A new mural crosswalk on McAllister Avenue has been unveiled next to City Hall and the Outlet building. The painted crosswalk was unveiled on Friday May 12, 2023 between Shaughnessy Street and Donald Street, in downtown Port Coquitlam. The project is part of the revitalization of the downtown core and redevelopment of McAllister Avenue into a street that will host festivals and events that also represents the City’s history and culture.
“This colorful crosswalk not only enhances the safety of our residents but also incorporates public art, adding vibrancy and character to our downtown,” said Mayor Brad West. “As part of our downtown revitalization plan, this helps to beautify the area and reinforce that streets are not just for cars but are also places for pedestrians to get where they need to go safely.”
The new mural brings a splash of colour to the street while honouring the natural history in the area. The image features a large salmon within a vibrant river motif and incorporates, from the early 1900s, branches of the Coquitlam River that ran through what is now downtown Port Coquitlam. The multi-hued painting took five days to complete and will connect Leigh Square and the Donald Street pathway to a future plaza area, which is part of the Quarry Rock development.
“This is a beautiful and exciting way to incorporate public art into our everyday lives and a great way to create walkable and connected neighbourhoods.” said Cllr. Nancy McCurrach, council designate for arts, culture and heritage and environment.” The crosswalk marking celebrates our culture, history and events.”
About the Artist
Sandeep Johal is a Canadian visual artist whose practice engages drawing, collage, textiles, and large-scale murals. Through her Indo-folk feminine aesthetic, she confronts themes of bleakness, despair and ugliness with their dissonant opposites: brightness, hope and beauty. Johal’s work typically centers around the stories of women and while she highlights female suffering in its many forms, these are ultimately stories of resistance and resilience.
Johal has worked on a number of notable site-specific commissions including a recent mural for the Vancouver Art Gallery’s inaugural #SpotlightVanArtRental project (2021), a digital projection mapping for Facade Festival produced by Burrard Arts Foundation (2019), and a 4,000 sf collaborative mural project for Vancouver Mural Festival, which centred around the Komagata Maru Episode and involved the denaming of the federal building it was painted on (2019). Her work was part of the group exhibition In/Visible: Body as Reflective Site through the McClure Gallery and Visual Arts Centre in Montreal in partnership with the IMPACTS Project (2019).
Johal’s clients include the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Holt Renfrew, Lululemon, and Earls Restaurant Group as well as the University of British Columbia’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies and Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. She has been an artist-in-residence at Burrard Arts Foundation (2021) and Indian Summer Festival (2018) and is the 2019 recipient of the Darpan Magazine Artistic Visionary Award.
Johal holds a Diploma in Fine Arts (honours) from Langara College (2007) and a Degree in Education from the University of British Columbia (2002). She lives and works in Vancouver, BC.
Opal Projects: Mural & Art Production House
Opal is composed of leaders in visual arts programming on the West Coast. “Together, we have collectively acted in critical roles in the execution of hundreds of public and private art projects and installations locally and internationally. When you work with Opal, you aren’t just engaging an art production house. You are providing your project and installation with a premium service, delivered by a team of experts.”
