Thank you for this Labyrinth Report Shawn!
Appreciated!
We would like to report that
A> the god blessed fountain worked
B> the city has not power washed off Himy Syed’s (@LabyrinthsDOTca) fine wading pool labyrinth.Always love the wee exposed aggregate kid step.
Sign, in toronto fashion, warns not to touch mouth on fountain 🤷🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/WZ1320jTQQ
— Shawn Micallef 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@shawnmicallef) August 14, 2023
“Every month in the Spring,
Summer,
Someone paints a Labyrinth in Grange Park.
Everybody loves it.
Every month,
The City of Toronto wastes resources to wipe it out.
Shame.”
Every month in the spring summer, someone paints a maze in the Grange park. Everybody loves it. Every month, the city (@cityoftoronto) wastes resources to wipe it out. Shame.
— Massih Moayedi — مسیح مویدی (@massihmoayedi) July 17, 2023
Families taking happy photos in the Grange labyrinth that the underfunded city of toronto parks dept regularly spends $ on removing. pic.twitter.com/eNGxA7AFvG
— Maltese Petard ( Official Parody) 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@shawnmicallef) March 16, 2023
Walked by here today—had to adjust my path to allow a dad and his two kids to finish their enthusiastic walk of the labyrinth. The local councillor needs to intervene. https://t.co/agQvVbBEZn
— Brian B (@brianyyz) March 17, 2023
… to the building and summarily cancelled the event. (the fire pit had been used many times before; there was zero danger to the brick building). I happened to be there when the weeping kids — dozens — came tumbling out of the community building there.
Sad sad sad sad sad.
— Henrik Bechmann (Toronto) 🇨🇦 (@HenrikBechmann) March 17, 2023
@LabyrinthsDOTca is a treasure that does the most amazing urban acupuncture.
Municipal parks workers, following King John's lead, seem to have the goal of making parks as unattractive and underserviced as possible to the residents that use them. Damn the costs seemingly.
— Sean K (@seankillackey) March 17, 2023
— Jessica Dee Humphreys (@jessicadeehum) March 17, 2023
Mayor Tory, @JohnTory the labyrinth in Grange park has been there since I was a child; it's an enjoyable piece of meditative art – heartbroken to hear City resources are being used to constantly remove something so appreciated by the residents! #SaveGrangeParkLabyrinth https://t.co/5cjpOsNrGM
— Michelle Roy 🇨🇦 (@Ms_Michelle_Roy) December 10, 2022
N.B.
EVERY Time I tweet or ReTweet a photo of the Grange Park Labyrinth
It is powerwashed within 24 to 72 hours [ if it was a weekend (re)tweet ].
When I DON'T tweet any photos of my Grange Park Labyrinth, after repaintings,
They are NOT removed.
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) December 8, 2022
"Labyrinth Buddy" hahaha
First time anyone's called me that!
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) December 5, 2022
The Labyrinth is gone now. pic.twitter.com/sPQM8tGUMM
— Richard Eriksson (@sillygwailo) November 18, 2022
Grange Park labyrinth removed again. Seems the fun police budget never runs out of money in #JohnTorysToronto. pic.twitter.com/zAx2k3x2tp
— Ramsey 🌐🔰 (@Ramsey_Kilani) October 12, 2022
Didn't take long for them to hit Grange again. Fastest thing the city responds to are unauthorized improvements.https://t.co/oc7hyc62xR
— Ramsey 🌐🔰 (@Ramsey_Kilani) October 12, 2022
Local users constantly repaint a meditation labyrinth on the footpath at Grange Park and the city remove it.
The city doesn’t fix the broken fountain though.— Heather Jordan – Standing with 🇺🇦 (@HipBoom) October 16, 2022
Documenting the labyrinth in my neighbourhood park in case it’s deemed to be illegal. https://t.co/vzDDpR8NHR pic.twitter.com/fh3fgeq06g
— Richard Eriksson (@sillygwailo) September 28, 2022
As usual, the most comprehensive maintenance in Grange Park involves @GoodbyeGraffiti contractors, in a rain storm, power-washing the labyrinth that'll be redrawn by the weekend: pic.twitter.com/RDSRPQzXxQ
— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) September 27, 2022
The Labyrinth is Grange Park Playground Infrastructure that has been installed at Zero Cost to the Taxpayer.
Yet repeated investment by "This" Taxpayer.
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) September 27, 2022
Oh for the … I live right by here and hate that they keep removing it. I see kids running around it having fun all the time. What on earth harm is it.
— nicole (she/her) (@iheartmuseums) September 27, 2022
Who would pay to remove the labyrinth??? They are so well done I assumed they were a city sponsored art project. They get a community asset for free and then they pay to remove it??? WTF.
