Oliver Past and Present: Neighbourhood Park Mural

What if a building became an artwork of placemaking, one that brightly consecrates the variety and history of a community? That was the question I heard when the Oliver Community League hired me to paint a mural on a small building housing public washrooms and a community room located in Kitchener Park, near downtown Edmonton. My clients wanted the public to know about the unique charm, heritage, and quality of life that personifies the neighbourhood of Oliver's past, present, and future.

The resulting mural, Oliver; Past and Present, celebrates the neighbourhood of Oliver’s key qualities in a popular park, amidst playgrounds, green spaces, and a spray park. Painted on a public building in Kitchener Park, the mural uses the building’s walls, inset doors, window covers, and roof overhang to wrap 2D perspective around the 3D space, enticing viewers to explore all the way around. The mural weaves in and out of time periods; from the first train travelling over the High Level Bridge in 1913 to the Oliver Pool in the 1920's and present day; from Jasper Ave at the turn of the 19th century to 122 Street in the 1950's to the modern Oliver river valley skyline. Utilizing an entire building, the mural doesn't have a starting point or an ending, as most of my artworks on a single surface do.

Placemaking is a collaboration of community based efforts to deepen the relationship between people and places. By using a location's physical attributes, cultural meaning, and social potential, placemaking creates intimate connections and meaning between the public and a space. When an entire building becomes a colourful mural asking viewers to investigate every corner, it becomes a great example of placemaking with an everyday space re-imagined into a community's collective vision.

Project Type

Narrative Murals

Building Name

Kitchener Park

Street Address

11411 103 Ave Edmonton, AB T5K 1T9

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