ART EXHIBITION
The 5A1L exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta is coming January 20 - March 3/2024! When it’s open, come down to see the pieces from this year’s 5 artists, and don’t forget to celebrate with us on January 27!
If you’re interested in submitting to the 5A1L exhibit, check out “The Wall”, which is a section dedicated to community pieces. This year’s theme is "Started from the Bottom, Now We’re Here!”. To submit to The Wall, have a 12 inch x 12 inch piece ready by Jan 4/2024.
2024 ARTISTS
2023 ARTISTS
Brett Damion Miles was a man of many monikers: Musician, Actor, Writer, Painter, and Crow Whisperer.
He began painting in his 30s after he was already well-established as an amazing jazz soloist. Intuitively, Brett applied what he already knew about losing conscious thought and connecting to a spiritual space when creating musical solos to his newfound passion. Brett chose to paint on found materials only during his first years. He said he didn't feel worthy of canvas yet, but even his first works captured something magical and so Brett archived cardboard posters and cupboard doors he had repurposed from trash cans in New York.
He has a unique visual voice of color and motion; and though the hand is untrained formally, there is a truth of expression that is beautiful and undeniable. Brett was a promoter of peace and love in his life and art and was devout to creativity in all forms. He lived to reach an audience and I'm sure he would hope his paintings reach out and touch your soul. Enjoy the experience of seeing him reveal himself through paint.
Brett's books are available on Book Baby, he has awesome terror tales for Halloween, and his music is on CD Baby and most streaming platforms.
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Diana Ohiozebau is an Edmonton-based mixed media artist whose artistic practice is inspired by black identity, place, femininity, and African culture.
Since arriving in Canada, she has had several exhibition opportunities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, including a showcase at the Works Art and Design Festival, the RISE Emerging Artist exhibition, Edmonton Design week, Crossing Time Zone exhibition, and she is currently exhibiting at the Jubilee Auditorium. She has also given artist talks and facilitates art workshops and classes for diverse ages. In addition, she has received awards and grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, and Edmonton Arts Council.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) and a Master of Fine Art (MFA) from the University of Calgary. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta while working on private and public art commissions and exhibitions.
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Messanie is an Edmonton-based artist that has been studying Art for over 5 years. She
gains inspiration through valuable memories, using her art as a visual diary to recount experiences in a dynamic and colourful way. With her Diploma in illustration & 2D animation, she uses these mediums to explore, Themes of symbolism, perspective and emotion, time, presence and culture. Messnaie Has been an active volunteer at the Haitian
Organization of Edmonton; Actively participated in Haitian folkloric dance, taught by her mother Marie Laura Alexis R. Performing for 8 years, Messanie grew passionate for the art of dance and the human form in a fluid motion. Messanie uses inspiration from referencing powerful gestural art through her linework and brush strokes.
Messanie has led the youth arts team at the Haitian Organization of Edmonton, volunteering her time to youth to encourage creative voices and foster a safe space for their development. Messanie’s objectives are that viewers are able to find collective identity in her works. To experience rhythm, playfulness, colour, character, and flow. Something that evokes sentiment in others. She believes in being an advocate for those who cannot speak, or have challenges being heard.
Messanie choice of mediums are acrylic, charcoal, pencil, digital, collage work, and video art; where she has had the opportunity to become creative director in the music video MNLSA by Collins Isco, produced by DNA house Records in 2022.
WHO AM I?
My name is Ola Bolarinwa. I was born in Nigeria and moved to Edmonton in 2009. I graduated from MacEwan University in 2017 with BSc. in Mathematics and Business. My many hobbies include sports and fitness. I am a self-taught artist who specializes in making hyperrealism drawings. This is a form of art that transforms real-life photos into detail-oriented drawings with the help of graphite and charcoal pencils. While there are other media used in making hyperrealism drawings, graphite and charcoal are my specialties.
MOTIVATION
My motivation to make hyperrealism drawings is centred around the therapeutic feeling it generates. It provides me with a different outlet for stress relief. I really hope my dedication to art motivates anyone
who has been sitting on the fence about starting. My advice? Just pick up a pencil or pen, ease into it and take your time.
