StreetARToronto (StART) at TOAF61

Paul Aloisi

Paul Aloisi is a Canadian born, internationally exhibited artist who works across and integrates disciplines including sculpture, installation and inter-media abstraction. His recent work has explored human interaction and communication through investigations of public space, architecture, typography and their relationships.

His practice involves both permanent public artworks and unsolicited ephemeral interventions to engage the public and stimulate their participation in ‘moments of art’.  Aloisi’s studio practice is complemented by participation in artist residencies; to date he has lived and worked in cities such as Prague, Montreal and Monza. Previous commissions include clients such as Evergreen Canada, Bell Canada, Nike Canada, CBC Radio Canada, Interior Designers of Canada, Grolsch and Open Text.

An experienced group facilitator, Aloisi has engaged in arts education projects with the Luminato Festival, Toronto District School Board and is an Assistant Professor at OCAD U.

Danielle Hyde

Danielle Hyde is a multi-disciplinary Indigenous artist, Curator and Educator creating under CoCreations.com and the Red Urban Nation Artist Collective.  Their work spans murals, paintings, graphic design and photography. Blending mediums the work offers invitations to acknowledge ourselves as 4-dimensional beings and explore greater ethical relationality with the world; connecting through our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirit all operating in chorus with the seen and unseen. Each work is a conversation to engage in a shared "re-membering" of Art’s fundamental generosity and power to humanize daily wellness.

Christopher Ross

Christopher Ross (aka GAWD) is a surrealist artist from Montreal. Ross has created murals and exhibition pieces in various Canadian and international cities and has been an important part of Montréal’s street art community since the nineties.

Among the hundreds of jobs, Christopher completed while pursuing art, was fixing egg machines. Christopher soon discovered the ink used to date eggs was an interesting medium for painting,  directly influencing his signature splatters and eventually the use of liquid watercolour. Along with occasional access to painting materials, Christopher’s various jobs made him more aware of the working class struggle, and, relationships among people, nature and the environment.

Monica Wickeler

Monica is an LGBTQ2S+ /Luxembourg/Canadian artist with a passion for public art.

Also known as @monicaonthemoon, Monica was originally trained in the craft of hand-painted outdoor advertising in the ’90s and has moved her practice towards community-based public art installations, in Toronto, and across Canada.

When Monica isn’t found on the boom-lift reaching the far top corner of a mural, she can be found in the studio planning her next creative placemaking adventure.

Ren Lonechild & Yasaman Mehrsa

Tuesday, July 12 at 12:30 PM | Watch on Instagram

Michael Parsons & Melika Saeeda

Saturday, July 16 at 12:30 PM | Watch on Instagram

Live Painting with Brian Jiang

Friday, July 15 at 11:00 AM

Brian Jiang (they/them) is a queer trans Tkaronto-based interdisciplinary artist of Chinese descent. Their multidisciplinary arts practice comprises painting, illustration, animation and design. Brian’s work explores topics such as speculative worlds, reinterpretation of memories, and community-building. Their work combines the surreal and playful, with imagery comprising of interacting characters, fantastical scenarios, and lush flora. Brian finds inspiration in the qualities of folk art, 60’s Japanese Graphic design, Surrealism, print ephemera and the natural world. They hold a Bachelor of Design (Illustration) from OCAD University. Brian has created work for clients such as LinkedIn, the City of Toronto, UofT Med Magazine, Xpace Cultural Centre, Pride Toronto, and more.

Live Painting with Andrea Rodriguez

Friday, July 15 at 2:00 PM

I am a creative, bold and colourful designer, lettering artist and muralist. Latin American biodiversity is my primary source of inspiration, and I showcase my obsession with flora and fauna through illustration, lettering, and mural art. My art is reminiscent of my childhood in Colombia, incorporating them into my Canadian life. As an artist, I feel that my purpose is to create awareness about the loss of the tropical rainforest through engaging and eye-catching messages that motivate people. I work in a multidisciplinary setting where I mix my design knowledge with my love for mural and lettering art. I aspire to brighten the day of anyone who walks by my art, and I try to inspire them to question themselves about the art I paint.

Live Painting with Jordan McKie

Saturday, July 16 at 11:00 AM

Jordan McKie is an art maverick, originally from Ottawa who has called Toronto home for over a decade. His visual aesthetic is as diverse as his hobbies and interests. From satirical tongue and cheek cartoons to abstract impressionism, there's nothing the classically trained artist wouldn't attempt. With an arsenal of tools akin to what Batman carries around his waist, Jordan seeks to create paintings and murals which speak to both the collective and the individual and most importantly, can reach those looking for a sense of belonging.

Live Painting with Ghazaleh Rastgar

Saturday, July 16 at 2:00 PM

Ghazaleh Rastgar is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist who grew up in Shiraz, Iran and later moved to Toronto, Canada. She graduated from OCAD U where she obtained her Bachelor of Design. Ghazaleh began working in a corporate environment and after 7 years, she decided to dive back into her original passion, visual arts.

Her body of work explores concepts of love, sexuality and identity and is inspired by nature, the human body, sensuality, and positivity. She has created artwork as illustrations, animated gifs, paintings and murals. A few clients she has worked with are TIFF, The Fast Company and Bell Canada. She redesigned the CBC Arts logo for the month of October 2021 and a series of her animated GIFs were featured on the CBC show, Exhibitionists.

Live Painting with Désiré Betty

Sunday, July 17 at 11:00 AM

Désiré Betty is a Toronto, Ontario-based artist that has long explored the spiritual serenity that manifests itself through her artistic expression she calls ‘Perpetual Freedom Art’.

Her passion for the arts, led her to pursue a career in Architecture; broadening her quest for constant creativity from the canvas to the built environment. Although she was content in her profession and pursued her artist career alongside it, her artistic prowess was calling for her full attention.  In 2021, she took the leap of faith to fully commit to pursuing her professional artistic career and building the Désiré Betty Designs Trademark brand.  

Since 2009, Désiré has exhibited in several solo and group shows, beautified communities with her public art, had her art published in several art magazines, and sold pieces to art enthusiasts around the world. Her compositions are focused mainly on figurative and portraiture art with complementary abstract pieces. She explores the use of various mediums, such as acrylic ink, watercolour and mixed media. Her work transcends borders, as there is an elegant juxtaposition between rigidity and fluidity. With her Architectural background, she has a knack for extremely fine detail, varying line weights and precision, all while maintaining a dreamlike state of fluidity in the brush strokes; melding shapes and colours.

Live Painting with Chris Perez

Sunday, July 17 at 2:00 PM

Chris Perez is a Canadian-based Filipino artist practicing in abstract painting and mural art. Perez pushes moments of arbitrary movement to create an inner dialogue with material and environment, like that of an abstract dance with painting. He is currently exploring ideas behind personal and cultural identity using abstraction that touches on the aesthetics of floral motifs. His main focus is to bring the idea of accessible art through murals and public art/design. Chris studied at OCAD U, received a BFA in Drawing and Painting in 2012.