What to know
- The 10-year-old ‘Flying Away’ mural by Bruno Smoky, located at Ossington Ave. and Rebecca St., was recently defaced by graffiti, sparking a restoration campaign.
- Local resident Henry Wong organized the GoFundMe and worked closely with Smoky to soon restore the piece and add potential upgrades, like lighting, to deter future vandalism.
- Created during the 2016 Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans festival, the mural is a celebrated photo-op and symbol of environmental stewardship and community pride in Toronto.
- Funding includes support from the City of Toronto and Ossington BIA, but the $4,000 GoFundMe remains crucial to fully restore the artwork and preserve its legacy.
A 10-year-old iconic Ossington mural, beloved by tourists and locals, has been defaced with graffiti. Now, community members and the mural’s original artist are rallying to launch a GoFundMe campaign to restore the artwork.
Graffiti artist Bruno Smoky’s mural, titled “Flying Away,” was once a love letter to the Great Lakes, celebrating the environmental stewardship and the relationship between people and nature.
Created in 2016 during the international Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans festival, the piece’s imaginative scene tells a story of friendship and coexistence, where a fantastical fish station is flying alongside a fishing boat in search of life.
‘Such a vibrant part of the city’: Why the piece deserves to be restored
For nearly a decade, the mural has been an all-time favourite photo-op and Toronto staple on the corner of Ossington Ave. and Rebecca St.
Seeing the damage, Toronto local Henry Wong took it upon himself to organize a mural restoration.
“Nobody stands around and admires tagged graffiti. What people did was they stood around and admired [Bruno Smoky’s] work,” Wong told Now Toronto. “I want it to live because it represents such a vibrant part of the city, and to be able to see this each day was a true enjoyment.”
Wong says he’d see people take selfies with the mural all the time, and loved seeing free art appreciated the way Smoky’s piece was.
So, he reached out to Smoky to see if he would be interested in fixing his mural—with the support of a GoFundMe.
From hours of work to climbing a lift, wearing a helmet, and working near electrical wires, Smoky’s first time creating the mural was already strenuous.
Smoky had last cleaned up the piece in 2020, and was saddened to see its state just six years later.
“You see many beautiful murals in Toronto being defaced by this new wave of graffiti writers… It’s sad to know that’s the style that they’re approaching right now,” he told Now Toronto.
One of Smoky’s murals has been featured on the big screen, such as in the Apple TV comedy series, Brothers. Despite his mainstream graffiti art appearance and the heavy workload required to restore Ossington’s “Flying Away,” Smoky accepted Wong’s request, seeing how well-loved his piece was in the community.
“It’s an effort that I’m happy that you guys are also trying to revitalize and bring that mural back into a new stage. It’s almost like a rebirth, and Henry has been my source of [eagerness] to do that,” Smoky shared.
How the funding will help restore the piece
As the organizer of the “Flying Away” restoration campaign, Henry hopes vandals will leave this restored and improved (with yet-to-be-known added details) mural alone—and that people who have loved it for the last decade will appreciate it instead.
To do that, Wong hopes the budget will allow lights to be added to prevent vandalism after dark.
To date, the City of Toronto has provided Smoky with a $5,000 BIA Mural Grant, and $1,000 from the Ossington anti-graffiti coating funds.
Wong is still hoping to raise the final $4,000 through GoFundMe.
At the time of publication, the campaign has raised $1,325 of the $4,000 goal.
“It’s amazing what a few dollars can do… Whatever people can provide will make a huge difference in reaching our goal… It’s always been a community piece. It’s meant for everyone, and it would be wonderful to get it back to what it should be,” Wong said.
