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A LOVEBOT STORY

When we first heard about Lovebot, our hearts felt a little lighter and we were grinning from ear to ear, so we thought we’d share the story with you. The Love Invasion was started by Toronto-based artist, Matthew Del Degan, as a grassroots initiative, featuring the deployment of 100 hand-cast concrete Lovebot sculptures.

These community sculptures are on a mission to “disrupt the robotic routines of humans and remind them that there is love in their cities and kindness around every corner. The aim is to reiterate the fact that we have the privilege of being alive, and that we are not restricted to algorithms and programming. Even though many of us work like robots in tech-driven, concrete jungles, we all have the capacity to share love and kindness with one another each day” – awesome!

Our social team took a trip around Toronto to share a little #pizzalove with a few lucky Lovebots, check out their unique and inspirational stories below.

Who: Lovebot 72 (top left)

Where: 720 Bathurst Street

What: Located in the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) in the Annex, this Lovebot is a thank you from the organization to the community for all the support, friendship and love they have received over the years.
The CSI is a positive organization too! It’s a co-working space and community on a mission to catalyze social innovation in Toronto and around the world. They believe that society is facing unprecedented economic, environmental, social and cultural challenges which new innovations will be key to improving communities around the world.

Who: Graffiti Lovebot (top right)

Where: Parking lot behind Lee’s Palace

What: The Love Invasion has continued to grow since its inception a few years ago. You can now find Lovebot stickers, posters, and graffiti (as shown above) around Toronto and all over the world, all made possible by DIY Lovebot leaders and activists who wish to spread the love and kindness even further.

Who: Lovebot 17 (bottom left)

Where: 128 Crawford Street

What: Located on the lawn of a duplex in Little Italy, this Lovebot is dedicated to family love in a chaotic city. The house owner, Gaspard Montandon, is part of a “family of six with two adults and four kids. With the number of kids exceeding the number of adults, life is noisy, chaotic, but full of love… like Toronto.” They chose to live in the city because it’s a diverse place where art, ecology and farmers markets can coexist with the bustle of city life. By respecting each aspect of the city, the family believes “love can flourish in concrete.”

Who: Lovebot 86 (bottom right)

Where: 131 McCaul Street

What: This bot is dedicated to Lucio Abbruzzese for organizing “Street Patrol”, a grassroots collective that meets every Wednesday in front of St. Patrick’s Church, the lawn of which the statue sits, in July and August since 1995. With backpacks full of food, clothing and love, they journey through Toronto’s rougher neighbourhoods for two hours on a mission to empty their backpacks and hearts to those who need it most.

If you’d like to check out where all the Lovebots are, have a look at nifty interactive map. If you’re not in Toronto, but want to follow along the Lovebot Instagram Feed, it can be pretty inspiring too!