— Ryan Abcede (@RyeABC) September 27, 2022
"They are so well done…"
Thank you.
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) September 27, 2022
Sorry, this is too much whimsy. Labyrinths obviously exceed the whimsy guidelines. https://t.co/h6W8hwsVvI
— C Bailey (@CBailey6) September 27, 2022
“GUIDELINES
INCORPORATE WHIMSYa. Encourage a sense of joy and playfulness by incorporating whimsy in public art, building design, streetscapes, street furniture and parks and open space features.
b. Design child-friendly elements at a scale that responds to children that provoke the imagination and are fun, interactive, educational, musical and brightly coloured in fantastic sculptural forms.”
"…This urban artist has been creating whimsical designs in public places since he was a child. "https://t.co/wLPnl76Ai8
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) September 28, 2022
Problem, labyrinth whimsy is free.
— 20:20Hindsight 🚴♂️🇨🇦 (@Cmartoronto) September 28, 2022
can we have open bathrooms? no, only removal of a fun, whimsical piece of art. love my local park despite it all. https://t.co/V7p7WCThP3
— Michelle (@michellekearnel) September 27, 2022
Imagine how much money could be saved by simply commissioning the artwork that literally everybody enjoys instead of scrubbing it away every couple months https://t.co/Odm65eQA7w
— Elizabeth Keay (@eliz_keay) September 27, 2022
@johntory – Take the money we pay to remove them and hire @LabyrinthsDOTca as Toronto's Labyrinth Laureate
— George Bell (@georgebell) September 28, 2022
That labyrinth is a community uniter.
I live by Grange Park and see people bonding over it every single day. Why do you hate joy? #johntorystoronto
— natasha 🌐 (@natashanwar_) September 28, 2022
That's my local park and I see children playing in that labyrinth all the time, like why!!!?? What curmudgeon did this offend who complained?
We can't get the water fountains or washrooms opened on time but we have the money to power wash fun away. https://t.co/YV5WrjhzBt
— Alex Beheshti (@beheshtialex) September 27, 2022
“…A New Labyrinth,
Mere days after The City powerwashed the previous one off.
Apparently they’re graffiti?
Removing Labyrinths is a dumb thing to spend taxpayer money on.
But thank you @LabyrinthsDOTca
For replacing it so quickly!!”
I'm frustrated that the city has money to remove a fun, kid-appreciated labyrinth in Grange park, but not to do important maintenance. #TOpoli pic.twitter.com/Bm45YgDtNy
— Brian McLachlan – Complete the Quest (@McLachlanBrian) June 30, 2022
Toronto has lost its Heart…Labyrinth, in Grange Park…
Yet grateful that thousands of Torontonians + Tourists were able to enjoy and walk my Grange Park “❤️” Heart Labyrinth before this again happened today….
Toronto doesn’t have the money to get water fountains going in a timely way but will send workers again and again to erase the labyrinth people paint in Grange Pk pic.twitter.com/Bov94U8d4Y
— Oliver Moore (@moore_oliver) June 30, 2022
And drive on the grass. https://t.co/JUW9gsIA8B
— christopher (@heychristofur) June 30, 2022
See also: the City putting portapotties in Trinity-Bellwoods the year *after* they destroyed the encampment
They could just give people water and toilets in the first place and save money and effort, but they'd rather be dicks about it
— 🐘 @nev@bananachips.club (@neville_park) June 30, 2022
For heaven’s sake, @cityoftoronto , where in the bylaws does it say we can’t have nice things and our tax dollars will pay to make sure of it? https://t.co/v9SP6tBfC0
— James Harbeck (@sesquiotic) June 30, 2022
Indeed, The City of Toronto removes park infrastructure, Labyrinths, at some cost to the taxpayer.
Whereas The City of Labyrinths Project installs park infrastructure, Labyrinths, at zero cost to the taxpayer.
Jo was kind enough to say hello and ask me a little bit about the Labyrinths I painted on Augusta Avenue during Pedestrian Sunday . . .
Wonderful surprise to see her in depth instagram post…
Thank you Jo!
Happy Walking!
“In Kensington Market this past weekend and came across these Labyrinths made by HiMY SYeD.
As I learned from the artist, Labyrinths were essential to ancient civilizations, the earliest ones built out of stone along the sea to capture fish as sustenance.
To HiMY , his Labyrinths are a form of “urban acupuncture.”They encourage people to explore space, place, decision-making, choice, habit, and even perseverance.
As some complete the path, others may cheat and break the course.
It’s great that a simple urban intervention like this can create surprise, participation, and play🤸♂️
While a maze is meant to puzzle and confuse, the Labyrinth will always lead you to its centre ❤️” – Jo Minhinnett