Opinion | Add adventure to your family walks with a little street art appreciation – Toronto Star

Dan Anzil and his daughter, Kate, 16, have been getting through the pandemic by finding ways to add adventure to their walks through Toronto neighbourhoods.

That includes hunting for cool street art.

“There’s the beautiful murals throughout our area,” said Anzil, who lives in Etobicoke. “On Dundas between Kipling and even into the Junction, there’s a number of beautiful murals painted to the sides of buildings that depict the historical significance of the area.

“There’s one in particular, where it’s a school photo but the school photo spans about 50, 60 years, if not more. It’s quite interesting, and you do get lost in things like that.”

With public health directives to stick to our household bubbles and only venture out for essential errands and exercise, the frequent walks many families established early on in the pandemic are about all that’s left for us to do. Layering in a new focus on taking in public art and street art is a good way to keep it interesting.

Since the pandemic began, children’s author Vikki VanSickle’s city walks have taken on new meaning.

In addition to traditional street art, she found herself looking for the unusual, whimsical, or beautiful: art hidden on walls in laneways; sleeping dragon statues in gardens; sidewalk galleries; and love notes carved into cement.

“I’ve been (in Toronto) since 2007, and one of the things I’ve always loved about the city was public art and street art. It just adds so much vibrancy to city living. And so I’ve always been interested in that and graffiti and both the political statements that it can sometimes make and also the way it can just spark a little bit of delight.”

With the pandemic making these walks into a kind of lifeline, VanSickle said she became more observant on her city strolls. “I noticed a few little quirky things in the beginning. So, for example, people had written messages on sidewalks, and I started taking pictures of them on my walks.”

Someone had written, “You look nice today” on the sidewalk and, in another instance, someone had drawn picture frames and left chalk for others to contribute to a living gallery.

All of this was particularly fitting given the theme of her latest picture book, “Anonymouse,” which looks at street art from the point of view of the animals with whom we share the city. Out this month, the premise is that animal-friendly street art is popping up Banksy-style all over the city — specific pieces for the birds, the ants, the dogs, and raccoons — signed only ‘Anonymouse.’

The trash can where raccoons dine, for example, is transformed through graffiti art into an elegant restaurant; a hydrant where dogs pee is adorned with a bullseye.

The book, illustrated by Anna Pirolli, the Italian artist behind “I Hate My Cats,” is a great kids’ introduction to street art.

VanSickle is working on a virtual school presentation where she talks through the different things to see on an art walk around their neighbourhood, and about ideas for you to contribute by putting something on your lawn or in your front window for passersby to see.

As for how to get a little more visual art appreciation into your own pandemic walks with the kids, VanSickle suggests checking out some of her favourites, such as the November Pyramid sculpture in High Park, or the commissioned murals along the rail path. You can also simply Google “street art” and your neighbourhood for ideas of what to see near you.

Wherever you are, little kids may enjoy hunting for objects in a particular colour, or looking for places where animals have been immortalized by tracking through fresh concrete before it dried, she said. Older kids may like to photograph everything from garden gnomes to graffiti that catches their eye.

It’s little outings like these that Anzil is grateful for, despite the hardship caused by the pandemic.

“Dare I say it, I’m sort of thankful a little for COVID because it’s changed up our routines, from, ‘Uh, let’s just watch TV’ or for a friend group to say, ‘let’s just go to a bar.’ I’m spending obviously more time with my daughter doing things. That’s how we’re creating more memories, more valuable time together. There’s no screen time or anything like that; it’s just the two of us walking saying, ‘Look, there’s a bird in a tree’ or ‘Look how old and beautiful that building is.’”

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