After leaving Canada there is one piece of art that has stuck with me thorough out my time there and will most likely stay as one of the most interesting parts of that trip. The town where I spent my time was an old military town back when the rocket range was still operational, this and the constant cold wind and snow makes the place a little dreary. But an old military town built to support many more than live their now has one good thing abandoned buildings and plenty of them. You may wonder how are abandoned buildings good and how can they have anything to do with art well to sum it up in one-word Murals.A while ago a group of artists chose Churchill as the location of a mural painting project in hopes to bring some attention and cheer to a dying town because of the port closure. This painting project was almost canceled because of a devastating storm that wiped out one of the only two ways to get to the small town of Churchill. Because of the loss of the train all the supplies for the project had to be flown in.This did not stop the artists because the organizers managed to fly out enough supplies. And thus, the painting started. The project lasted a weak and was met with skepticism at the start but by the end the entire community of Churchill was behind them. I was lucky enough to see most if not all the mural’s myself and let me tell you they are a sight to see. The most memorable ones for me were, The beluga witch was painted on the old blast house of the rocket range depicting a beluga wale being attacked by some odd creatures representing the encroachment of humanity on the whales natural habitat, A massive 3 story tall painting of a polar bear done with an almost empty can of black spray paint at the last day of the event, and the painting on mis piggy a crashed military plane I got to go and explore.The murals listed above as well as many others are just one of the amazing parts of the art culture in Churchill. These murals also brought some cheer and attention to the small town and are now are a mandatory stop for many of the people coming up to see polar bears or the northern lights.I am going to attach a link at the end of this to the documentary made about the murals as well as some of my personal pictures of the amazing pieces of art done by the artists that came up to help the town in the best way they knew how. I feel like this kind of art can be so important for a culture and is a wonderful way to use up space that is otherwise a plain brick or concrete wall.
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