Black Lives Matter Street Mural, Toronto, Ont

The Black Lives Matter street mural in Toronto was created, like many around the nation, in response to the murder of George Floyd. This particular mural was created on July 1, 2020, which is Canada Day (Canada’s day of recognition for their independence) (Gladysz, 2020). The giant street mural was reminiscent of many across the United States and contained the simple message of: “Black Lives Matter.” It was placed in Toronto’s Kensington Market, which is a multicultural market in downtown Toronto that was already known for its vibrant murals (Beaton, 2017). It takes up almost an entire block on Augusta Avenue.  

The primary organizer of this mural — and the protest that accompanied it — was Yung Yemi, a street artist from Toronto. He thought it would be a good idea to have each letter be painted by a different artist to create a “mosaic” look. In total, 16 artists helped to create this mural (AGO, 2020). Yung had a friend who was familiar with the inner workings of the local city council to get a permit for the event, which took around 8 days from start to finish. Even though they received permission from the government that did not mean they received funding for the project from them. The artists funded the project themselves because they believed in the message they were spreading. They took to the streets because black artists are often omitted from creative institutions, and as Yung put it: “We just want the community at large to understand that we are out here and we will continue to do cool shit with or without the support of the larger creative community in Toronto” (AGO, 2020). 

Sources: 

Gladysz, K. (2020, July 2). Giant Black Lives Matter message painted on Kensington Market street. DH News. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://dailyhive.com/toronto/black-lives-matter-augusta-kensington-market 

Beaton, B. (2017, August 14). Kensington market. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kensington-market#:~:text=Kensington%20Market%20is%20an%20open,people%2Dfriendly%20Pedestrian%20Sundays%20events. 

Paint it black. Art Gallery of Ontario. (2020, July 29). Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://ago.ca/agoinsider/paint-it-black