By Sean Delaney Have you ever looked at the ubiquitous utility boxes throughout the community and thought, boy are those ugly? We all have.
But things are changing in Emery Village.
Under the direction of Michael Cavanaugh, the “Bell Boxes Murals Project” has seen more than 160 murals painted on Bell Canada outdoor utility boxes throughout Toronto, Southern Ontario and Quebec.
The project is a partnership between the City of Toronto, StreetArt Toronto and Bell Canada. The Emery Village BIA is proud to be a participant and sponsor the program, seeing eight boxes painted along Arrow Rd., enhancing the neighbourhood.
The project allowed a unique canvas for many local artists to showcase their talent and expression. While various artists participated in the Emery painting project, we caught up with Lucy Catania who was assisted by many of her students and friends from the Seniors Art class at the Carmine Stefano Community centre.
“Everyone really enjoyed themselves so much. People came to visit us from businesses in the area to say hello and cheer us on. Even some TTC bus drivers stopped and said hello. There was a real community spirit happening,” Cantina said.
The group sent praise to Benjamin Moore for donating many of the paint supplies.
“Based on the success this year, we will definitely plan on participating again in 2019 with a whole new series of paintings,” said Emery Village BIA executive director Sandra Farina.
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