Two weeks ago, hundreds of people converged in the courtyard of the Central Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library over the course of two days. Each of them drew upon their imagination and their artistic skills to create a small painting that was then combined with the others — 864 in total — to create something very special indeed.
The result was the Victoria Canada 150 Mural, one in a series of public-art installations across the nation in celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial of confederation in 2017.
What did people paint on their four-inch-square tiles? Many things that you might have guessed (landscapes, shorelines, sunsets, iconic buildings, living creatures of all types) and some more unexpected (like the one immortalizing Canadian rockers the Tragically Hip, or the one done by an elderly couple depicting a tree with their initials carved next to a heart).
Over a two-year span, the team at Canada 150 Mosaic is setting out to create murals involving all provinces and territories, incorporating more than 80,000 individually painted tiles.
Since May 2015, towns, cities and villages across Canada have been creating murals depicting their communities through the eyes of the individuals who live there. Each incorporates a train car (the train representing the foundation of Canada’s unification), which in spirit, will join the other murals to form a gigantic trans-continental train over four football fields long.
As the local host for our community’s mural, the Victoria Foundation chose to make it our gift to the community as part of our own 80th-anniversary celebrations. This year marks eight decades since the foundation was formed in the wake of the Depression in 1936.
Importantly, the mural depicts three Coast Salish-stylized orcas, designed by renowned Victoria-based Kwagiulth artist — and Victoria Foundation board member — Carey Newman, along with artists from the Canada 150 Mosaic team. It’s a wonderful symbol of our community spirit and creativity, simultaneously giving a nod to the past and a glimpse of our future.
Soon, the completed eight-foot-by-12-foot mural will be revealed in its permanent place of installation: an enduring cultural and historical legacy for the people of Victoria. I hope you will come by the new installation, take a look at all of the amazing individual tiles, and take pride in what the community has accomplished. Stay tuned for more details of the unveiling soon.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
