Number of Sturgeon Falls downtown murals continues to grow
When walking in downtown Sturgeon Falls, you might notice several paintings on the side of buildings.
All of these murals have been designed and created by volunteer artists through community donations.
Artist Jessica Somers is preparing for one of her biggest canvases yet: the front of a local hardware store, which will soon be turned into two murals.
“One is honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women. I’m an Indigenous artist and I’ve decided to paint something along the lines of the red dress,” said Somers.
“The other mural will focus on Every Child Matters.”
Somers, who moved to the municipality only two years ago, fell in love with the downtown art and wanted to make her own.
“I create stories with art as a form of connection to community,” she said. “I just picked up the primer today because I needed more and I picked up the paint Monday or Tuesday.”
Paintings of a heron, a bear, musical notes, flowers and much more are painted and spread across downtown. In 2018, there were only two murals. Four years later, there are 30.
“It’s a tourist attraction. People come here and see them and take pictures. In the summer, I see a lot of people who stop and take pictures,” said Sturgeon Falls Beautification Group founder Gayle Primeau.
Primeau came up with the concept in 2017. She is part of various beautification and art-related initiatives in West Nipissing.
“My father showed me a postcard of some of some of the murals in Chemainus, B.C., and from there I got the idea that this could be something that could beautify our downtown,” said Primeau.
She called the project a "walking art gallery," adding that the murals are meant to attract people to visit the downtown.
“They’re vibrant, they’re colourful,” said Primeau. “Every mural has something to offer to everyone and that’s why they’re popular and why people enjoy them.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.