WILL'S TREE

The memorial tree dedicated to the late/great- WILL MUNRO is up in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, toronto, canada.
HONORING THE HEART OF WILL MUNRO

photo courtesy- cece

"Will" Munro (February 11, 1975 – May 21, 2010)
was a Toronto artist, club promoter, and restaurateur known for his work as a community builder among disparate Toronto groups.
As a visual artist, he was known for fashioning artistic works out of underwear; as a club promoter, he was best known for his long-running Toronto queer club night, Vazaleen.
Born in Australia, Munro grew up mostly in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and moved to nearby Toronto to study at the Ontario College of Art, graduating in 2000. Influenced by such artists as General Idea and the queercore movement, he received critical attention for his work with men's underwear, a medium he used eventually to create collages of colourful performers he admired such as Klaus Nomi and Leigh Bowery. He created silkscreen posters to advertise Vazaleen—his monthly nightclub party that was unusual for being a queer event where punk and other rock music was prominently played, and for being one of the first to exist beyond the confines of the gay ghetto. The party was known for attracting a diverse crowd, and at its peak brought in such performers as Nina Hagen; international "best-of" nightclub lists took notice.
I had the honor of photographing will's one-of-a-kind underwear for an editorial called-
BRIEF STORY- 2005 and BONDAGE & BRIEFS- 2006. i displayed will's artworks often @ antebellum.

Despite his involvement in nightclub events, Munro did not consume alcohol or recreational drugs.
He was a vegan from a young age. For many years, he volunteered as a peer counsellor at the Toronto Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line, where an annual award was established in his honour after his death.

Munro was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent surgery to remove a tumour in 2008. A second surgery was performed in October 2009. He entered into palliative care in April 2010, and died on May 21, 2010.

HONORING THE HEART OF WILL MUNRO