One of the graphic installation sites was the Fallstaff Community Centre.
Preparing the artwork
The project was launched with the application of printed murals to the exterior walls of Outlook Manor, a 39-m (128-ft) tall Toronto Community Housing (TCH) apartment building for seniors and single families just south of the intersection of Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue West, and the Fallstaff Community Centre, where free youth programs are offered year-round next to Falstaff Park and near Jane Street and Highway 401.
Toronto-based multimedia artist Zeesy Powers designed the murals with UrbanArts in mind. With the Falstaff artwork, for example, she incorporated a collage of photos from youth in the community.
“We explained how to prepare and modify the image files for wide-format printing,” Uzbalis says. “Tony’s team would be handling the printing, lamination and panelling.”
In both cases, the murals were printed on 3M’s Envision LX 480 wrap film, which does not contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC), using HP durable aqueous ‘latex’ inkjet printers.
High-level efforts
Of the two locations, the higher-profile was Outlook Manor, where a five-storey graphic would extend to the top floor. It was installed on the north side of the building over two days in late August—with a total work time of approximately 15 hours—by both AIP Media’s installers and the local youth, working from suspended swing stages.
The murals for both locations were printed on a wrap film that could conform to the buildings’ textured outer surfaces.
“We trained the kids at my warehouse,” says Iacobelli. “The point of our involvement was to actually teach them at a professional grade and have them do real-world installs. They were very eager and committed. They were between 15 and 18 years old, but worked just as hard as installers twice their age!”
The building’s exterior surface features corrugated aluminum siding, so for every graphic panel drop, the team had to slice the vinyl along the corrugated edge and tuck it into the gap.
“We put together a time-lapse video for sharing via social media,” Iacobelli says.
Giving art a lift
The following month, the other printed graphics were installed at a more easily reachable level on an exterior wall of the Falstaff Community Centre. A scissor lift was the only special installation equipment needed for this job; Iacobelli trained the participants in its use.
“This job was simpler, but was substantially slower to complete—about 200 hours—because the kids took on a lot more of the workload this time than we did,” he explains. “I would say the five participants did 70 to 80 per cent of the work entirely by themselves. We were really just there to supervise them and provide tips.”
