Bareket

I had the pleasure of commissioning Bareket to work with me on the mural component of the third iteration of the Garden Car in Kensington Market. From the beginning, Bareket's responsiveness stood out, and their open communication ensured that their artwork aligned well with my verdant vision. Bareket approached this opportunity with enthusiasm, amplifying the energy and excitement that so many feel about the Garden Car. The new Garden Car is now a vibrant masterpiece thanks to their unique artistic flair.

What I appreciated most was Bareket's respectful attitude throughout our collaboration. They not only brought their own artistic expertise to the table but also valued my ideas. It was evident that they genuinely cared about my satisfaction with the final result.

Working with Bareket was a wonderful experience, characterized by responsiveness, creative spirit, and a respectful partnership. I'm thrilled with the outcome, and I highly recommend Bareket to anyone seeking an exceptional artist for their project.

— Yvonne Bambrick, CARdener of the Kensington Market Garden Car

I have worked with Bareket on multiple occasions and I would do so again in a heartbeat. From the initial conversations,  the brainstorming, budgeting, scheduling and development of all the details, working with Bareket is always collaborative, creative and smooth. 

And of course then there’s the final work of art. Bareket’s work centres joy, resilience, courage and positivity at its core. It places important and meaningful messages in public spaces, accessible to all and contributes to the beauty and  landscape of the city.  This is always needed, but now more than ever. 

It has been an absolute pleasure and honour to work with Bareket. 

— Jenn Goodwin, Programming Supervisor/ ArtworxTO Hubs Lead, City of Toronto 

Our programming team at Union Station has had our eye on Bareket's work as we were drawn to the vibrant and engaging style. We were fortunate enough to be connected to and to work with Bareket on a temporary mural at the station. It was an easy working relationship, and Bareket was responsive and a joy to work with. The resulting work has been very impactful in our space and has fostered meaningful interactions and dialogue about our shared experiences. Bareket was also great to have onsite to interact with the public - her warm and positive energy invited people in to participate. We are so grateful that Bareket was also available to join us last-minute for an artist talk to speak about their work and provide thoughtful responses and a vision to find connections and positivity in our community. We would absolutely love to work with Bareket again.

— Alexa Polenz, Manager, Brand and Partnerships, Union Station

Working with Bareket on the Nelson Street Beautification Project was a joy. Her professionalism, creativity, and genuine passion for her craft and community make her an invaluable asset to any project. As a muralist and mentor, Bareket possesses a unique set of skills that sets her apart. Her exceptional communication skills made collaborating with her a breeze; she kept us informed throughout the project and worked well with a diverse range of project stakeholders. She bridged different perspectives and preferences, ensuring everyone felt heard and valued. Her empathetic nature allowed her to understand the needs of each stakeholder and incorporate their input into her artistic vision. Bareket's imaginative approach brought the murals to life, transforming Nelson Street and BAO's new office into a vibrant and inspiring space. Bareket mentored three local artists involved in the project with patience and expertise, nurturing their talents and helping them grow professionally. The project resulted in three stunning murals and has left a lasting impact on the local artistic community.

— Erin Glover, Public Art Officer, City of Brampton

We feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Bareket this past school year. In collaboration with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Parish, our Sacred Heart CHS Integrated Regional Arts (iRAP) students were tasked with painting a shipping container bound for the small community of Sanirajak in Nunavut. 

Bareket worked with a group of our grade 11 iRAP students, providing an Artists’ talk, leading them through a collaborative design and mock-up process, teaching painting and stenciling techniques, and then finally leading the painting process. Bareket’s positive and accepting demeanor permeated throughout all of her work with the students, and the skills and concepts that they learned in her sessions will serve them well long past the completion of our mural.

— Michelle Ross & Trudy Hubbard, Sacred Heart CHS iRAP

We loved working with Bareket to create opportunities for Toronto communities to express themselves. The Luminato Festival of Toronto deeply values excellence, and Bareket embodies that value in their approach to working in community in a way that is unique among Toronto’s street art community. Their work invites Toronto (and beyond) to consider how our stories are universal, and how we can share beauty with our neighbours. Based on the small project we worked on in 2022, we are excited to work together again in 2023 on a similar, larger scale project.

