Youths leaving their mark on special murals
Participants ‘passionate’ about creating Windsor scene for national art project
The community is dropping in and leaving its mark on a mural symbolizing Windsor and marking Canada’s 150th birthday that will be displayed across the country.
With the theme of Clean Water and Clean Air, local artists and youth are creating a six-foot by four-foot, hand-painted mural at the Bloomfield House Community Centre that expresses the reasons they love Canada.
Bloomfield House partnered with VIBE Arts, an award-winning charitable organization, on the project.
Known as the 150+ Reasons We Love Canada national art project, it was initiated by Toronto-based VIBE Arts, which is helping to create 60 murals across every province and territory this year.
Teejai Travis, Bloomfield House’s founder, said the drop-in style event — scheduled for the next couple of Saturdays from 1:30-3:30 p.m. — is focused mostly on youths, but everyone from the community is invited to come and participate.
And inclusivity is spotlighted throughout the project, including in its name.
“The + (plus sign) recognizes and pays respect to indigenous peoples with the understanding that Canada’s been here for 150 years but the land has been used for much, much longer,” Travis said.
Alaa Elbarbary, art facilitator and a student teacher at the University of Windsor, was there Saturday to help participants with their technique and give them advice on translating their ideas on to the canvas.
“They’ve been amazing,” Elbarbary said of the young people taking part in the project. “They’ve been really passionate about what they want to do.”
She said the best part about having a drop-in event is that people don’t get overwhelmed by the feeling that they have to finish the mural all by themselves.
It also creates a unique piece of artwork, formed by the expressions of many.
“Every paintbrush stroke, it’s basically a fingerprint (of the person who left it),” Elbarbary said.
Artist Emily Carruthers, who is also helping to facilitate the project, said the design was laid out a couple of weeks before volunteers began to apply paint.
The mural depicts a marsh and includes a variety of animals, from frogs to painted turtles, fish and a crane, and a depiction of the windmill that sits near the Detroit River on the city’s west end.
A sailboat incorporates several symbols that have to be part of every mural — the number 150, a Canadian flag and the years 18672017.
“I think it’s great to celebrate Canada and its birthday and the natural environment that we need to protect and take care of,” Carruthers said.
Jasmine Blanchard, 21, was focused Saturday on a small portion of the mural.
“Its an awesome theme,” Blanchard said. “I thought it would be a really good opportunity for me to get more experience and to meet new people helping out with this.”
VIBE Arts executive director Julie Frost said the project gives youths a voice and spotlights their creativity.
“For the young muralists, this unique project creates opportunities for them to mobilize, reflect and make new meaningful connections with their communities and their country,” Frost said.
A digital copy of the finished mural will be displayed at Windsor Airport this summer.
All the original murals will be exhibited on the underground platforms of Toronto’s subway system, while digital copies will be on view on billboards and at other airports across the country.
I think its great to celebrate Canada and its birthday and the natural environment that we need to protect and take care of.