A Wildly Flavourful Live Paint Battle is Coming to Toronto

Four amazing Toronto artists will create one-of-a-kind pieces of art using paint made from Truly’s flavours at the Truly Flavour Face Off

TORONTO, June 20, 2023 – The ultimate fusion of art and flavour is about to go down in Toronto. On Thursday, June 22, a space on Queen West will transform into the first-ever Truly Flavour Face Off, at which four local, up-and-coming artists will showcase their skills on stage, in real time. The twist? They’ll be using Truly Colours – paint made from the fruit in Truly’s unique flavours – to create their eye-catching pieces.

The Truly Flavour Face Off has been created by Truly Hard Seltzer in partnership with renowned paint battle curators Secret Walls as a groundbreaking event that honours creativity and the power of flavour. The live paint battle will feature two teams of two artists, comprised of Curtia Wright, a Scarborough-born, Toronto-based multi-disciplinary fine art artist, mural artist and arts educator; Andre Kan, a Toronto-based painter whose murals can be seen throughout Canada, the U.S., London, Greece, Spain and Hungary; Katrina Canedo, a Filipino-Canadian artist, live painter and muralist; and Rei “M E D Ē I O” Misiri, an Albanian-born, Toronto-based calligraphy artist. And they’ll have just 90 minutes to create their collaborative masterpieces that are meant to inspire others to bring their own flavour into the world.

^{From left: Artists Curtia Wright, Andre Kan, Katrina Canedo and Rei “M E D Ē I O” Misiri}

The event is an initiative of Truly’s Make Space Project, a commitment from the brand to find, fund and create opportunities for more Canadian creatives to have their work experienced. The Make Space Project was inspired by research done by Truly that found that only 1 in 3 Canadian creatives are optimistic about their future and that 68% of Canadian creatives say it’s challenging to find space to showcase their work. 

“At Truly, we believe that making space for new and emerging voices isn’t possible without making spaces for their work to be seen,” says Julia Glynn, Senior Brand Manager, Moosehead Breweries, Partner RTD. “The Truly Flavour Face Off is an integral part of that mission – it will also be an epic celebration of artistry – and of flavour. And as a brand that stands for flavour, the Truly Make Space Project is about empowering incredible artists to express a flavour of their very own.”

Truly Colours was developed in partnership with the Toronto Ink Company and is a limited-edition line of acrylic paints coloured from the natural pigments found in Truly’s flavours – specifically berries, cherries, pineapples and mangoes. The fruits were boiled, freeze-dried, liquified, distilled and transformed into vibrant, natural paints.

Tickets to the Truly Flavour Face Off are now available, giving Torontonians the opportunity to witness the creative process unfold on stage. Check out the Eventbrite page here. The event will also feature interactive installations, incredible music and a Truly bar serving up unique flavours of Truly Hard Seltzer that aren’t otherwise available in Ontario.

“We’ve held paint battles in more than 50 countries around the world and worked with thousands of artists, and we were immediately drawn to Truly’s mission,” says Kevin Collins, Chief Executive Officer, Secret Walls. “We share the collective belief that by creating spaces and opportunities for artists to thrive, we can contribute to a more vibrant and positive experience for all.”

In addition to being used by the Truly Flavour Face Off artists, up to 80 sets of Truly Colours paint, along with a monetary donation, will also be provided to support up-and-coming artists through the Vancouver Visual Arts Foundation, a Vancouver-based nonprofit whose mission is to “create advantageous opportunities by uniting people of diverse backgrounds and cultures through the power of art”. And in July, a gallery of all works created using Truly Colours will be available at trulyhardseltzer.ca/makespaceproject.

The Truly Flavour Face Off is taking place on June 22, from 7 – 11 p.m. at 1153 Queen Street West, Toronto.

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