Vancouver Mural Festival launches with over 30 artworks around the city

Vancouver has come alive again this summer, as more than 30 colourful and thought-provoking murals adorn the walls of the city during this year’s mural festival.

The festival, which started in 2016, has brought over 300 murals to the city. This year, the recently transformed City Centre Motel at Main Street and East 6th Street is the event hub, and is home to the festival’s largest mural to date at over 30,000 square feet.

“People love what’s happening here. They love that we have new resident neighbours, these artists, who are living and working in this space, and we just love the colour and the vibrancy that it’s brought to our neighbourhood,” executive director of the festival Andrea Curtis said.

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“This year, for 2022, we’re coming back after a two-year, challenging pandemic and we’re bringing 11 days of festivals, public programming, tours,” she said.

For Matt Hans Schroeter, a mural festival artist, it’s the community part of the festival that he loves.

“I feel honoured to do something within the community,” he said.

Working on his mural along Denman Street and Nelson Street for two weeks, Schroeter’s work is in honour of Ted Northe, a Vancouver drag queen and gay rights activist who passed away in 2014.

“He’s depicted on the right-hand side of the mural, kinda holding his hands out to multi-coloured hands, which are meant to represent parts of the pride flag,” he said.

Other work in this year’s festival includes a homage to a residential school survivor, a portrait of Rosemary Brown – the first Black woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada, and a mural for the Jewish Family Service – meant to bring people a sense of belonging.

The new murals will stay up for a minimum of two years and while some will be painted over in the coming years, others could end up becoming local landmarks.

“There’s so many public spaces and walls that could benefit from colour, even just representation of local history,” Schroeter said.

The festival runs from Aug. 4 to 14 throughout eight neighbourhoods in Vancouver.