A couple weeks ago, we headed up to the north Junction to check out the launch of The Yogen Früz Brain Project, a public art installation that appears throughout the city each summer. The brains – there are 50 of them – are transformed by international artists and celebrities into thought-provoking pieces of art. Now in its fourth year, the campaign raises awareness of brain health and advance research on dementia and aging, through the Baycrest Foundation.
The sneak peek gave us an inside look to the full set of this year’s brains, which will become public at Nathan Phillips Square on July 2 until the end of August. You can also spot some brains in the Distillery District, at Brookfield Place, in Union Station and a few other spots. Then, the brains move to Yorkdale for the fall.
This year’s line-up of artists is pretty dope. We saw creations from Alex Runt (famous for his Lee’s Palace mural!), Michelle Vella (known for her WIDE BIG EYES pop art), Tony Taylor (hello, we love your delicate animal creations) and most famously, Romero Britto (his big break came from his Absolute Vodka bottle re-interpretation) and many more multi-dimensional and multi-medium pieces. We learned some cool facts about brain health and a bit more about the dementia through a panel discussion, featuring ET Canada host Cheryl Hickey, Baycrest researcher Rosanna Olsen and artists Pierre Poussin and Carson Teal.
Check out some photos from the event below and keep your eyes open for the brains this summer.
