Love Toronto street art? You're in the right place. In Toronto, we're a bit spoiled for street art. Walking through colorful neighborhoods is one of my favorite things to do in Toronto, and I'm going to show you exactly where to go.
Ever since the introduction of the StreetARToronto program in 2012, the city has more stunning murals than ever before. Of course, there was tons of graffiti art and colorful tags before the program. Toronto is tackling the topic of outdoor art much better than before.
Instead of encouraging vandalism by leaving bare walls, there are commissioned pieces featuring bright, vibrant, and engaging works of art. It adds character to the city, too.
Toronto street art is always in flux. It's expanding, changing, and there's a never ending supply of new art to consume. For instance, one of the most famous places to see street art in Toronto is in Graffiti Alley. The art here changes all the time. Every time I visit, it's a whole new experience.
Here is my comprehensive guide to Toronto street art for a self guided walking tour. I'll show you how to explore all of these intersections, side streets, and alleyways on your own. I'll continue to update this guide as I check out more spots upon wandering around Toronto's distinct and interesting neighborhoods.
Toronto Street Art: Liberty Village
Liberty Village might be the land of the condos, but it's a thriving and youthful neighborhood in Toronto. I found a few intriguing murals while I was there.
This one is on the side of a building facing the parking lot on 25 Atlantic Ave. It's got a cat and coffee on it...two of my favorite things!
There's a beautiful one that takes up one entire wall of the old Toronto Carpet Factory building at 67 Mowat Ave. This one resembles a woven carpet with intricate floral patterns in pink, gold, orange, and green.
Vines have started to climb across this one, adding mystique to the design. The entire building is an old factory building, restored and repurposed, which makes it an interesting space to wander around.
Reclamation Wall
The Reclamation Wall straddles Liberty Village and West Queen West. Though it's on the other side of the railway tracks, it's possible to see the Reclamation Wall by walking on Sudbury Street, just south of Queen Street West and Gladstone Ave.
Spanning over 1000 feet in length, it's the longest mural in Canada. This unique piece of Toronto street art was painted by over 50 artists.
The mural has giant, two and a half story letters spelling "TORONTO", "LIBERTY VILLAGE", "PARKDALE", and "WEST QUEEN WEST". Each letter was assigned to a different artist to paint in their unique style. Though I wasn't able to get right up close to this one, it's viewable from Sudbury Street through the wire fencing.
West Queen West
The West Queen West neighbourhood has a high concentration of Toronto street art and murals. When I walked down Queen Street West between Gladstone Avenue and Spadina Ave, I spotted tons of graffiti art right on Queen Street and on the side streets.
It's easy to spend all day here wandering the entire neighborhood and surrounding area. I'll highlight a view of my favorites and a couple of spots that deserve some extra attention.
These little pixel, Space Invaders-esque characters are on a building on Northcote Avenue at Queen Street W. I'm a sucker for anything that looks like a retro video game.
You can find the Toronto Blue Jays wall, along with few other colourful tags and art, on Beaconsfield Avenue directly across from The Drake Hotel.
"You've changed" is on Queen Street West facing Paul Garfinkel Parkette (between Dovercourt and White Squirrel Way).
This mural on Strachan and Queen Street West appears to pay homage to the Queen and quite possibly the famous white squirrel who lived at Trinity Bellwoods Park, directly in the direction of where his colourful laser vision is pointed.
This pastel, zigzag painting covered in sunglasses was always one of my favourites. You can spot it walking down Queen Street West on Bellwoods Avenue.
This vivid, Japanese and anime inspired mural is on the side of the Sanko Trading Co building on Queen St W and Claremont St. You can find Japanese candy, groceries, and housewares in the shop, so it only makes sense that the mural reflects aspects of Japanese culture.
Ossington Laneway
The Ossington Laneway is home to some of the most amazing street art in Toronto. Walk down Brookfield Street just off Queen Street West, and then walk east down some alleyways.
Before reaching Ossington Avenue, many murals are splashed across walls and garage doors. But, don't miss the murals in a parking lot on Ossington Ave.
These ones are the largest and most beautiful, in my opinion. However, wander around the alleyways in this area between Queen St W and Humbert Street as you never know what Toronto street art you might find!
