A Message of Wisdom: Ottawa's tallest mural created on Bank Street
Claudia Salguero has always loved to create.
"I’ve been an artist all my life," she said.
But never has her canvas been so tall.
"Never, Never. You know, one project leads to another one and another one and one dream leads to another one," said Salguero.
"And then I started dreaming about his project and here we are,” said the artist.
Her dream is to create Ottawa’s tallest mural, and she has. It’s 32ft x 48ft, composed of 48 hand-painted panels.
"This mural is going from the ninth to the fourteenth floor of the Ottawa Community Housing Building in Billing’s Bridge. I think it’s the tallest in Ottawa so far. There’s no murals in Billings Bridge and South Ottawa so I’m very happy to add some colour to this area," she said.
Claudia Salguero gives a thumbs up as she watches her “Wisdom Mural” installation on Bank Street. (Joel Haslam/CTV News Ottawa)
For Claudia Salguero, the size of this work is not as significant as its message.
Salguero engaged of 60 members of the community to create the Wisdom Mural.
It was designed and inspired by indigenous elders, culture keepers from around the world, urging us to have more reverence for the planet.
"We need to reconnect with Mother Nature. We are disconnected in many ways from the bottom and we need to go back and see nature as a mother, as a resource of life, as a source of life," said Salguero.
One-thousand stars are painted on several panels.
"Honouring the souls of the children found buried on the sites of former residential schools," Salguero said.
This is a two-year labour of love for Salguero, fueled by grants, an ongoing crowd funding campaign, and benevolent donors.
"Many beautiful donors and the community have been supportive of this project," she said.
48 hand-painted panels will be installed on the Ottawa Community Housing Building for Claudia Salguero's 'Wisdom Mural'. (Joel Haslam/CTV News Ottawa)
As the finished mural gets closer to completion, anticipation builds.
"This is going to be the first time for me to see the whole thing together. I’m very excited," said Salguero.
The mural installation will be completed on Friday. When that final panel is in place, Salguero says she will be humbled.
"More than proud, thankful."
The mural is located on the south side of Ottawa Community Housing Building at 1365 Bank St.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.