VMF2020: Downtown
Discover Downtown Vancouver's new collection of large-scale murals at Bentall Centre. This year, five massive murals were painted within one block of each other, creating the perfect mini mural walk if you’re in the Downtown area! If you want to extend your walk to find more urban art make sure to venture down Alley Oop and Ackery’s Alley have been freshly repainted, perfect for winter selfie season. Additionally, Canvas Corridor in Eihu Lane has 2 blocks filled with 45 colourful doors and vents by 27 artists and designers (a joint public art project by the Robson BIA & DVBIA). One final mural you mustn’t miss is Shepard Fairey’s ‘Earth Justice’ mural in 2019. Burrard Arts Foundation in collaboration with Vancouver Mural Festival brought international street art legend, Shepard Fairey, to the city for his first-ever Vancouver mural (and one of his largest ever). Location: Burrard & Georgia.
This December, Downtown Vancouver will also be a part of some unique Augmented Reality art installations! Stay tuned for more details.
“Dreamweaver”
1055 Eveleigh Street - West Facade
Mural statement:
“The concept of this mural design is going to be centered around community and solidarity. We plan on having two female figures standing back to back clothed in a Salish blanket. The image as a whole is referencing the design of traditional Salish blankets to speak to an ongoing series of our works called “weaving culture, weaving spirit". The main colour palette will be tumuth which is a red ochre pigment traditionally used in Salish art and design, black, beige and some minor copper embellishments. This colour palette is very traditional and will again reference the art that comes from that land where this mural is being painted.”
“Rythym”
505 Burrard Street - South Facade
Mural statement:
“For this mural painting, I have created a sketch to help illustrate the rhythm and vocabulary of forms and markings that I intend to use. I think it is important to note that I generally do not pre-sketch or design my work ahead of time. I am very comfortable working “in the moment”. I find that without strict perimeters or restrains, I am able to use a combination of intuition and automatism to create something that is fluid and organic. Although I plan to follow this sketch as a guide, there may be times when something wonderful and unexpected happens, creating a new pattern or texture. For example a deliberate drip aways looks forced and rigid, whereas the unintentional drips show a glimpse behind the process. My painting style relies on these unpredictable and reactionary moments to create something raw and exciting. With all that said, this sketch will govern the overall composition and I do not intend to steer off of it.”
“The Starry Night”
1055 Eveleigh Street - East Facade
Mural statement:
“I really want this to be the biggest statement of my mural work thus far, and take some of the finest features from my print work to full on, super-sized wall scale. No matter where I go in the world, people are connected to their local landscape and it is this attachment to landscape that is a hallmark of my work. I've used the characteristic of reflection in the past to both mimic figuratively the landscape as we see it pristinely represented in the oceans or a lake of BC and metaphorically to suggest the repetition of the importance of landscape across continents and cultures. For this wall, I'd like to adapt a version of a brand new print which, when flipped and redesigned specifically for this location, will feature a large mountain on the right side of the wall, cascading down into a smaller set of mountain ranges that will be entirely made from dots. The entire landscape will be reflected into the water below. The wall will be done in just two colours, Prussian Blue and White.”
“Prepare. Create. Adapt. Inspire”
1055 Eveleigh Street - South Facade
Mural Statement:
“I would like to paint a mural that pays homage to healthcare workers’ sacrifices during COVID. The mural will feel like a celebration - colourful and energetic, while conveying a sense of fortitude and strength.
The message is intended to walk the line of being interpreted as a ‘thanks’ currently, but remain ambiguous enough that years down the road it doesn’t conjure memories of difficult times.”
“Horizon Flow”
1055 Eveleigh Street - Car Parkade
Mural Statement:
“The proposed work site makes me consider the function of the space. A stairwell’s main purpose is to support movement of people between floors. As it’s an environment best suited for flow, I want to create art that has movement and rests on solid ground. I want to paint a horizon line that represents a mountain range ( stability of the stairwell’s function.) It will be an abstract, gestural piece, but the idea of the mountain range will anchor the work. The levels of the floors will transition from a theme and motifs of water to land, to sky. On the horizon will be abstract shapes and gestural lines that relate to each floor, shapes like animals, trees, clouds and islands. All hovering, intersecting, an acting like a parade of subjects in motion ( like the passage of patrons through stairwell. ) Some shapes will be compact, some will be elongated as they interact with the edges and wall breaks in the stairwell.”
Murals sponsored by Bentall Centre
See the other 8 neighbourhoods’ new murals from VMF2020: Gastown, Marpole, River District, South Granville, Strathcona, West End, Mount Pleasant, and Robson.
Download our free Mobile App for self guided tours and more information on the 250+ murals across the city! Look for the "2020 Downtown" Collection to find these new murals!
Photos by Gabriel Martins
