With some of our recent posts focusing on the Welland Murals, we’ve talked about some of the murals that are in states of disrepair and damage, and how the city and other avowed stakeholders have disappointed.

As a quick tonic to this, we’re looking this week at a community-initiated mural on East Main that has become – through social media – a landmark of the city.

THE ART WALL | JAMES TAKEO, CHRISTOPHER LAGESTEN, MEAGHAN MULCAIR, WENDY MCINTYRE, DAN CORMIER, CELINA THERRIEN, ATOM DELLOW & KAREN EDWARDS, 2016 (located at 17 Hellems Avenue in downtown Welland, just off East Main Street)

This vibrant mural is about 50 feet wide and 10 feet high. Various artists contributed to this mural to give each letter a theme which represents Welland, offering both personal interpretations of the city but in a manner that viewers can recognize and share. The overall concept was developed by Chris Lagesten & James Takeo.

This has become a landmark that brightens, literally, the downtown, but is also a project that was community driven (through the efforts of BLX | Black Lantern Art Collective). This is public art work that also speaks to what can be accomplished at a grassroots level, when like minded people and cultural creators come together with a common goal.

Its is interesting to note, that when this mural was painted, the location was an empty lot. After the mural began to get some attention, the City of Welland decided to clean up the empty lot and turn it into a parkette, a great example of “placemaking” and how public art can have a positive effect on the overall look of a city.

Follow WCN on social media and subscribe to our newsletter: we have a number of events we’re planning for 2023. This includes our monthly Meet & Greet but we are excited to announce that this year we are bringing back a community art event, the Welland Easter Art Hunt, too.