It’s time for another installment of what I’ve dubbed From The Vaults, which are TOcityscapes from several years past. These shots are from January 12, 2013 so I think they qualify as Vaults material.
For about 4 years in the early 2010s, there was a huge wooden hoarding/fence on the south side of Allan Gardens. The hoarding surrounded the main construction site of the Gerrard Watermain Replacement Project. Allegedly the size of 2 football fields (719 feet), the hoarding served as a massive art canvas for Toronto Aboriginal community artists.
Entitled The Nindinawemaaganidok/All My Relations Mural Project, the artwork was a visual representation of First Nations life and culture in Toronto. Led by nationally recognized and award winning artists Tannis Nielsen and Philip Cote, 21 artists from the First Nations community came together to design and paint the mural.
The mural depicted 5 different topics combined with Aboriginal history in the city of Toronto:
- Aboriginal women who have been murdered or have gone missing across Canada
- A time line of the creation story to present day
- The North and South Indigenous nations coming together
- Indigenous teachings
- The importance of water
Here’s how it looked:
I couldn’t find any further history as to what happened to the mural after it was dismantled. At one point I heard it was to be auctioned off during the Pan Am games when they were hosted in Toronto a few years; I don’t know if that ever came to pass, though. At any rate, it proved to be an inspiring and beautiful mural for a number of years in Allan Gardens.
I remember that. Used to wonder what it was all about. Now I know.