The OEV Main Street Mural Program has the aim of building community and beautifying the Old East Village neighbourhood. This program pairs five artists together for a total of five murals.
The program aims to facilitate new artist partnerships and mentorship opportunities. The mural installations were an integral part of the community events series, Only in OEV Fridays, which happens every second Friday in Old East Village. The high-profile and visible mural locations expand upon the existing public art found in Old East Village, creating art attractions for residents and visitors alike to enrich the experience of the neighbourhood.?
The OEV Mural Mentorship Program was supported by Fed Dev Ontario and My Main Street through the Community Activator Program.
Recker Art Studios
796 Dundas St.
Artists Jason Recker and Alayna Hryclik (soft flirt) are both inspired by music. “All You Need is Love” is a familiar Beatles song lyric and a positive message that Jason Recker wanted to convey to the Old East Village community to help bring a smile to people’s faces. Alayna runs the local business Soft Flirt and brings her specialty in illustration and handwritten text to the mural. As Jason describes, “with the exposure and location of this wall, it also had to be vibrant, so I went with a colourful 1960’s psychedelic vibe to bring it all to life.” No doubt, the mural has brought in a steady stream of selfie-takers!
Meet The Artists
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Soft Flirt
www.softflirt.ca
softflirting@gmail.com
@softflirt
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About Soft Flirt
Soft Flirt makes tender art for gentle hearts, adding some softness to the Forest City in the form of screen-printed t-shirts, sewn home goods, illustrations and murals. You can find a little bit of Soft Flirt everywhere if you know where to look.
Artistic Style:
Soft Flirt takes a tender approach to decorating yourself and your spaces, most known for her handwritten text and illustrations, Soft Flirt’s artistic style takes a bit of influence from tattoo artist style flash sheets, a little bit of humour, and often lots of florals to create artwork for softer souls.
One thing you love to do or a place you must visit in London?
A city is nothing without a community of passionate people to give it life. My favourite thing about London is all of the amazing pockets of artists and businesses that are working hard to create special things here. Whether it’s The Market at Western Fair District or Covent Garden Market bringing together multiple vendors under one roof, artists painting murals in all the neighbourhoods of this city, musicians coming together to make shows and festivals happen or my personal favourite event Punk Rock Flea Market – the people in this city making their passions happen is the best around, and makes London a pretty special city to live and work in.
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Jason Recker
www.jasonrecker.com
jason@jasonrecker.com
@jasonrecker_art
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About Jason Recker
Jason Recker is a Pop Artist and Graphic Designer influenced by music, culture, and design. Recker creates pieces using mixed media, acrylics, spray paint and ink on wood panels and canvas and ships his art around the world.
Tell Us About Your Market Lane Piece:
Jason Recker’s style is pop art with influences from many artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
One thing you love to do or a place you must visit in London?
I really enjoy the downtown patios in the summer, events at Canada Life Place and 100 Kellogg Lane’s The Factory. I also enjoy making use of all the great bike paths that run throughout the city.
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K-Laba Hair & Beauty Supplies Inc.
632 Dundas St.
The mural at 632 Dundas Street by Amsa Yaro and Rain Bloodworth was created in collaboration with Angella Kyabaggu, the owner of K-laba Hair & Beauty Supplies Inc., and her daughter Ramona. Although K-laba wanted to celebrate that they are a Black-owned business that brought haircare to the Black community in London over 25 years ago, they also wanted to demonstrate that their reach extends much further. Angella explained how K-laba is for everyone and reaches a diverse range of people including the LGBTQ2S+ community, chemotherapy patients and people with Alopecia. The artists thought of the phrase “Love Starts Here” to convey the village as an inclusive community and the mural depicts a diverse group of people, celebrating their uniqueness. The mural also incorporates many recognizable Old East Village landmarks such as the Western Fair, Aeolian Hall and a nod to Old East Village’s heritage buildings. Elements of the mural also celebrate the arts and culture present in the village, such as hands holding a microphone and a paintbrush.
Meet The Artists
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Amsa Yaro
www.amsayarostudio.com
amsayarostudio@gmail.com
@AmsaYaroStudio
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About Amsa Yaro
Amsa Yaro is a mixed/multi media artist and digital illustrator. She has created original works that stem from the inspiration she gathers from the culture and current issues of her home country, Nigeria. She creates works with a variety of materials which include acrylic, paper, yarn and more. Yaro has been a part of several events in her city of London, Ontario, such as the Black History Month Arts Pop Up Show,London Arts Live shows, a Black Visual Arts Exhibition and the Fire Roasted Coffee Co. Artisan Series.
Artistic Style:
Yaro sees her style as colorful and vibrant stories bursting on a canvas and sculpture using layers and texture. It is ever evolving as Yaro’s practice continues, adding in new elements as she explores a variety of materials like wire, resin, etc. Yaro is inspired by artists like Peju Alatise, Laolu, Chief Nike Okundaye and indigenous Nigerian artisan skills and crafts like Adire prints, pottery, calabash markings and more.
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Rain Bloodworth
www.rainbloodworth.art
bloodworthrain@gmail.com
@rainbloodworth
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About Rain Bloodworth
Rain Fenek Bloodworth (she/they) is a mixed race, mixed media artist working and living in London, Ontario. Rain’s work seeks to build community and intersectional solidarity between various marginalized and oppressed identities, such as 2SLGBTQI+ folx, BIPOC, women and femme presenting people, as well as those living with disabilities or mental illness. Rain has exhibited with local galleries and venues such as 100 Kellogg Lane, Good Sport Studio & Gallery, Forest City Gallery and the Satellite Gallery. They graduated from Western University with their Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2022.
