Analysis: Vancouver Mural Festival

Main Street is crowded with art, walls and bricks covered in paint , bursting with art as if communicating to all those who visit that it is a hub for an interesting and creative community. Just off the corner of Main and Broadway, on the side of a building, is a mural of two individuals. A young woman on the right, and an older man on the left, with the print, “the past” “is a gift”. The painting has been intriguing to me for the past couple years. I passed it every day on my morning commute to work, and I would often notice different aspects of the painting. Always in constant motion although, I never could see the mural as a whole, only catching bits of the looming structure. Spending my childhood in East Vancouver, I have seen the landscape

In regards to his goal, he means it on a broader level of the Mural Festival, but his own mural is important to grounding this community. It is grounding through its location, and importantly, its imagery. Due to this mural being centrally located on Main street, a core and populated part of Mount Pleasant, for many to see, whether on foot, in their car, or in transit, means that it will impact large amount of people. As well, having it feature two life long residents of the area, is important in grounding this movement towards more public art in the area, in the history of the area, but also the present. As main street changes, both aesthetically and demographically, this mural, anchors the community to its roots by displaying its community members proudly and beautifully. I view the text, “the present is a gift”, as if the community members depicted, are they themselves speaking to the public. Communicating, that those who are here, in Mount Pleasant are blessed to be here, and it acts as a reminder, to appreciate the area. This has even more of an impact when I discovered the girl depicted is from the Squamish nation, giving the message and the feelings towards those who occupy the area, which is on unceded territory, even more depth. This piece, and this year of the festival brought Mount Pleasant more art, more beauty and, as some like Drew Young argue, a stronger sense of community and belonging. This mural has also invigorated the area economically. The Kafka cafe, in which the mural is painted on top of has seen an increase in business since the mural has gone