Toronto's Yorkville Murals

The art world has a history of elitism and gatekeeping. Traditional art pieces are often resold at unattainable prices and even NFTs, as publicly traded as it they are marketed to be, can be seen by some as another evolution of exclusive acts with confusing technical jargon.  The work of breaking down years of barriers in the art world is a huge feat, but Yorkville Murals is doing so one wall at a time.

Founded in 2019, Yorkville Murals is an annual eight-day cultural event celebrating contemporary muralism and public art. In the time since they started, they’ve worked with a number of local and international artists to bring beautiful pieces of art to the public. Their mission is to open up the art scene to the greater public thanks to large art fairs and public displays right in the heart of Toronto.

“It started as a small project in Yorkville,” said Alan Ganev in an exclusive interview with StockX. Ganev, 38, who’s a native of Costa Rica, is the creative director of Taglialatella Galleries, the organization that runs the yearly festival. Thanks to his education studying and investigating graffiti art since the age of 19 he recognized the burgeoning art scene in Toronto while establishing the Toronto iteration of Taglialatella Galleries. To Ganev the art wasn’t being displayed or noticed correctly, despite the amount of talent the city had to offer. “Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America. The culture isn’t matching the growth of the city,” he said.

Part of the reason for the slow growth of the area’s art culture was Yorkville’s high socioeconomic status. Yorkville transitioned from being a safe haven for artists to becoming a neighborhood riddled with expensive real estate and high-class taste for art. “If you go back to the ’60s, you’ll realize [Yorkville] was a Hippie Town,” states Ganev. “Neil Young was here; Bob Dylan was playing in cafés. Yorkville was basically the capital of bohemian culture in Canada. But that led to gentrification and it went from being the bohemian capital of Canada to becoming the most exclusive, expensive neighborhood in Canada.” The evolution of this area created a barrier for people to get access to pieces of public art and it prevented artists from being recognized by larger audiences. So the idea for Yorkville Murals was to revive the area and the art scene, restoring what once was – open and inclusive spaces for artists and viewers to gather and participate in a communal setting around design and culture. 

Achieving this turnaround is no easy task. “It takes a lot of conversations with organizations and government officials. Took me about three years just to establish that alone to have streets blocked off for the murals,” he said. But even with layers of bureaucracy, it hasn’t stopped Yorkville Murals from flourishing. 

The project has been expanding for three years and has partnered with some of the biggest names within the art scene while amplifying local talent by collaborating with local galleries and businesses. Artists like Nina Chanel Abney, Emmanuel Jarus, and most recently, Matt Gondek, have all graced the walls and streets of Yorkville with their captivating art pieces. Each artist that displays their work is carefully selected to ensure they resonate with the ethos of Yorkville Murals and that they are being rightfully represented. Ganev said they work “[t]o ensure that every voice possible is being heard. We’re working with artists that are diverse and working with artists that are respected within their communities so that when you create these projects, people don’t feel left out.”

By doing the groundwork of reaching out to both local and international talent, Ganev has developed “a list of 200 artists that [he wants] to work with.” And because Ganev and Tagglialatella have made this a free and open-to-the-public event, Yorkville Murals is laying the necessary foundation to make art more accessible and providing a model for cities throughout the world. 

Yorkville Murals | @yorkvillemurals