Yorkville Murals | No Empty Spaces

YORKVILLE MURALS | August 26-27, 2023

August 29, 2023 – Toronto’s most captivating art and muralism festival returned, August 26-27 2023, with a brand new theme – No Empty Spaces. Celebrating it’s fifth year in the historic neighbourhood, Yorkville Murals transformed the streets into a cultural extravaganza where visitors were entertained with every step.  The event delivered participatory entertainment and play. Through striking murals, inflatables, art installations, dance battles, pop-up shops and an evening block party, festival-goers were immersed into a celebration of art and culture.

Kicking off the weekend was The Anndore House x Ness Lee Yorkville Murals dinner, a magical evening in celebration of Ness Lee’s mural “When Worlds Collide”. The highlights Torontonians loved from this year’s event included the incredible two floor container by W Toronto. This initiative offered free temporal tattoos by @mayflowerink and @beccs_letters and a stunning lounge on the second floor. Visitors also enjoyed a beautiful live painting project produced by Yorkville Murals in collaboration with @dalkhafine.

Expanding beyond the bounds of Yorkville Avenue was the transformation of the Manulife Centre by Julia Monson. Monson created a mystical art installation inspired by the power of snakes using a combination of colorful vinyl’s and handmade bespoke carpets. These stunning textiles are currently on display in our gallery!

Most notable was The YVM Block Party, a complete take-over of Cumberland Parkade. For one night only on August 26, art, music, and food transformed this space into a fun open-air event presented by Hennessy and featured music by DJ Skratch Bastid. Incredible pieces saturated the walls by artists Paul Jackson / Emmanuel Jarus / Mony Zakhour during the live painting sessions which were enjoyed on the following day by Torontonians. The weekend was a marvelous success and the city can’t wait for it’s return in 2024. Stay tuned for exciting previews of what we have in store for next year!

The event was presented by Taglialatella Galleries and INK Entertainment, and organized in partnership with the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area.