The creation of a street mural is underway at a new plaza on the corner of Gonzales Avenue and Richmond Road, a collaboration between the City of Victoria and the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network.
The mural, which is part of the Curbside Colour project, is designed by Indigenous artists Jesse Campbell (Métis, Saulteaux) and Brianna Bear (Songhees).
“Curbside Colour is a demonstration project, adding bright, meaningful designs by Indigenous artists to two ‘traffic calming’ locations on Victoria streets,” said GVPN Board Director and project lead Lorne Daniel.
“By painting asphalt surfaces inside the posts where the City of Victoria has delivered traffic calming interventions, we will create joyful places for residents and visitors to pause and linger. The intention for Curbside Colour is to deepen our sense of place, stimulating conversation and connection.”
According to artist Brianna Bear, the new art “represents the land, waterway systems and the environment that we live, work and play in on the Lekwungen speaking territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.”
Once this mural is complete, the artists and volunteers will begin work on a second mural site, this time at the corner of Vancouver and Burdett.
The two street murals will showcase traditional plants and animals here on the ancestral territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ, Esquimalt, Songhees Nations and Lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking Peoples.
The two locations were chosen to exhibit how redesigning street rights-of-way can be beautiful and interesting.
The Curbside Colour project is funded through the City of Victoria’s 2021 Neighbourhood Spaces Participatory Budgeting initiative where applicants were encouraged to think about ‘neighbourhood spaces’ with an understanding and respect of the Indigenous context.
The Greater Victoria Placemaking Network plans to continue work with the City of Victoria, schools, and neighbourhood groups to encourage more Curbside Colour placemaking initiatives.
