Murals

Mural Locations

  • Corso Italia Community Mural

    The Corso Italia Community Mural, located at 125 Preston Street, is the newest addition to the artistic landscape in Ottawa’s Little Italy. The mural was commissioned by the Preston Street BIA and funded in part by the City of Ottawa’s Mural and Architecture fund. Painted by local artist Ryan Smeeton, the Corso Italia Mural depicts some key elements of both local and broader Italian culture and heritage.

    The focal point is a beautiful tarantella dancer in traditional costume. Tarantella is a lively southern Italian folk dance, and the dress of course represents national pride. Beside the tarantella dancer is the Corso Italia Portal Archway which was built in 2011. This neon archway acts as an entrance to the neighbourhood and was both commissioned and paid for by the merchants of the Preston Street BIA.

    The yellow fiat, at the bottom of the mural is a reference to the Italian Car Club of Ottawa and the historical Italian Car Parade that has happened on Preston Street for the past 49 years.

  • Ebb and Flow

    Ray Vidal created Ebb and Flow, a digital illustrated mural series located in Sculpture Court Skate park in the City of Mississauga. Depicting local Mississauga skateboarders and break-dancers that have helped shape and continue to build the Mississauga hip-hop and skateboard community over the last 15 years. The project was conceived to promote the skate park as a place to amplify local artists, uplift community voices and share stories to improve the user experience of the space. Creating a strong community feel that considers the park users and engaged viewers in a conversation exploring the relationship between urban design, architecture, public places and how shared spaces can help foster place making in the community. Showcasing local residents that have impacted the space and left their imprint on the city. Using the skatepark walls as monuments of celebrating and giving recognition to their legacies and upholding their work which continues to influence generations. Working closely with Mississauga skateboarders and break-dancers that use the space as the main inspiration for the series. Ray was able to create 14 different works of art capturing Mississauga’s diverse community and members in the form of portraits and iconography of important historical events, movements and moments captured by Mississauga photographers and videographers over the years. Honoring and celebrating local community members that have laid foundations for the Mississauga community and continue to build, putting the city on the map on an international level.

  • Willowdale Mosaic Mural Project

    The Willowdale Mosaic Mural Project was created in 2022-2023, featuring 19 mosaic heart murals installed on planters on the West side of Yonge Street, between North York Boulevard (north) and Upper Madison Avenue (south). Each heart depicts a reason why the community loves Willowdale, which was determined by the local community who were engaged in the design process in a variety of ways. In Willowdale, the heart shape is considered an artistic and cultural symbol, and is deeply connected to its history – small copper hearts are even embedded on the sidewalks. This mosaic mural aims to celebrate the area and contribute to the revival of the local economy which has suffered deeply due to the COVID pandemic.

  • Wonder and Wander

    Located at the Ignite Youth Centre, this mural is meant to inspire students of Elgin County and St Thomas. A little bit of nature and magic for the youth centre tying into the neighbouring Horton Farmers Market.

    The piece brings a beautiful burst of light to the alleyway, conjuring up themes of movement, freedom & the pursuit of knowledge … what is the woman in the mural reading? where is she going? how did she arrive in this place?

  • Garden of Hope

    This mural was created to inspire. Each flower represents something different and were chosen by guests to the Inn.

    Iris (Trust, Hope), Forget Me Nots (Hope), Tulip (Caring, Respect), Malva (Health, Love, Protection), Daffodil (New Beginnings), Monarda (Health, Prosperity), Geranium (Determination).

  • Time to Rest

    Created to celebrate the life of Jumbo who became an icon in our city. Sbu one approached this mural as if it was a mausoleum for Jumbo to rest. The bell around Jumbo’s neck is a symbol of honour as it is like the one that sacred elephants wear.

  • Protocol IK

    Located at the home of the Ignite Teen Centre and Steam Education Centre, Protocol IK is meant to excite the youth that visit the centre.

    Protocol IK speaks to our digital future, and how youth are working to navigate that frenetic landscape.

  • Playfully Jumbo

    “Playfully Jumbo” Is set in at Waterworks Park were Jumbo can be seen and enjoyed by adults and kids alike. The warm colours are a view of love and connection against a grey wall that reads as inviting and playful. With a couple simple elements like a hidden mouse and the bubbles coming from his trunk Chris wants people to not only see it as a piece about Jumbo but little hints of what we know about all elephants.

  • Newstalgia

    The mural is epic, 85 feet high, adding depth & beauty to one of the concrete piers of the St. Thomas Elevated Park in the Kettle Creek valley.

    The design is a reimagining of the dynamics between Audrey Hepburn & Gary Cooper in the classic film, ‘Love in the Afternoon’, and ultimately is a meditation on the need to transcend nostalgia & move forward … nostalgia is composed of two Greek words — ‘nostos’, which translates as ‘to return home’, and ‘algos’, which means ‘pain’.

  • Giant Squid

    Alyssa Longchamps, 26, is usually tattooing humans with her unique style of black and white art but for the last couple of weeks she has been spray painting a giant 14′ x 38′ squid on the outside wall of the Merivale Fish and Seafood Grill on Merivale Road. A friend of the owners, she was asked if she could come up with a design that would celebrate the seafood nature of the business and after some thought, she sketched up the squid. She took a week off from tattooing at her private studio, “The Static Lab”, and battled the brutal heat and thunderstorms and recently finished the project. “It was a lot of fun, I’m pretty excited about it. I don’t know if I’ll do more (because) it’s been pretty time consuming, but I definitely enjoyed it,” she said.

  • Nature’s House

    Found on the rear of the Curling Club, this mural connects to the Whistlestop Trail that runs alongside it. Find examples of the vibrancy of nature we find in Ontario SW, from the native Bloodroot flower to the powerful force of summer storms.

  • La Chorcha

    Found behind the old storefronts of Talbot Street find this vibrant and lively mural connecting to the market space of the Horton Farmers’ Market. Food is something that binds us together and is celebrated the world around, find that connection and vibrancy when visiting this mural!

  • Jumbo Beginning

    From the artist: It is a really devastating story. I think from beginning to end the story of his life is completely tragic. That is the reason I decided to make this mural of what would have been the best moments of his life. This mural is a celebration of his time in Sudan with his mother, before she was murdered for her tusks and he was taken from his home. I think if any parts of his life should be commemorated it should be these glorious moments of peace with his mother and family before human beings intervened and caused so much suffering.

  • Journey

    A Jumbo inspired mural completed by the talented Laura Woermke, a local artist and Executive Director of the St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre. Find Laura’s masterpiece at the Joe Thornton Community Centre, looking sharp on a red brick backdrop and reminiscent of her popular style of landscape painting!

  • #RacismIsAPandemicToo

    “Racism is a pandemic too,” a statement that is unfortunately all too true. My earliest memories of stepping outside of my home include the feeling of having to diminish my “ethnicity” to fit in, to not cause trouble, to not make others uncomfortable with something unfamiliar, or to protect myself from hurtful responses. I felt I had to do this to belong and succeed. At the same time, I was expected to know my “ethnicity,” to market it so others feel more educated by my culture, often only the stereotypes. It is still like this.

  • Greetings from St. Thomas

    The mural is inspired by vintage postcards. These “Greetings From” postcards usually consist of text in a bold font, with imagery of that location within the text. I pulled various landmarks and imagery that relates to St. Thomas to populate the text within this mural, while approaching the design in a more modern and exciting way.