— Adam Barrett, Producer/Programmer, Luminato Festival Toronto

We commissioned Bareket to create and deliver an uplifting message ('CHOOSE KINDNESS’) among colourful imagery, including flowers, stars, and rainbows. Our son loves Star Wars and so with our ideas and her creative process we came up with imagery that is “out of this world.” Neighbours stop for selfies in front of our mural, and have told me how much they love seeing it on their daily walks. Our goal was to bring love and light to the community as we are near to a bus stop and on a popular walking/biking route. Our son lives with cerebral palsy and often faces discrimination; yet faces adversity with love, kindness, and patience. This is his forever home and Bareket created a  design that embodies his spirit and the spirit we hope to invoke in the community around us. I love having Bareket’s work on our wall. I’m secretly thinking of other projects we can commission her for because her spirit of light and love comes through her work and out into the community. Bareket finished the project in record time, while also including regular photo updates, as we hadn’t moved into our home yet. I would relish the opportunity to work with her again and am always looking for her other murals out in the ‘wild.' 

— Grateful, Kara Melissa

Bareket is an absolute pleasure to work with! I worked with Bareket on a large-scale community-engaged mural that involved over 40+ community youth and resulted in a painted mural exceeding 4,000 sq. ft. Bareket thoughtfully crafted each component of the project, from designing fun and age-friendly workshops to designing a creative and meaningful mural that reflected the local community while exceeding the client's goals. Bareket is someone you can trust for all stages of a project! We have received such positive feedback from our client's experience of Bareket working on their property, and so much joy is shared by the community that sees this mural daily.  Bareket's artistry is unique and powerful, and I can't wait to continue working with them on projects of all scales."

— Margaux Weinrib, Cultural Planner, STEPS Public Art

My team and I have worked with Bareket on numerous community arts projects and each time is a better experience than the last.  Whether it’s working with youth in a school setting or embracing a new idea (e.g. painting large-scale ground murals), Bareket is always a pleasure to work with.  Her calm demeanor and attention to detail make her a huge hit with my team and our business partners.  When she led our 2021 ground mural project, Bareket understood my vision even before I showed her examples; her mind is a reservoir of fun, and you merely need to ask!  I was a bit cautious to start a big project during the pandemic years, but Bareket embraced the community and even let local children watch and ask questions throughout the installation process.  I always look forward to future collaborations with Bareket and will highly recommend her to anyone who asks.

— Rebecca Stubbs, Public Realm Coordinator, Downtown Yonge BIA

Over my six years at East End Arts we’ve worked with Bareket in a number of capacities. As a muralist, a panelist, a workshop and camp director, as a project coordinator and in every instance she’s been a delight. 

Bareket first proposed a Girls Mural Camp curriculum to us in 2017 and asked if we’d be interested offering it to youth between the ages of 14-19 who self-identify as young women, girls, females, or non-binary in our catchment. Now coming on five years Girls and Enby Mural camp is now a signature annual program for East End Arts. Through this free summer program, up to ten incredible youth from all different walks of life have a safe space in which to learn and most importantly express themselves. In addition to learning design, paint and stencil techniques, the girls develop self-confidence, critical thinking, team building and problem solving skills. Thanks to Bareket these young artists can see the potential of building a meaningful career in a traditionally a male dominated field. 

Bareket’s projects like Girls Mural Camp and Women Paint Riverside are centring space for QBIPOC female artists on our walls and streets and changing the face of who gets to create in these spaces. I’ve been delighted to see Bareket emerge as a strong leader in our community.

One of Bareket’s most important assets is her ability to develop and sustain relationships. She is a natural collaborator, always looking for opportunities to work with others to achieve greater aims – always offering practical planning, creative and innovative problem solving (very important when managing huge outdoor production schedules during a global pandemic!) and absolute reliability.

— Shana Hillman, Executive Director, East End Arts

Over the past 5 years, I have had the pleasure of working with Bareket in different capacities – as youth programs facilitator, mural artist and producer, educator, and mentor. What I really value about Bareket is not only her natural talent or expertise built over the years, it is her commitment to walking the path with you as a project develops and evolves over time. Bareket approaches every aspect of each project she undertakes with professionalism and integrity, always mindful of various stakeholders’ needs and goals, while being open-minded and collaborative. She deeply cares about the communities she engages during projects as well any other artists she might work with (this is quite rare!).

We look forward to working with Bareket again in the near future and cannot recommend her enough for projects big or small.

 — Marta Keller-Hernandez, Managing Director, Mural Routes

We hired Bareket to lead three of our public art themed walking tours. Feedback from participants perfectly sums up how positive of an experience it was to work with her:

“Bareket was an amazing tour guide. She made the tour meaningful and emotive. I felt moved many times”

“Good pace. Great presenter. Definitely recommend. Thank you.”

Not only did she provide information on the artists and artistic styles, she also encouraged participants to seek personal connection to the different pieces in our neighbourhood. Bareket spoke about how public art can make you feel and the impact it can have on the community.

