Car Stringh

What I love about spring in the city? Warm spring days, excitement and events everywhere, buskers working their magic (like Copper Cowboy back out at Yonge and Dundas) and things to contemplate.

I was out contemplating when I almost ran into a green luggage bag parked in Nathan Phillips Square on Wednesday, March 31. I new it was luggage because it had a handle at the top. The bag had windows on two sides and contained within were a bunch of trapped and pickled stuffed animals.



I nearly cried at the horror of it all when I realized that this was art! Actually I didn't realize it was art until I read the large poster on the back of the bag.

The poster said that this was a work by IainBaxter& (no, that is not a & mistake) called ECOARTVAN commissioned by No. 9 Contemporary Art and the Environment.

No. 9's website says "The IAIN BAXTER& ECOARTVAN will park in each school’s yard for one or two days, and will be accompanied by No. 9 educators. No.9’s educators will lead hands-on workshops with Grade Four students using a special education package designed in collaboration with BAXTER& and focused around the artist’s concern for animals and their habitats.

WWF-Canada has generously contributed 2500 Adoption Kits, so that each Grade Four student who attends the workshops will receive a kit focused on an animal whose habitat is endangered. These kits enable tactile learning and ensure that the students have an opportunity to continue their engagement in environmental issues once the project concludes."

I liked the idea of the WWF adoption kits more that I liked the idea of the pickled animals.