For tonight’s youth mural showcase at pop-up arts & culture hub, ContainR Art Park (1020 2nd AVE NW), our youth artists and bloggers have written Mural Synopses for each of the three murals created!

Written by Carl, Spider and Vanessa

Going into designing these murals we really didn’t have a clear idea of what we wanted the end product to be. During the design process, we bounced rough ideas off of ideas the others in the group had, taking things we liked, adding to them, changing our designs and rethinking them. We also used writing and theatre to influence and inform us of the deeper meaning from our pieces. After many dead ends and various idea pathways, we eventually landed on the three designs now installed at the ContainR site. We had a lot of fun designing and painting these murals and hope that the community will enjoy them as much as we do.

Limbo

Deep in the forest there lies a fortress, surrounded by fungi, creatures and monsters of all sorts. This piece challenges you to be adventurous and explore the unknown. It encourages you to look deeper at scary situations to see the beauty and magic that may be hidden. Mushrooms grow to be beautiful and powerful creations off of dead things and represent rebirth, new life and change. The mycelium network in the forest connects everything together so this piece also represents the wisdom of the forest and connection.

While We Are Young

While We Are Young is centered around youth making change and preparing for the future. It is time to make change in the present and not to wait on an opportunity, instead put in the effort to create that opportunity yourself. The young figure is stretching as to prepare her body for the challenges of her journey. She is facing towards the butterflies which symbolize the concept of hope and “The Butterfly Effect” and how our current actions can impact the future greatly. They also add a calming, playful touch to the piece which ties into the youthful theme. She is also facing away from the moths, which represent her past, and are considered the opposite of butterflies. The colours used represent the bright, lively and adaptable mind of the youth. Overall this piece is a statement empowering adolescent, youth and all others to be inspired to make change.

Turtle Island

The aim with this piece entitled “Turtle Island” was to speak to the issue of global warming and pollution in an accessible and creative manner. The turtle carrying a city bustling with skyscrapers on its back barely afloat in an ocean polluted by garbage underlines the need for climate action and ocean protection, especially our home in North America. We chose a cool colour scheme to reflect the serious atmosphere of our piece and focused on incorporating newly acquired spray paint techniques to make our vision a reality. We hope that our collaborative work sparks conversation, multiple interpretations and interacts well with the other murals at the ContainR site.

Artist Statements

Bloggers:

Holly Ehret

I am Holly Ehret. I currently go to school for journalism at SAIT. I am developing my voice as a young writer, and am deeply influenced by fashion, feminism, and identity. My goal is to amplify voices that may not have a platform to speak on. I am passionate about challenging gender norms, especially in the world of fashion. I am also inspired by the riot grrrl movement of the 90’s. I hope to continue this work and make this movement more inclusive for BIPOC women and gender non-conforming folks. People like Kathleen Hanna, Ziwe Fumudoh, Hunter Schafer, and Fiona Apple, all inspire me deeply.

Zainab Majid

My name is Zainab Majid and I’m a grade 11 student with a passion for helping out in my community. As a young girl, I always found it hard to read literature with advanced vocabulary and big words I didn’t understand. During the pandemic, I became a youth blogger with Youth Central and began exploring my writing style. In the end, I fell in love with adding a personal touch to my writing instead of making it formal. I wanted it to be easily understandable for people and fun for me to write. I became a blogger for this year’s mural project because I wanted to use my writing style to communicate my ideas to others and reach more people. We started off with a blank canvas, and as a group, contributed our ideas through activities and social media. We used Pinterest to share our ideas, which became a starting point for our final idea. We worked together online every day for a week to brainstorm ideas, colours, and the message we wanted the art piece to convey. As a blogger, I took notes and thought of ways I could incorporate the ideas into my writing. I explored different ways to make my writing more inclusive and avoid bias. In conclusion, I’ve learned a lot throughout this process, both about art and my writing style. I’ve met new people and found new interests. I hope to participate in next year's mural project as well.