We thoroughly enjoyed working with Bareket and look forward to working with her again in the future. 

— Caitlynn Fairbarns, Marketing Coordinator, The Church-Wellesley Village BIA

Our elementary school commissioned Bareket to paint a large mural in our school gym. Bareket delivered far beyond our expectations, and on a tight schedule. While we never had any concern about her artistic ability, where she really over-delivered was in her professionalism. From the beginning of the design process through completing the mural, Bareket was extremely communicative, thoughtful, and hard-working. When challenges beyond her control arose (surprise flooding; rented equipment issues), she made up for lost time without complaining or compromising on her vision. The final product is amazing. Bareket's mural has truly brightened up our school. The students love it and guests marvel at it. I would encourage anyone who is in the position to hire her to do so without hesitation. It will be one of the best decisions you ever make. 

— With gratitude, President of Yeshiva Har Torah's Board of Directors

I'm so thankful for the beauty Bareket has brought to our downtown. I was first introduced to her through an online panel about murals, that I tuned into through Mural Routes. She spoke with passion and expertise and when I looked at her work I knew the bright, positive, community-focused themes that she creates were exactly what we our downtown needed. As the first big mural project we were undertaking, we wanted someone that knew what they were doing and felt confident that Bareket was the right person for the task. Barekets collaborative nature let us provide opportunity and experience to a local artist, who worked with her on the project and received mentorship from her. The mural that they created has made a huge impact and given us momentum to undertake other projects in the neighbourhood. I can't recommend working with Bareket enough, her warmth and inner beauty shines through in her work and inspires and uplifts all who see it.

— Sarah Jensen, Communications and Public Realm Coordinator, Downtown Barrie BIA

“The Downtown Barrie BIA is using art to help revitalize the downtown core”

Global News. October 27, 2022

read the full article here.

“Art helps us connect with each other and relate to one another. It creates community. It also helps us connect to our surroundings and encourages people to take ownership of public spaces.”

“Unique initiative aims to brighten Barrie's downtown core”

CTV News Barrie. July 19, 2022

read the full article and watch the video here.

Kezwer started the painting on July 6, hoping the mural would send the message that repeated small actions can have a significant positive impact.

"I'm hoping very much that mural will bring people in downtown Barrie together around this message of both love and belonging and finding meaning in community and finding strength in community," says Kezwer.

“Strawberry Mural in Downtown Barrie Has Symbolism to the Artist and Community”

Barrie 360. July 23, 2022

read the full article here.

“I believe that colour is a form of medicine and that as we add more and more colour to our cities rather than having these neutral-toned urban environments, we can help elevate people’s moods,” she says, outlining why the Barrie project is so meaningful. “As well, murals are one of the most accessible forms of art. Often, if you want to see art, you have to go to a museum or gallery, but public art makes art available to everyone.”

We loved working with Bareket in the fall of 2021 to create a vibrant mural welcoming our employees back into the office after the uncertainty and difficulty of working from home. Bareket listened attentively to the specific goals and needs of our project and created an artwork that exceeded our expectations and captured the team spirit that is the foundation of our company. We enjoyed the process of seeing the mural come to life and appreciated how respectful she and her crew were while in our space. The mural has become one of our favourite parts of our office and brings daily joy to employees and visitors in our workplace.

— Shir Magen, CEO, HomeStars

The Riverside BIA began working with Bareket on projects in 2020. Right away, we could see Bareket brings creativity, collaboration, and professionalism to all her work. We subsequently worked with Bareket on larger and larger-scale projects including a series of eight sidewalk murals and a three-city-block project composed of 20+ full-scale murals called "Women Paint Riverside" in 2021, on which Bareket was the main curator. Both of these projects surpassed all our expectations.

Excellent project management skills, communication, high quality of project deliverables, meeting deadlines, and making ambitious projects a reality in the face of all obstacles encountered, are trademarks of the way Bareket works.

I look forward to working with Bareket again in future and would recommend her highly!

— Jennifer Lay, Executive Director, Riverside Business Improvement Area

StreetARToronto has had the pleasure of working with Bareket on a number of projects and it is always a delightful experience. Among the largest was our Lansdowne Underpass mural project which Bareket curated. She attended to both the big picture and every detail with laser precision, and as importantly, she took the time to reflect on our initiative’s core values as well as important issues of these times and co-created a deeply meaningful community engaged mural project that will last for decades to come. It was a joy working with Bareket and I recommend her highly.