SUPPORT
My work currently supports the black community by having people of color as the centre of attraction in my portraits. These pieces portray different meanings, emotions, and struggles from my point of view to
that of the viewer. I hope that Edmonton can create more art shows and platforms online and offline for fellow artists like myself to showcase our works. You can support me by purchasing a print, sharing it with the world, and tagging my page @Ola4rever.
My name is Ore Dipe. Born and raised in Lagos Nigeria and moved to Edmonton in 2018. I am a storyteller at heart and express my art through photography and Film-making. I Specialize in Portrait photography and Wedding/Doc commercials. Storytelling is a big part of me, using my camera to be able to tell a story or capture lifelong memories either through images or videos is truly something special.
We are BACK!
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Opening January 29, 2022 at the Art Gallery of Alberta, the 5 Artists 1 Love Art exhibition is an annual Black History Month event showcasing the artistic vibrancy and range of Edmonton’s African-Canadian communities, from Angola to Zanzibar, Tobago to Togo, and Barbados to Brazil! It promotes emerging and established artists, social & cultural awareness and celebrates Black excellence.
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The signature launch event shines the light on the dynamic beauty of the African diaspora through art, design, and various other forms of live entertainment. We have some very unique & interesting disciplines that are new to us this year! Be inspired by works of hyper realism, comic book illustration, crayon on canvas, photography, and a Milliner! (That’s a hat maker for those who don’t already know!
2022 ARTISTS
Faisa Omer is a portrait photographer and videographer based in Edmonton and Ottawa, Canada. She spent time at the Algonquin College Photography Program in Ottawa where she learned the technical aspects of studio photography. Faisa's parents immigrated to Canada in the early 90s to escape the Somali Civil War. She uses photography as a tool to amplify voices to those in racialized communities.
Faisa's work has been recently exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery as well as the Alberta Art Gallery for the Sidewalk Cinema. She also enjoys fashion photography using black models in the form of family and friends in her dining room. When she is not taking photos, Faisa is employed as a Mental Health Counsellor for the RAJO Project; the Somali Youth and Family Empowerment Project in Edmonton. She is also the oldest of seven children and loves to spend her free time with family.
Website: faisaomer.com Instagram: @faisaomer_
Born in the north and raised under the Caribbean sun, Kyle has been drawing since he was four years old. What started with attempts of recreating Sunday comics and cars, drawing has always been a part of his life.
Having worked in advertising predominantly for nearly two decades, Kyle was fortunate enough to take the time to start InkFable Media. A company with a focus around freelance illustrative design, and digital illustration. You can find him at various comic convention artist alleys in North America, selling art prints while putting the finishing touches on his original Comic “Children of Rebel Gods”. He’s also the illustrator of an ongoing one page comic called “Dating While Black” in a magazine representing Afrocentric Culture in Canada.
Social media (insta/Twitter) @inkfable
I am a self-taught artist utilizing drawing, dress-up, film, and painting.
Born in North Edmonton, Alberta in 1998, I am of Zulu and Acadian ancestry and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Mattie Mayes, one of the first Black Canadian settlers.
I primarily work with wax crayons on sheets. I like to work organically, creating in the spur of the moment. My most recent work features floral + fairy abstractions and surrealist compositions. It is important for me to make artwork that is visually and academically accessible. The materiality of my work speaks to this, as I primarily create using items found in thrift and dollar stores.
You can see my art journey on the gram at @makingmadi. Here I post live updates of work I’m creating! Or by all means on my website, Madelineleblanc.com
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Reckie Lloyd is an oil painter who makes use of great attention to realistic and natural detail in his art pieces. The artist was born in Liberia, West Africa, a year before the prolonged Liberian Civil War began. Reckie became aware of his artistic interest at the early age of 4, he loved to draw and illustrate on the sandy grounds of his coastal city, Monrovia. Lloyd did not have the opportunity to attend art classes during his childhood and early teenage years since the civil war began to heighten. As a consequence of the devastation and suffering the war brought upon Liberians, Reckie’s family was forced to flee their country and leave their lives behind in order to seek refuge in Ghana where they lived for 6 years in a refugee camp fighting for an opportunity to start a new life abroad. Reckie and his family became Canadian residents in 2005 as they gathered strength needed for a new beginning.
