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
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.