— Carolyn Taylor, Project Manager, StreetARToronto, City of Toronto

Bareket’s work is vibrant, colourful and gives me a welcome jolt of encouragement whenever I see it. I love her bold style and her thoughtful approach to each new mural. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bareket twice, and on each project she brought her whole self to the project, embracing the unique nature of each request.

Over the summer of 2021, Bareket’s Kindness is a Boomerang mural was displayed onstage at Celebration Square, filling the space with a beautiful invitation to be kind; at a time when we were encouraged to keep our distance from one another, this message was a welcome reminder of our togetherness.

I also love spotting Bareket’s work in the wild – whether it is playful asphalt painting or colourful wall murals, her distinctive style shines, and always makes me smile.

— Amy Butoiske, Event Producer, City of Mississauga

Bareket painted a mural in our backyard in May 2021. What was once an ugly back of our neighbours garage is now a gorgeous piece of art that gives me feelings of unbridled joy every time I look at it. Bareket took the time to get to know us as a family - including colour preferences, hobbies, likes/dislikes. What she created was a big, bold, beautiful mosaic depiction of frangipanis - these flowers are so meaningful to us as they provide a visual connection to our family in Australia. Bareket was responsive to our feedback and added a little ladybug on one of the leaves, which I adore. We now take our milestone family photos (i.e. first and last days of school) in front of the painting so that we can cherish the changes in our family with a stunning backdrop.

— Alice Wright

I brought Bareket to participate in the first Jewish Street Art Festival in Jerusalem in 2019 after seeing her work online. She was a true professional, making her own travel arrangements, working with the location managers independently when I was unable to be there, and arranging for photography of the finished piece, which, of course, was lovely and profound. I then made sure to recruit her for the team in the subsequent Festivals in 2020 and 2021, where she again impressed me with both her artistic abilities and her professionalism securing spaces, working with partner organizations, and submitting paperwork promptly. I'm eager to work with her again in the future, knowing she'll produce beautiful work and make the business side of things seamless and easy. All in all, Bareket is a great combination of talent, dependability, and enthusiasm.

— Hillel Smith, Curator/Producer, Jewish Street Art Festival

Bareket’s love for mentoring and building positive relationships made her mural a truly collaborative community project. Her process sparked wonderful growth in local artists. Not only did this result in a joyful mural that creates positive impact, it resulted in joyful people who have gone on to create positive impact.

— Nora Smith, City of Red Deer, Meet the Street Festival

I had the pleasure of working with Bareket during the first year of a new mural festival. There were many learnings for our team and Bareket was super flexible and able to adapt her project to accommodate a wall change a month before the paint dates. Her new project was ambitious and she lead and mentored a team of volunteers to create the work collaboratively. The group had a lot of fun as well as learning techniques for working with exterior paint and transforming a drawing into a large scale mural. Bareket’s mural exudes positive energy transforming the site and those who experience it!

— Kelly Andres, Public Art Curator, City of Red Deer

The shed Bareket painted is a delight for us every day. She took our nascent idea and turned our shed into a work of art. Thank you for brightening every day of our lives!

— Josie Fung

We had the pleasure of working with Bareket and Women Paints on two large scale projects spanning hundreds of meters and including 80+ female and female identifying artists. This was no small feat! Bareket managed these projects with professionalism and she demonstrated incredible expertise and knowledge at every step. She is a pleasure to work with. She is kind and thoughtful and we look forward to our next project with Bareket.

— Wendy Rading, Executive Director, Arts Etobicoke

“Artists and residents band together to create murals that celebrate 'resilience' in North Etobicoke”

Toronto Star. October 29, 2021

read the full article here.

“Kezwer, a lead artist on the project along with Moises Frank, Natalie Very B and Kaya Joan, said she hopes the murals continue a conversation about public art in the community, inspire a "collective resilience," and foster greater understanding.

“I hope having art by women and gender-marginalized folks is a small contribution toward building a future in which we can break down barriers that hold people back,” she said.”

“Women Paint Riverside murals explore Indigenous nations’ connections to rivers and lakes”

Beach Metro. September 30, 2021

read the full article here.

“I hope Women Paint is a space where women and gender marginalized artists can meet and be inspired by one another, learn from each other and build a supportive community”, Kezwer said of the murals painted in laneways in the Broadview Avenue and Queen Street East area.”

“A Day in the Life” with Toronto creative Bareket Kezwer

Toronto Guardian. January 27, 2021

read the full article here.

“Bareket Kezwer is one of Toronto’s most colourfully optimistic and ambitious working artists. From Parkdale to Bali and back again, Bareket’s signature rainbow geometry and point perfect typography is truly universal in its influence, audience and demand.”