Alley Between Niagara & Bathurst
This alleyway is almost a continuation of Graffiti Alley, but less famous and the artwork is slightly less striking. Even still, there's a high concentration of murals and tags here, and it's definitely worth checking out.
Start at Niagara Street and walk down the alley just one lane south of Queen Street West. Continue along this stretch until you reach Bathurst. At that point, swing one street south to Richmond Street until you hit Portland Avenue, where you'll walk north to reach Rush Lane (aka Graffiti Alley).
Please note that between Bathurst Street and Portland Street, this alley continues as "Public Lane". I don't recommend walking down Public Lane as it's quite dirty and there's no art there. However, on the corner of Public Lane and Richmond Street, there's the striking mural that reads, "You look better with a moustache" that you should visit.
Street Art in Toronto: Graffiti Alley
Graffiti Alley (on Rush Lane) is arguably home to the best Toronto street art. It extends from Spadina to Portland, one street south of Queen St. W. There's a massive collection of graffiti, street art, and murals here.
If you're looking for graffiti in Toronto, it's definitely the best place to start. There are works by renowned artists, including Uber5000, Elicser, Poser, Skam, Spud, and many others.
One of the wonderful things about Graffiti Alley is that it's constantly changing. One mural or piece that might exist one year could be gone the next.
Artists are constantly painting over their old works with new creations. Graffiti Alley is likely one of the most Instagrammable places in Toronto, so get out your camera or Smartphone and start snapping pics!
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is likely Toronto's most famous neighborhood for its hippie vibes. It's home to many eclectic and independently owned shops, cafes, and plenty of street art.
As I wander around the streets of Kensington Market, I visited vintage and used clothing stores, food stalls, and saw tons of brightly painted buildings and walls. It's easy to see why an area like Kensington Market lends well to street art in Toronto.
The most famous painted piece in Kensington Market is the parked car with greenery growing out of it, which also happens to be in front of a huge mural. The car gets a fresh coat of paint from time to time, so it might look different the next time you visit. (This is featuerd in the first photo in this blog post).
Underpass Park
Underpass Park is a creative use of urban space beneath a highway overpass. By transforming an unused, run-down area into a park, the neighborhood residents gain an attractive spot to hang out with friends and family.
It's home to a playground, a skate park, basketball court, and an outdoor public art gallery. It's one of the most unexpected, unique places to discover Toronto street art.
Equilibrium Mural
Okuda's Equilibrium Mural is a gigantic, 23-storey mural, unveiled in 2018. The Spanish street artist, Okuda, painted it on a building at the intersection of Carleton and Jarvis.
This art piece took two years of planning, a month of painting by local artists, 10 days of painting by Okuda himself, 960 cans of paint and 140 gallons of latex. It's such an impressive piece and worth the trek out to this area of the city.
Dundas Street West Open Air Museum
The Dundas Street West Open Air Museum is a collection of beautiful murals in Dundas West. They feature the works of local artists and tell stories about the community. Currently, there are 25 different murals and it's some of the best street art in Toronto.
Go for a walk on Dundas Street West, ducking down side streets and alleys to find all of the art. There's a website that shows the locations for each piece, making it really easy to go on a self-guided walking tour.
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Tracy says
Hello, we are Barenaked ABCs podcast. We discuss the Barenaked Ladies songs one at a time. While researching for our upcoming episode on "Every Subway Car" I came across your website. Can you answer some questions for me?
Is graffiti art encouraged in Toronto? I had heard that in Quebec City, they actually paid graffiti artists to beautify the city, especially train tressles? Is this true? Does Toronto do the same? This artwork is gorgeous and I plan on sending people to your website in our episode if that is okay. Also, if you would like to join us to talk about it, we are recording this episode this Tuesday (May 28). You can reach us at the email provided if you would like more information.
Lauren says
Tracy, yes street art is encouraged in Toronto! In many cases, artists are paid to paint beautiful murals. Not only does it add beauty and flair to the city, but it also discourages unsightly tags from being added to walls. Hope that helps!
Purva Bhatia says
Marvelous! Some of the lm are absolutely breathtaking. Kudos to the artists