Artistic Style:
Rain describes their artistic style as “eclectic, honest and intrapersonal, if not visceral or blunt”. They enjoy making interactive drawings/paintings and non-traditional sculpture or installations. Rain is inspired by contemporary artists such as Jenny Saville, Suzzan Blac, Laurie Lipton and Kim Noble, as well as referencing the visual styles of Louis Wain, Emily Caroll, Yuko Tatsushima and the ‘ignorant’ tattoo style.
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The Root Cellar Café
623 Dundas St.
The mural at 623 Dundas Street on The Root Cellar Café (temporarily closed) by Tova Hasiwar and Sylvie Verwaayen celebrates ecological sustainability and pollinators by depicting local plants and a honeybee in a bright, eye-catching composition using 21 colours weaved together. The Root Cellar Café Owners Jeff Pastorius and Ellie Cook also run On the Move Organics, a local grocery business specializing in food grown locally and sustainably, and LOLA Bees, a learning apiary. The mural encapsulates sustainable food systems, which is a value encapsulated through all their businesses. Ellie also describes how honeybees themselves are an “amazing model for how to live and work cooperatively.” The mural imagery also incorporates local pollinator plants such as the anise bloom and wild borage, and morel mushrooms native to the region.
Meet The Artists
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Tova Hasiwar
www.tova-art.com
tova@tova-art.com
@tovally
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About Tova Hasiwar
Tova is a multidisciplinary artist based out of London Ontario, and spends her time between the Forest City and the shores of Huron County.
Artistic Style:
Tova is known by her distinctive work style that is graphic and concise in nature. Paying homage to Pop Art through the use of bold clean lines and vivid colour stories while challenging the conventional approach to design. Her work primarily focuses on the female form, sometimes evident in appearance and in other works abstracted as a method to explore the deeper philosophical discussions associated with perceived feelings towards feminism.
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Sylvie Verwaayen
www.sylverdesign.com
sylverdesign@outlook.com
@sylverdesign
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About Sylvie Verwaayen
Sylvie Verwaayen has 20 years' experience illustrating and painting, creating abstracts as well as the occasional sculpture. She currently works at St Mary’s Station Gallery as a gallery assistant and supports the curator with vetting artists and installing new exhibits. This was her first mural and she realized with the process, that she very much enjoyed creating it. She often gets lost in the "linework" of painting and the time that passed while focusing on the job. In other words, time flew by.
Artistic Style:
Sylvie’s artistic style is colourful with a range from realism to abstract. Experimentation is key to her work as she plays in her sandbox (um, studio) to create new works. She loves moving back and forth between styles and mediums. Her website is the best example and explanation of what she has done.
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Vietnam Restaurant
1074 Dundas St.
The mural at Vietnam Restaurant painted by Pamela Scharback and Andres Garzon celebrates the beauty of both Canada and Vietnam. Vietnam Restaurant owner, Lam Ngo, wished to convey an “East meets East” theme that celebrates what he loves about both Vietnam and Old East Village. The mural has hops found in craft beer to pay homage to the craft breweries in the neighbourhood as well as traditional Vietnamese elements, such as the figure dressed in traditional garments on a water buffalo, lanterns and a map of Vietnam on the far-left panel.
Meet The Artists
680 Dundas St.
The mural at 680 Dundas by Robin Henry and Reilly Knowles is inspired by a Polish folklore incorporating dandelions. They settled on the imagery of a figure blowing a dandelion since it’s a positive message that symbolizes hope and peace. Although, as the mural developed, it became even more meaningful as it is painted in memory of Amara Hollow Bones, a beloved figure in the 2SLGBTQIA+ art community in London, who passed away in summer 2022. Robin and Reilly quickly adapted the figure in the design to represent Amara and their signature red hair. They also added elements of Amara’s art, depicted with the spotted loons that fly around them in the composition.
Meet The Artists
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Robin Henry
www.antlerpress.ca
antlerriverco@gmail.com
@the.real.antler.press
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About Robin Henry
Robin Henry is a multidisciplinary visual artist with expertise in illustration, printmaking and large-scale public art installation. Robin works as a mentor at the awards-winning Rezonance Indigenous Youth Internship Program where they teach graphic design, printmaking and small business skills. With a high-contrast sense of design, Robin uses their public art practice to bring landscapes, Indigenous plants and depictions of the natural world into the urban landscape.
Artistic Styles:
I have curated a high contrast visual language influenced by my printmaking practice. Bold line work and stark colours make the work stand out at a distance and up close. I pull a lot of influence from the natural world.
One thing you love to do or a place you must visit in London?
My world revolves around the Old East Village; The heart and core of London’s art/music culture. Stray off the beaten path and you will certainly be rewarded.
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Reilly Knowles
www.reillyknowles.ca
reillycknowles@gmail.com
@reilly_knowles
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About Reilly Knowles
Reilly Knowles is a London-based interdisciplinary artist working with foraged and scavenged materials, as well as textiles and painting. He is inspired by processes of growth and decay, folklore and his local ecosystem.
Artistic Styles:
My style is heavily inspired by the jewel-like colours and clean lines of European illuminated manuscripts. I try to evoke narrative and emphasize the picture plane as a surface for enticing shapes and colours, rather than illusion.
One thing you love to do or a place you must visit in London?
Search for frosted glass and china shards on the banks of the river near Gibbons Park.
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