Our team is absolutely thrilled to be launching a new mural project in collaboration with the Downtown Strathroy BIA! Located just west of London, Strathroy has a lovely, walkable core area with perfect opportunities for spectacular outdoor artwork.
New Mural Project for Thames Centre!
Our team is thrilled to be launching a new mural project for the Municipality of Thames Centre. Located just east of London, the community offers a mix of urban and rural living – and we love developing artwork for both environments! Throughout 2025 and 2026, we will be connecting with property owners and community partners to coordinate new landmark murals for the area. We look forward to helping tell the story of Thames Centre through stunning visuals.
St. Thomas: What Comes Next in Arts & Culture?
St. Thomas is growing! With new private and public sector investments happening city-wide, the expectation is that the population will grow from 45,000 to nearly 80,000 by 2050. Naturally, this means that we need to consider what the community will need in the future, including essential infrastructure, transportation improvements, parks and recreation amenities, new schools, and much more. In this light, what is the future of the local arts & culture sector?
Top Ten Ways to Make St. Thomas Vibrant for Young Adults
We all know the quiet arc of growing up in a small city or town. Elementary school, high school, and then the decision – where do we go for college or university? If we choose to stay home, where do we work and where do we live? If we go away to school, should we return home at some point? If so, when is the best time to do so? Or should we stay away forever?
St. Thomas! Provide Input on Two New Park Designs
Our team at young & free press is thrilled to be involved with the development of two fresh park spaces in downtown St. Thomas. Over the past year, we have worked in collaboration with the Parks, Recreation and Property Management department at the City to develop preliminary concepts, and early designs have been prepared by Arthur Lierman Landscape Architecture.
Murals in Ontario's Southwest -- Before & After Shots
Over the past five years, our team at ‘young & free press’ has focussed on coordinating the installation of large-scale murals around southwestern Ontario. After the murals are painted, often we are asked for ‘before & after’ photos, as viewers are curious about how this kind of artwork helps to transform urban spaces.
Ten Ways to Boost St. Thomas Before the Volkswagen Plant Opens
St. Thomas is home-base for our team at young & free, and we are very excited by the potential growth of the city following the announcement of the new Volkswagen / PowerCo EV battery plant set to open in 2027!
Elgin County Railway Museum to Launch Cycling Tours in St. Thomas
Our team at young & free press is thrilled to help announce a new donation of $15,000 to the Elgin County Railway Museum to introduce cycling tours to St. Thomas! With the funds, staff members will purchase a fleet of new bikes, including two e-bikes, and coordinate guided tours that feature the rolling stock gallery at the Museum, the collection of large-scale murals in the city, and the St. Thomas Elevated Park.
New Mural by Meaghan Claire Kehoe at the London International Airport
Our team at young & free press is thrilled to help introduce a spectacular new mural by artist Meaghan Claire Kehoe inside the London International Airport. Both the origins of the image and the purpose of the artwork are significant.
STEAM Centre to Provide Unique Art Experiences in St. Thomas
Beginning in summer 2023, the team at the STEAM Centre in St. Thomas will coordinate a new engagement project that will invite community members and visitors to produce artwork outdoors! Imagine painting at the St. Thomas Elevated Park, or in the new Westlake-Evans Civic Park downtown, or at other beautiful locations around the city … this is the goal for summer 2023 in St. Thomas! Our team at young & free press coordinated a contribution of $7500 to help make this program happen.
Five Reasons to Check Out 'Controlled Damage' at the Grand Theatre
On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond went to a movie at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She sat on the main floor – the whites-only section – unaware that she had purchased a ticket for the balcony, where Black audience members were expected to sit. Although she offered to pay the extra cost for a seat on the main floor, she was removed from the theatre, held in jail & charged. This incident of racial discrimination helped to ignite the civil rights movement in Canada. More than seven decades later, in November 2018, the new ten-dollar bill design featuring Desmond went into circulation across Canada, acknowledging the Halifax-based business owner who altered the social history of the country.
Music at the St. Thomas Public Library, Indoors & Outdoors
Our team at young & free press is thrilled to help announce a donation of $5000 to the St. Thomas Public Library to support musical performances on-site. Specifically, the funds will be used to invite musicians to play at the library in the new indoor / outdoor space that will connect the Library to the Westlake-Evans Civic Park, which is currently under construction next door.
Encounters @ 365 Talbot
Encounters @ 365 Talbot is an interactive art installation by Maddie King and Andrew Gunn in downtown St. Thomas. In August 2022, eighteen vintage mirrors were placed in the walkway at 365 Talbot Street, each one drawn from a different city or town in southern Ontario. The mirrors complement the stunning mural on-site by artist Stephanie Boutari. This is a managed installation, and the depth of the piece is meant to be revealed gradually.
New $275,000 Fund Established to Enhance Downtown St. Thomas
Our team at young & free press is excited to announce a donation of $275,000 from a generous local donor to the Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation. The funds will be used to enhance the downtown core of St. Thomas.
Trail Signs for Newcomers in Elgin County & St. Thomas
With increasing numbers of newcomers moving into the London, St. Thomas & Elgin County area – and lots of tourists visiting, too – there is the opportunity to consider how to make everyone feel welcome as quickly as possible. The STEAM Centre and Catfish Creek Conservation Authority have taken an interesting approach by introducing multilingual signs on local hiking trails.
'Grand Ghosts' at the Grand Theatre
Hey London! There are lots of reasons to check out the new play Grand Ghosts running until November 5th at the Grand Theatre on Richmond Street. Members of our team at young & free attended the play on opening night, October 21st. Afterwards, we came up with our top five reasons to attend the show.
Sparks for Downtown Simcoe
In Simcoe, the aspirations of the community have outgrown the dated atmosphere and decaying built environment. There are lots of young entrepreneurs, artists, and cultural leaders who want the town to grow, but have to face empty storefronts, bland scenery, minimal nightlife, and very little foot traffic. When I started with young & free press two years ago, the mission was to get more people interested in imagining the future of Simcoe. This is truly ‘step one’, as we need to have community members willing to make the effort to inspire change.
New Donation to the STEAM Centre Supports Innovative Education Programs
The STEAM Centre is very pleased to announce a contribution of $135,000 from a generous local donor to support the continuation of both the ‘STEAM Community Studio’ and the ‘Students Build Cities’ program in collaboration with Thames Valley District School Board and the team at young & free press. Through these programs, local elementary, secondary and even post-secondary students have the opportunity to contribute ideas to shape innovative community projects.
Waking Up St. Thomas
Maddie King and Andrew Gunn of young & free pressare thrilled to announce that we will be assembling a collection of essays for a new book focusing on the ongoing transformation of our hometown of St. Thomas! This will be a contemporary history of the city.
Track to the Future Mural Festival - PHOTOS
The Track to the Future Mural Festival made July 2022 a remarkable month in St. Thomas. Artists transformed spaces around the city with large-scale murals, and residents & visitors walked, cycled & skateboarded on local streets & trails to check out the artwork. St. Thomas is becoming a genuine street art capital!