What to know
- Toronto councillor Josh Matlow is calling for more public art across the city.
- A new mural in Little Brazil highlights the area’s growing Brazilian community and cultural identity.
- Matlow says murals reduce blight, boost neighbourhood pride, and create a stronger sense of place.
- He says more public art projects are already in the works, including an Indigenous-inspired mural along Bathurst Street.
What was once an ordinary wall in Toronto’s Little Brazil is now a vibrant celebration of Brazilian culture, and it’s part of a growing push to use public art to tell the stories of the city’s diverse communities.
Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow has represented Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul’s, since he was first elected to council in 2010. He has long been an advocate, supporter and investor in public art in various neighbourhoods, celebrating people, cultures, and communities. Matlow tells Now Toronto that our city would benefit from more street art, such as a newly created mural donning the side of a building in Little Brazil.
“This one in particular is on a stretch of Yonge St. south of Eglinton that we have recently been calling Little Brazil. Given that over the past 10-15 years, there’s been a growing Brazilian community in the Midtown area,” he explained in an interview, adding that the neighbourhood recently hosted the second annual Arraia on Yonge, a street festival celebrating all things Brazilian culture.
“Like many wonderful stories of immigration to Toronto, 15-20 years ago, somebody came over here from Brazil and then told their brother that you know they found a great neighbourhood to live in Canada,” he shared, explaining how the area came to be known as Little Brazil.
“Then they told their sister, and they told their cousin. Then more Brazilians showed up, and then businesses opened up, a couple of cafes, restaurants, other shops.”
But Matlow says that public art, like the latest installation in the neighbourhood, created by talented street artist, Sandro Liberato, is one of the ways that the city is celebrating the fact that we have a growing Brazilian community in Midtown Toronto,
“You know where people live, I think it’s important [that it] reflects who they are, and we have a very diverse community. People from every background, from everywhere in the world, live in our neighbourhood. But this is a reflection of the Brazilian community that all of us embrace.”
Matlow says public art improves communities
The local councillor explained that murals make cities fun and vibrant, adding colour and connection to an area where there may be a blank wall or graffiti. Matlow says that it also improves the feel of a community.
“When there’s lots of graffiti or vapid spaces, it can really bring down the look and feel of an area. Where there’s public art and a demonstration of pride and community, it really lifts up where you are,” he explained.
Matlow’s affinity for public art is backed by data. Research published in Cities: International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, shows that also found murals can improve residents’ perceptions of safety, cleanliness and community pride. Meanwhile, a 2025 paper in the same journal noted murals were associated with revitalization and gentrification efforts as well as increased foot traffic.
He also shared that public displays of art are great ways to celebrate the contributions of locals and the culture of the community.
“Murals are a wonderful way to celebrate people, culture [and] community. They contribute to placemaking and contribute to a sense of identity,” he explained. “When you can walk into a community and see a mural, and that mural can immediately identify to you where you are and why it’s a special place.”
He used Little Jamaica’s various displays of public art as an example.
“If you go to Reggae Lane in Little Jamaica, those murals are a celebration of Jamaican culture and the contributions that Afro-Caribbean Canadians have made to our city, along with, you know, amazing reggae artists and the culture that we celebrate there.”
It’s also, Matlow explained, a great way to showcase local artists.
“For the street artists themselves, mural painting is a great opportunity for them to share their talents with the rest of us, and I love that.”
He shared that he works with the organization Street Art Toronto, as well as various local artists, to continue to expand mural painting in Toronto. This includes a new project in midtown on Bathurst, north of Davenport, that will reimagine a large concrete retaining wall.
“So that every time that you go up Bathurst St., you’ll not only see something far more beautiful than a vapid concrete wall,” he explained, adding that this new work will pay homage to the First Nations community in the area.
“We want to celebrate the Indigenous people who used Davenport as a trail a long time ago. Also, the natural environment and the fact that Davenport once was the shoreline of the ancient Lake Iroquois,” the councillor explained. “So it’s a great way to sort of bring our history. Respect the Indigenous peoples of this land, and bring those stories to a new generation.”
