Western Fair mural marathon leaves lasting mark on Old East Village

Twenty-five street artists. A 10-day festival. One lasting impact on London’s Old East Village.

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Giant murals now grace three of the four sides of Queens Park, on the northwest corner of the Western Fair racetrack, after a marathon effort by Canadian and international street artists during this year’s Western Fair.

“We’re doing a marquee thing at the Western Fair. We’re adding new meaning and new energy. . . . It’s amazing what you can do in 10 days,” said Ken Galloway, curator of The Summit.

“We’re trying to make the Old East Village a global destination for the urban arts.”

The murals at Queens Park were completed as part of The Summit, a mini festival with the fair celebrating street art and culture. Artists began work Sept. 6, when the fair began, and will be finished by mid-week, Galloway said.

Several Summit mural artists have been involved in the Wet Paint Initiative, a community collective of street artists behind 32 murals in Old East Village over the last three years.

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The two murals on the park’s south side, on the wall of The Grove – the former Progress Building – at Western Fair District, drew inspiration from the nearby raceway. The shade and condition of the walls means these murals will last 10 to 15 years, Galloway said.

The murals on the park’s west side, on the Western Fair Farmers’ Market building, and to the north, across Dundas Street, all draw on the same Magic of the Harvest theme, he said.

“Nick Sweetman painted native pollinators,” Galloway said, adding other artists have brought Indigenous, southeast Asian and Japanese-Canadian influences to their works. “Everyone has taken this Magic of the Harvest idea and interpreted it through their own lenses.”

Galloway has his sights set on the fence around the track for next year’s project. At any future editions of The Summit, Galloway would like to bring together the street art and skate park, which was set up in the Agriplex this year.

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“We’d love to add more action sports next year.” he said. “We’d love to look at adding breakdancing.”

The Summit mural project was intended to offer opportunities to established street artists and those who lack resources to bring their vision to life, including finding funding, locations, scaffolding, mechanical lifts and supplies, Galloway said.

He hopes The Summit will also send the message to young people that urban artists can be activists, leaders and change-makers in their communities.

The mural project was done in partnership with the fair and others, including Sherwin-Williams, and received provincial and federal grant funding, Galloway said.

It has been exciting to see the Queens Park murals take shape over the fair’s 10-day run, said Greg Blanchard, Western Fair’s sales and retail operations director.

“They will catch people’s eyes as they drive and walk by that area,” he said. “It’s a way to embrace community culture and showcase all the incredible artists we have in the area while giving us a real focal point we can be proud of.”

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