Greeting to Taniperla

The mural, titled Greeting to Taniperla, was a community art project and part of the Community Art Biennale 2000. In addition to the original design, the mural also includes images representing issues affecting Toronto communities. In 1998, a mural was unveiled in the town of Taniperla in Chiapas. The mural depicted Mayan traditions and ideals of community life and represented peace, harmony, unity and happiness, until it was taken down by the Mexican armed forces. Murals were duplicated in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Ireland, San Francisco, Mexico City and Toronto as an act of solidarity.

Local artists Claire Carew, Hannah Claus, Sady Ducros, Lynn Hutchinson, Raffael Iglesias, and Shelley Niro, worked with 16 students from two Scarborough area high schools (Winston Churchill Collegiate and Alternative Scarboro Education 2) and with children from five elementary schools across Toronto. The mural imagery was workshopped at A Space Gallery in May and then painted on the walls of the handball courts at Scarboro Missions.

This mural was made possible by Scarboro Missions, A Space Gallery, The Toronto Arts Council, The Canada Council, The United Church of Canada, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, and The Alice and Grant Burton Fund.

Artists: Claire Carew, Hannah Claus, Sady Ducros, Lynn Hutchinson, Raffael Iglesias, and Shelley Niro, 2001.