Mural Artists:

Eshaad Rahmani

My name is Eshaad Rahmani and I'm in love with the various forms of art. Whether it is drawing, writing, or photography, art is used as a form of expression. I feel that art is important for people to use when words cannot describe feelings. Art is more than an image, but a message from the artist. My favourite medium is a camera and spray paint. Spray paint is a therapeutic medium to use especially when making fills. Photography captures important and timeless moments and give strong messages. My biggest inspirations for the murals are the people around me. It is easier to build of a group concept then figuring something out on your own. My inspirations for my art would be Kerz, Toner, Alex Kwong, and highly prolific. Their art styles are what I strive towards.

Éva Gustavson

My name is Éva Gustavson and I am an aspiring painter and an experienced over-thinker. I am currently planning on entering my first year at AUarts in the fall. My art is about celebrating people, exploring outlandish ideas, our shared stories, as well as places that hold personal meaning. My art-making is essential as I use it to relieve stress and share ideas. My works are bright, detailed, colourful and most of all swirling and bubbling with positivity. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of these awesome collaborative murals and I look forward to being a part of the Calgary art scene in the future.

Carl Lacsamana

I am inclined to music, arts and I am a very active person who loves to play sports and exercise. I also like hiking and exploring nature. I joined Antyx in 2018 and I did a mural in Bob Bahan Aquatic Centre and since then fell in love with spray paint. I like how different and unique the spray paint is from other arts and how fast murals can be finished in just a few days.

Spider Martin

I’m Spider, a 14-year-old artist born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. I’ve been taking art more seriously for close to a year now and I love the idea of being a full-time artist. I'm heavily influenced by the work of Yung Blud. I love everything he comes up with. One of the things from his art that I try to incorporate into my art as much as I can is the unapologetic nature of it. This is who I am, take it or leave it. As someone who has struggled with self-image, I think it is a really important message to be sending.

Moni Roth Ran

Art has always been an escape for me. Sometimes I get sick of the world around me and draw landscapes of where I wish to be. I don’t really have an art style because I use art to convey messages. So, depending on the message, my art “style” will adapt. As for inspiration, the world is my muse. Climate change, society and beliefs drive my pen to create. Spreading awareness to the issues in our city through art is my favourite.

Jessica Lock

My name is Jessica Lock but most people refer to me as Jessi. Growing up I’ve always been into arts and crafts. I used to own many craft books and I would DIY stuff as well. Now I do more fine arts than crafts. I do not have a specific style and every medium I use will look different. Every year my favourite medium changes but one that I’ve continuously gone back to would be mixed medium which is using more than one thing together. In my future, I hope to become an entrepreneur to sell my work, that was I can pursue what I am passionate about and share what I created with others. One thing I want people to think about when looking at art, no matter what type it is (ie. Music, drawings, dance, etc.) would be that art is all about interpretation. Everyone who views art likes a certain thing, meaning something you might see as bad would be beautiful to someone else. So, if you or someone you know things badly upon the work done, then think about how someone else would love it.

Tanea Basharati

My artistic process is very messy, rushed and jumps all over the place, just like my mind. I am an overthinker and I find that expressing my ideas through images suits me more than with words. That is why the weapon I wield to flush these thoughts out is a paintbrush. I found my love for art really young. I loved how through images you can tell a whole story without direct words, and people can interpret it and mold your piece to their mind. I believe art makes people vulnerable and shows our true thoughts and personality. My pieces and my process reflect my mind, and when I share them with the world, people get a sneak peek into my psyche. I find art very liberating. I can manipulate a blank canvas however my hands and mind desire. I can draw and create anything and I fell in love with that creative liberty. That is why I am proud to label myself an Artist and share my work with the world. 😊

Vanessa Akinwumi

I am Vanessa Akinwumi. I've always had a deep live for art as it’s always come very naturally for me, I'm interested in many different mediums like digital art, painting, clay works, animation etc. my current works are having more of a horror influence I like to explore themes that are more unnerving and unnatural. I'm motivated the most by works that seem challenging I love pushing myself to try things that seem difficult.

Mural Synopses for Youth Graffiti Art Mural Showcase at ContainR Art Park

Limbo

While We Are Young

Turtle Island

Artist Statements