Bareket came out to California to paint in our mural festival, and we loved her and the piece she created. She was a joy to work with, and her piece was a perfect fit for the business and a great addition to our city. She is easygoing, professional, and an incredibly talented artist. We would bring her back to paint here again anytime!

- Jenna Catsos, Eureka Street Art Festival Organizer

"Adding women’s stories to the street"

Globe and Mail. August 30, 2018

read the full article here.

"In July, 2017, with the help of 20 female-identified artists and the city’s StreetARToronto funding program, Ms. Kezwer transformed a Parkdale laneway during the inaugural “Womxn Paint” jam, which saw more than 2,000 square feet of murals painted – with building owners' permission – over three days.

On Aug. 19, aerosol lids were snapped shut on the bigger, better 2018 version, which took 10 days to complete. Under the “Uplifting Each Other” banner, 30 artists covered 4,225 square feet just above Dundas Street West, in a winding laneway connecting McCaul and D’Arcy streets, a stone’s throw from the Art Gallery of Ontario."

We are THRILLED with the mural that Bareket created for our backyard-facing garage. I reached out to Bareket after seeing some of her work, and shared some ideas of what we wanted.  She came back with a design that captured what we wanted, and more! She worked quickly, kept the workplace tidy and brought a great attitude to the project. We couldn't be happier with it. 

I would recommend Bareket to anyone who wants to bring a touch of whimsy and warmth to their space. She really listens to what you want and brings you something that surpasses all expectation. We can't wait to share our new space with our family and friends. Thank you Bareket for capturing our family's love of Parkdale so beautifully!

— Tanja Juric

When we hired Bareket to create a mural for our nursery, my husband and I had a pretty vague vision of what we were hoping the art would depict. Through collaboration, creativity, color, and humor, Bareket helped us define that vision and then brought it to life. The final product far surpassed what we had dreamt it to be, and we cannot wait to bring our son home to a room that now radiates happiness, fantasy, and adventure! Bareket was an absolute joy to work with, from the initial design phase to the spotless room she left behind. I would recommend her, without an ounce of reservation, to anyone looking to use art as a medium to add some joy, color, and positivity to their space! 

— Lisa & Ashley Novak

Bareket is such a pleasure to work with, and we have had the opportunity to work with her on several community engaged public art projects, both big and small. She brings such positivity to her role, and really goes above and beyond to engage people in the creation of various art pieces. She has a wonderful openness and kindness that welcomes and encourages people to participate.   She is an excellent communicator and has a tremendous artistic versatility, being able to work with a variety of artistic mediums from murals, to wayfinding installations and textile pieces. Every project we have engaged her in has been meaningful and impactful and has succeeded in beautifying public spaces while being meaningful to community stakeholders. We definitely look forward to engaging her on future projects. 

— Anjuli Solanki, Director of Community Programs, STEPS Public Art

“Inside Inkbox’s King West headquarters.”

TorontoLife.com. August 7, 2018.

read the full article here.

Working with Bareket was an absolute pleasure. Her bright and colourful mural instantly brought more life and character to our parking lot and her cheerful personality made it wonderful to work with her. Our customers always stop and smile when passing by her mural. We couldn’t have asked for a better improvement to a previous dull space.

— Michael Halpern, Project Coordinator, Madison Group of Companies

"The new tattoo."

Globe and Mail. June 22, 2017

read the full article here.

"[Her] simple, hopeful message is an antidote to the invasive advertising that surrounds us – the kind that tells us we aren’t thin, pretty or smart enough, then offers remedies in the form of consumable goods. Maybe, as her work suggests, instead of cosmetics, what we need to feel happy is already within us."

We had the great opportunity to work with Bareket during this fall in a project for our Centre. We are a community centre in Downtown Toronto which focuses most of its work in supporting some of the most marginalized members of our community, most of them experiencing complex challenges such as homelessness and/or mental illness. As part of our Safekeeping Service, we have a storage container in our parking lot that needed a big makeover. We invited Bareket to propose a design that would not only look visually attractive and welcoming, but that will also allow our guests to have the opportunity to engage in the production process. The final result was great! Bareket’s design really met our expectations. She was very instrumental in coordinating our guests participation through the process, always showing kindness and flexibility. We look forward to working with her again in the future, and we would definitely recommend anyone to approach her for any art project.

— Enrique Cochegrus, Manager, Business Development & Communications, St Felix Centre

"The walls aren't even dry yet but this feminist mural project already has people debating the issues."

CBC.ca, July 14, 2017. 

read the full article here. 

"Laneway in Parkdale getting a woman's touch this weekend."

Parkdale Villager July 12, 2017

read the full article here.