When you visit a town or a city, ultimately you’re there to experience the culture that is deeply rooted within people, architecture, fashion, design and art. Street art is a combination of all of all of these things and it’s a unique platform to tell a story and connect with the community in a more visual and expressive way. It also adds colour to an otherwise grey concrete jungle!
Calgary recently gained a fun new mural that we are completely in love with! It’s located on the sidewall of the renowned “Lukes Drugmart” in Bridgeland, an up-and-coming neighborhood on the outskirts of the downtown core. Originally, there was a mural on this wall that depicted a forced perspective view of a furniture showroom through a broken wall that was painted back in 1996. However, a group of local creatives came together, Beakerhead, Buds of Buds and Bucci (BBB) to be exact, and wanted to maximize this murals full potential, so they created the #becubed initiative. From there this colourful mural was born!
The initial phase of the mural was created by artists, Ivan Ostapenko, Tanner Hamilton, Chris Casso and artistic director Katheryn Pearce.
“During the meetings leading up to the project our team was interested in paying homage to the art we were about to replace, and we decided on keeping the idea of exploring optical illusion and anamorphic perspective, “ says Ivan Ostapenko, Artistic Architect. “To incorporate the city skyline (a suggestion from the client) we were researching patterns that produced other visual effects, and landed on the razzle dazzle camouflage used in WWII on naval vessels. These patterns obscure the real direction and shape of the objects they were applied to, and proved to be a great way to 'erase the corner' as well as to suggest landscape and architectural forms.”
The #becubed initiative was the second phase of the project, which became a crowd sourced competition. Participants from the community painted a pre-fabricated cube and submitted it on social media with the hashtag #becubed. After a process of online voting, Michelle Hoogveld, a local visual artist known for her distinctive use of mixed media and colourful designs, became the chosen artist to complete the mural.
“This mural is something the artists can be proud of, as they worked tirelessly and skillfully to complete it. It is also something the community can be proud of and take ownership over,” expresses Kathryn Pearce, Artistic Director. “The result of the process is an impactful mural that is a perfect fit to Bridgeland-Riverside.”
“I found the experience of painting the mural... large. I mean that literally in a sense of scale, but also in the sense of impact it makes on the community,” remarks Tanner Hamilton, artist.
Here at the Friday HQ we feel so inspired by this entire project! Aside from being a grandiose piece of art that completely brightens up the community, this mural means so much more. It represents connection and shows just how strong people can be when a whole community chips in and collaborates.
It can also be interpreted in so many different ways, which makes the piece incredibly engaging for visitors in the neighborhood. We like to think of it as a reminder to live your life in a non-linear way, keep it interesting, push yourself and work towards the things that bring colour into your life. Plus, it also makes for the perfect backdrop when featuring your Friday Socks on social media – are we right? #becubed
Learn more about Buds of Buds and their exciting upcoming projects that they have on the go here!