucio Casaccio continued to fight the building’s developers even after The Halifax was completed. In 1968, he sued Howard Investments Ltd., the firm behind the Halifax’s construction, for $1,000,000. In an unusual legal argument, Casaccio claimed the company violated his property’s air rights by swinging materials over his building during construction. Ultimately, Casaccio was awarded $1,200 by a judge, but also required to pay $60,000 in legal costs.
Today, the building houses New World Laundry, a laundromat run by Korean immigrants, who renovated the building in 2012.
On its upper floors, the building has 4,300 square feet of space which incorporates 10 rental units. Here’s the view around the rear of the building where the apartments are accessed:
If you have some spare change and want to invest in real estate, the building is currently on the market for a cool $5,980,000.00.
Set in Nathan Phillips Square, Cavalcade of Lights is an annual free event that transforms City Hall and and the Square into a dazzling wonderland.
This year there is lots of lights, art installations and, of course, free skating:
Art Installation: “Lux Array” An interactive light and sound installation by Luxonous Collective. Its assembly of rotating squares become photo frames, inviting you to enter and become part of the artwork yourself.Art Installation: “Luminescence” An immersive experience in an illuminated dome, east of the main stageArt Installation: “We Change Each Other” A thought-provoking light installation that explores themes of unity and the amalgamation of cultures by Shilpa Gupta, near the TORONTO sign.Art Installation: “Echo” An interactive installation that allows you to explore the hidden power of your unique voice
You know what Marvin ? I never knew about this. I really have never got close enough to see all…