Local illustrator and designer teams up with Sir James Lougheed students to paint murals at Knox

At a time when opportunities to enjoy the fruits of social interaction are ever so scarce, we wanted to explore a means through which different parts of the community could work together to create something lasting - the Bin Painting at Knox project was conceptualized.

To make Bin Painting at Knox possible, Calgary illustrator and designer, Laurel Dziuba, has formed a colourful alliance with an energetic and opinionated bunch- a group of students from Sir James Lougheed School. The partners in art met earlier in May to brainstorm ideas for the designs that will be on permanent display in the form of two new murals outside of Knox.

All it takes is a quick look through Laurel’s website and online store via society6 to get a sense of her ingenious artistic vision and her devotion to her craft.

In her about page, she writes a wee love letter to her first three loves - books, music, and film - and shares that it has been her interactions with these mediums that prepared the ground for what she calls her “strangely specific mental library of (debatably) fun and weird facts, stories, and experiences.”

“I work during the week at Pages Books in Kensington and one of my friends that also works there works very closely with Sustainable Calgary,” says Dziuba, “Minister Mark Tremblay reached out to Sustainable Calgary saying he was looking for a mural artist and my friend connected us. I came down and Mark told me about the vision and the project they had in mind and I thought it would fit well with my goals artistically, so here we are!”

Minister Mark is excited to see what this unique collaboration brings forth.

“We believe that art can bring diverse groups together and create community. More specifically, we hope that the project will provide a more welcoming environment on the property that will be seen by the many people who walk, drive, and ride by everyday,” shares Minister Mark.

Laurel is no newbie to the mural world. She has worked mainly in the north central area of the city where the stories and facts in her mind come to life in street walls, pavement, garage doors, and benches. Her work can also be seen in murals and illustrator projects she has done for local businesses like Pages Books in Kensington and The Next Page in Inglewood.

In the upcoming weeks Laurel and the students will begin to sketch and paint the metal outdoor garbage bin and storage container on site at Knox. Once the work is done, we will be hosting an unveiling event for the community so stay tuned for more information on that!

by: Laura Camelo