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A large mural unveiled in Park Extension last week at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and St. Roch Street, is one of the latest efforts by the Borough of Villeray/St-Michel/Park Extension to add some colour and make the area's streets a little friendlier, while combating the prevalence of graffiti.
Cultural crossroads
The new mural, which takes up the entire north-facing brick wall of 7565 Bloomfield, a private residence owned by Josepha Jamroz, is located immediately behind the school yard of the École Barthélémy-Vimont annex on St. Roch, and is the latest work of artist Rémi Charron Guay. Depicting Montreal as a crossroads of cultures, it is the fourth mural of its kind to be completed in the borough.
The creation of the mural was made possible by a $10,000 grant by the borough to the Park Extension Youth Organization (P.E.Y.O), which was mandated to see the work completed. In his work, which took two months to complete, Charron shows a wide-angle view of Montreal's downtown and waterfront area, as seen from Île Notre Dame across the St. Lawrence River. Young children from different countries are seen flying over Montreal, before landing and settling in the city.
High visibility
According to Councillor Mary Deros, Jamroz had approached her as long as a decade ago offering the wall for a mural. In the meantime,she had painted it over to cover up graffiti. "It's a nice acquisition in the district of Park Extension," Deros said. "I'm very proud, because it's a wall that will be highly visible and will be seen by thousands of people who take the bus past here every day, and mostly the children who will be playing here. They will be seeing this beautiful picture, seen from Jean Drapeau Park, showing the river with the City of Montreal and Mount Royal Park."
Mayor Anie Samson said that officials with the borough had been waiting for years to place a mural in that spot, but that its theme was very appropriate for Park Extension. "All the cultures of the world end up here, and I think that on the wall this comes through," she said, congratulating the artist and P.E.Y.O. for their contributions. Samson said that since the completion of the three other murals, graffiti artists haven't been painting on them and nearby residents appear to be taking more pride on their community.
Expect more murals
"If we are able to do more of them, obviously we will," she said. "As you may know, our financial situation is quite fragile, although we were able to do it this year. For next year, we expect to have a bit more money available to do more. But all I want to tell you is that when you will be passing here you will be seeing that there's something colourful on this wall that gives the whole area some life and embellishes our borough."
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