Padaria
Installation Concept
This mural reimagines the Amazonian water goddess Iara, a powerful figure from Indigenous Brazilian myth, holding a coxinha, an iconic Brazilian street food. By blending ancestral storytelling with a modern culinary symbol, the artwork celebrates cultural migration and the ways traditions transform and adapt across time and place. Painted for a women-owned bakery, it also honours the strength and creativity of women as cultural carriers.
Meet the Artists
MonkYi, Muralist
MonkYi is a Chinese-Canadian visual artist who specializes in murals, illustrations, live painting, and community-engaged workshops. With a background in anthropology, her works are driven by imagination, often featuring a diverse range of characters that reflect different ranges of life. At times mythological, at times lowbrow, at times whimsical and at times dark, she taps into different mindsets through her artwork based on the intention, location and space. She began painting murals in Cambodia in 2019 after years of living and traveling across Asia. Since then, she has collaborated with multiple organizations and businesses in Toronto.
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Tanya Kartashova, Animator
Tetiana Kartashova is a graphic and motion designer and co-owner of Aztec Animation Studio. In September 2020, their studio’s poster was recognized as one of the top ten best peace posters globally in an AR competition with the United Nations. It was displayed at the UN Secretariat building in New York for a year. In 2020, they also created an AR exhibition in Kyiv to mark the anniversary of the “Kurazh” event.
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