Tag: Go Big or Go Home

“Go Big or Go Home” thrills Sutherland area residents

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tagging sat

Exciting urban scene applied to building on Sutherland

The hard hot weather work of painting exciting images on the sides of commercial buildings and garages off Sutherland Drive is called Project Go Big or Go Home. The anti-tagging marathon work has been a two month organizing job for PC Brenda Dolenc of 53 Division and Jodi Callan, head of the City’s “Start Program” as well as the dedicated painters and muralists called Team SpudBomb. Together, their work this week has been thrilling residents and merchants in the area of the lane that runs from Sutherland to Laird Drive north of Eglinton Ave.

48 PAINTERS

As PC Dolenc explained to Jana Pokorna, owner of M&J Jewellers, this lane has been a targeted area by taggers. Dolenc is the Graffiti Liaison Officer for 53 Division and she had heard about it from residents over the past couple of years. “I have in the past painted over the graffiti with high school student volunteers. But it continued to get tagged despite the effort to clean it up,” she explained. Thus was born the Go Big or Go Home graffiti eradication operation now underway.  It involves 48 painters, 700 lbs. of spray paint and 8,000 square feet of murals.  Says Dolenc: “There is a lot of respect for these artists, and as a general rule taggers will not tag over the piece.” The project started on Tuesday with 16 student volunteers priming and prepping for the artists to paint . It will end Sunday.

GREAT SUPPORT

“We have had overwhelming support from all the community, as well the building owners. Stephens (Rentals) has kindly donated all equipment with food donated by Domino’s Pizza and Mt Everest Restaurant for all the artists. Tenants, community members and owners have also kindly come by and generous donated ice, water and snacks. The has been a constant flow of people coming through taking pictures, it has been an amazing project to be a part of,” writes PC Dolenc