Motorists crawling along Toronto’s ever-gridlocked Gardiner Expressway have an impressive new landmark to gaze upon as they sit in standstill traffic.
A new giant glowing wall now looms over the busy artery, dividing the loud and exhaust-choked expressway from a popular destination bustling with pedestrian life.
A longstanding scar on Exhibition Place’s landscape was finally eliminated with the demolition of the abandoned Kids World buildings, though the low-rise structure’s clearance exposed Centennial Square’s quiet vibe to the noise of the bustling Gardiner Expressway a short distance to the north.
Exhibition Place has addressed this problem with an impressive new landmark along the north end of the Ex grounds, initially known as the Indigenous Feature Wall at Centennial Square, and since unveiled as Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life.
The wall, created by the father-son team of August and Luke Swinson, was first conceived in early 2023 when Exhibition Place staff contracted Studio TLA to develop a master plan for Centennial Square.
A tender for this project was issued in February 2023, with Duron Ontario Ltd.’s lowest bid earning the company a contract valued at $2.736 million, funded from the City’s approved 2024 State of Good Repair Capital Budget.
The chair of the Exhibition Place Board, in consultation with the CEO of Exhibition Place, approved this contract award on March 13, 2024, and stressed the urgency of moving the project along ahead of the busy summer season.
The project was approved this spring and the wall is now in place, standing approximately seven metres tall and stretching 50 metres.
The new wall has three layers of pre-weathered steel and blue powder-coated steel, depicting seven etched dodems, or clans, and four sacred medicines.
Its imagery was designed to be visible from both the Exhibition and Gardiner sides of the installation, providing a new visual feature for both Centennial Square and passing motorists below.
Custom lighting built into the installation transforms it into a glowing beacon by night, drawing in passersby to explore its visual storytelling.
Studio TLA
Over the two-year period from conception to realization, studio TLA says its team worked closely with Exhibition Place, community advocates, a Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation design and advisory committee, and artists “to celebrate the cultural and historical significance of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as Treaty Holders.”
