Get artsy on the Danforth

The Danforth will be splattered with art from May 20 to June 10 thanks to the sidewalk festival Art of the Danforth.

The goal of the event is to display the work of local artists in unexpected places, says festival organizer Cindy Rozeboom.

“We want to put art everywhere so that people give the neighbourhood a second glance,” says Rozeboom. “Many residents take it for granted, and forget how truly exciting this place is.”

Organizers aim to make the festival as diverse as possible, showcasing sculptures, photography, paintings, video installations, and performances. Sixty-seven locations, including parks, vacant stores and local shops are the hosts to the masterpieces.

As part of the festival artist Brian Rideout is painting a mural based on public opinion.

“For the first part of the festival, the mural will display a twitter hash-tag (#RideoutMural) asking the public for suggestions,” says Rozeboom. “Then, Brian will paint something based on what people post.”

Attendees can also enjoy walking tours led by theatrical performers. At every stop a performance is delivered about the history of the site.

“The community was incredibly supportive last time,” says Rozeboom about the first time the festival was held in 2010. “People started uploading amazing pictures into our Flickr account before we even had a chance to upload anything ourselves.”

Rozeboom expects that the second edition of the festival will be better than the first.

“We’ve had a chance to do advertising (on social media), something we didn’t do in the past,” says Rozeboom. “And people want art, they want to see talent.”