Echoes - the 2011 bridge mural

Check out the Subtext 2011 video

If you missed out on Subtext Multi-Arts Festival 2011, check out this video to get a peek at performers, artists, community groups and members taking part in this celebration of community, arts and green initiatives. This was the second year for the festival in the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park neighbourhood. The under-the-bridge-festival had something to offer for all who attended.

Accomplishment of the On-bridge Mural "ECHOES" and Subtext Festival

Our final weeks have been very rewarding. After working entirely on silhouetted background images in a dark gray colour, we finally brought in some bright orange-red colour for accents and our stencils. People who pass by us every day have been requesting some colour and, boy, do we have colour now! We have picked a variety of poems from the community and quotes to add to the imagery, so there is an almost endless display of things to see and read as you walk along the bridge now.

This is our first stencil on the bridge!

The length of the bridge was finished just in the nick of time this Friday, and was appreciated by the many who came to the Subtext Multi-Arts festival under the bridge this past weekend. It is so encouraging to be a part of the many arts projects taking place in such a diverse and talented community and know our work will be cherished for many years to come.

Subtext Festival and Mural Launch

Although we are all proud to be completed such a huge task, we will miss our long days working together with the team and volunteers, and getting to know the people who pass by the bridge every day.

Thank you to all the kind words and support, and if you haven’t seen the final product, come on by!

The Second Week on the Bridge

Hello again from ‘The Bridge’ team!

This is our second week working on site and things are going slow but steady. We have finished the background silhouettes for almost half the Bridge (it’s 870 feet long!), and once the background is finished we will be stencilling our words for ‘echoes’. We have 10 themes that will run along the bridge: Welcoming Diversity, Celebrating Culture, Community members and places, Nature and Environment, Fantasy and Dreamland, Family and Home, Playing Games and Toys, Activities,School and Education, and Inspiration/Success.

We have had some very hot days and a few rainy ones we have persevered through, but today we are working inside because of the rain. The nearby community has been very welcoming and interested in our work. Many people honk as they pass by, and those walking by usually give some encouraging words or to ask about what we are doing. Someone even interviewed us for their ‘Toronto City Walks’ blog (www.neighbourhoodwalks.wordpress.com), which we will appear in soon. If you are in the area, come by and say hi, I guarantee we will enjoy the chance for a break to chat!

Subtext Multi-Arts Festival and Mural Launch

Mural Routes Summer Crew: Ready to Go Paint on the Bridge

Our group has been hard at work with this expressive text-based project, Echoes (working title). We began by collaborating with Jumblies Theatre group, who have spent the past few months collecting words and phrases from a variety of local community members. Our group participated in a collective session just like the community had. Jumblies asked us to express our “badland,” “goodland” and “dreamland”; in the process we learnt about others’ fears, dislikes, appreciation, loves, and our dreams for our community.

From this large collection of words, our group has focused on the positive aspects of the local community, echoing these collected words and phrases through creating a unique text expression for each word. The process has been long but the hard work will pay off, we have made hundreds of stencils and are very excited to begin work on-site at the bridge next week!

SAVE THE DATE: SUBTEXT Multi Arts Festival 2011