ETC
APRIL 11, 2024
CULTURE - 11
Toronto’s STEPS public art program gives life to graffiti Zoe Pierson Editor-in-Chief
Toronto is home to some of Canada’s most spectacular street murals, including those found in Graffiti Alley, the Ossington laneway, and along Queen Street West. The STEPS Public Art program in Toronto supports artists and the creation of murals and graffiti throughout Toronto, adding culture, colour and connection to the streets. Anjuli Solanki, program director of STEPS Toronto, said she enjoys how the work the program produces brings communities together throughout Toronto. She said one particular memory stands out to her, a 23-story mural painted on the side of Parkside Student Residence in downtown Toronto. “You create these projects and you know, you’re so embedded in them and then you kind of like let them fly and you don’t always know the impact that they’re going to have,” she said. STEPS Toronto is a community service program offering artists a way to connect with commission projects and have their art legally displayed throughout the city. STEPS’ official website said it partners with different local and government initiatives to allow these murals to be painted. “We kind of bring communities together and really use art as a way in which to reflect the different needs of the community and also
reflect the communities that are in different areas,” Solanki said. “In many ways, we’re really committed to bringing underrepresented voices, residents and artists to the floor.” Solanki said she had seen the impact of their work firsthand while she was interviewing a current employee for their position on the team. She said he told her after seeing one of their LGBTQ+ murals, he said he wanted to work at STEPS. “He felt that he had moved to a city and a country where he was allowed to be himself,” Solanki said. “You don’t always know the impact of the projects and what aspect will stand out and move somebody.” Natasha Dichpan, a mural artist in Toronto, said her work with STEPS has been transformative. “I’ve worked with the people that organized the mural jams, which is when they get 10 to 12 artists to transform a laneway in Toronto,” she said. Dichpan said mural jams are a way for artists to connect with the help of STEPS, to work together and transform a tagged laneway on the Toronto streets. Dichpan said she would describe her style as bold, she loves to use vibrant colours, such as red and blue, to bring her work alive. “I like portraying animals and humans because there’s a lot of similarities,” she said.
“I love to do portraits and colours that are very striking.” Natasha is one of many artists that STEPS has worked with in Toronto. Solanki said STEPS has worked with more than 350 artists across the country in 2023 alone. Graffiti and murals have not always been legal in Toronto, but following a government initiative in 2012, the StreetARToronto (StART) program allowed for new pieces to be commissioned through government and community funding. The city said StreetARToronto (StART) successfully reduced graffiti vandalism and replaced it with vibrant, colourful, community-engaged street art. Toronto said the StART program strives to deter vandalism by allowing murals in spots prone to graffiti tagging and crime-related art. Programs like StART and STEPS work to showcase the talent of Toronto artists and allow respectful and welcoming graffiti and murals. Growing up in both Russia and Israel, Dichpan said she honours the artistic opportunities she has had in Toronto. “There’s more ways to make a living as an artist, whether it’s in traditional arts, or I worked in animation as well,” she said. “I just find there’s way more opportunities here than I was presented with.”
BRANDON HARRIS
Toronto is well known for its graffiti, whether it’s commissioned or not. Taken near Pelham Avenue, Toronto.
Price shift in thrift causes shoppers’ loyalties to drift
PEXELS/COTTONBRO STUDIO
Adrien Glazer
Skedline Reporter Shopping at thrift stores is meant to be an accessible alternative for those who might not be able to afford regular retail prices, but at some big thrift store chains, customers are wondering if maybe they’re no longer getting a bargain. Savers — known in Canada as Value Village — is one of the largest thrift store chains in North America. They have over 300 locations, with 140 of those locations in Canada, and 74 in Ontario. Value Village operates on a donation-based model, accepting second-hand goods from consumers, and some from local non-profit organizations. The organizations are paid a flat rate for their goods, which Value Village then turns and sells for profit. This is unlike other thrift chains, like Goodwill and Salvation Army, where a bulk of profit goes to supporting local charities and nonprofit organizations. Value Village is a publicly traded, for-profit model business, with U.S. private equity firm Ares Management as a majority shareholder. With the rise in popularity of thrifting in recent years, Value Village has seen an overwhelming increase in profit. From 2020 to 2021, the Savers company saw an almost 45 per cent increase in gross profits. Meanwhile, competitors like Goodwill circulate the bulk of their profits back into the company and local community. A financial report from Forbes says that in 2022, Goodwill Industries International saw $7.6 billion in total revenue. However, around 74 per cent of that revenue went to charitable services, with the remaining 26 percent going to management of the company, fundraising, and surplus. One of the biggest changes that consumers have been noticing recently is a significant increase
in prices. With the increase in popularity, and with Savers operating on a for-profit model, it’s not surprising that the company has increased prices to increase profit based on demand. But still, these price hikes have caused outrage among consumers at one local Etobicoke location. Mika Soetaert is a fashion student studying at Toronto Metropolitan University, and she is also an avid thrifter who often commutes out of the city to shop at larger locations. She is a frequent customer of the Value Village location at Islington Avenue and Titan Road, and she’s not too happy about the recent increases. “The more charitable thrift stores have raised their prices less so than Value Village, places like Salvation Army and Goodwill, I have found they haven’t raised their prices as much,” Soetaert said. “I’m not sure how much of that is to compete with inflation, versus how much of that is tied to the whole gentrification of thrifting. It’s more Value Village that I have a bone to pick with,” Soetaert said. She said she started thrifting the majority of her wardrobe in the winter of 2018. As a fashion student who focuses on sustainability, she does this to avoid buying fast fashion first-hand to lower her ecological footprint But she said this likely isn’t the same for everyone and that major chains like Value Village have caught on to this. “Now [that] there’s a lot of young people that don’t thrift out of price necessity and thrift because it’s cool, that does increase demand,” Soetaert said. “So then they increase the prices, but it’s more so that they’re increasing the prices because they know people will come thrifting regardless of if garments cost $7 on average, or if they cost $14 on average,” she said. “So, they will charge 14 [dollars] because they can.”