Living in Edmonton, Canada, the artist enrolled himself in his very first art class; where he learned new techniques and expanded his passion for visual arts. As an art student, Lloyd was invited to display his artwork on his school’s wall at St. Joseph High School and went on to study art at MacEwan University. In 2013, Lloyd decided to pause his painting career in order to focus on another form of art which was his musical career as he launched Sangea Academy, a West African drumming and dance entity that shares the power of percussion with Canadians. The artist has always correlated his visual and musical artistic disciplines along with his culture as the public can admire the artist’s deep-rooted African identity in his artwork. During the Covid 19 Pandemic, the artist found himself painting for extended hours and rediscovered his love for fine arts, he was also able to refine his techniques and create from a mature perspective.
Instagram: reckielloyd
Facebook: Sangea Academy
Website: www.sangeaacademy.com
Marjorie Marshall graduated from the Academy of Merchandising and Design Chicago in 1999 with a B.F.A. in Fashion Design. Her interest in the art form quickly became apparent after completing all the millinery courses the academy offered. Creating her own independent study of the art of millinery was a labor of love. After graduation, Marjorie focused on pursuing a career in millinery. She has participated in a number of fashion shows throughout the Chicago area and neighboring states for charitable, social and civic organizations. Her one-of-a-kind millinery designs have been featured in numerous local newspapers (Time Out, the Chicago Sun Times and Tribune to name a few). Since moving to Edmonton in 2013 Marjorie has sold her hats at the Butterdome holiday event and participated in the Alberta Craft Council show titled, the Language of Craft in 2015
Marjorie relies on blocking (the act of shaping and molding a raw good on a wooden head form to produce a hat), and flat pattern making in order to produce new and unusual shapes. She has been known to block on unusual shapes found around her home to make hats. The trims she uses on her millinery range from small to large, and delicate to bold.
The philosophy behind her business is simple: fashion should be regarded as a form of art. The detail, imagination and skill that are involved in creating what we wear are ever changing and endless. A piece of straw or felt is manipulated and becomes transformed into wearable art.The head/face is an important focal point, it is part of the body that greets passerby’s and should always be just as dressed as the body.
This June 2021, 5 Artists 1 Love celebrated 15 years of bringing Edmonton its unique brand of art and soul. On this 15th year anniversary, the Art Gallery of Alberta extended its hand in partnership, thus opening the door for us to present our largest exhibit to date! 15 local Black artists (that have been featured in the show in years gone by) have been selected for this show. Due to the scale of the exhibit and the significance of the anniversary, the show rose from its usual space in the Community Gallery on the lower level to occupying the whole second floor in the main gallery.
Black Every Day
The title of the exhibit is, amongst other things, an invitation. It is a reminder. It is a response. It is a truth.
BLACK EVERY DAY
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EXHIBIT SUMMARY
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This exhibition marks the 15th anniversary of 5 Artists 1 Love, an organization dedicated to promoting the vibrancy of Edmonton's African Canadian communities through literary, visual and performing arts. Together with local artists, this organization is committed to creating a home for all means of artistry to flourish in the comfort of its authentic identity. The art presented in Black Every Day is a continuation of this enduring legacy and a celebration of what sits at the heart of the 5 Artists 1 Love platform;
a dedication to showcasing how the intimacy of our everyday Black lives, our resilience, our excellence is deserving of its place on the global stage.
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Historically, the annual art show organized by 5 Artists 1 Love is confined to Black History Month in February and is limited to five artists. This anniversary exhibition features 15 artists who show that cultural identity, history, spirit and vision exist every day of the year. While speaking to global anti-racist movements, this exhibition illustrates that Blackness is not a trend but an identity that we celebrate through our lives and art every day. Black Every Day is a culmination of artistic desire dedicated to showcasing the beauty of Black lives and the promise of a world that affirms this truth.
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The body of work displayed in this exhibition represents an eclectic group of artists from a variety of backgrounds. Each is at a different stage in their artistic practices and in their lives. Through the exploration of their chosen styles and mediums each has authored a unique worldview. Black Every Day challenges the concept of a homogeneous “Black Community” by exploring its complexities and differences through the lens of individual artists.
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5 Artists 1 Love acknowledges that there is a worldwide awakening to the injustices that Black and Brown people have endured for generations, and in response provides a platform for expression and activism for members of the local African diaspora. It is through this platform that we amplify our voices and defend our humanity.
This exhibition is organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta and curated by Darren W. Jordan. 5 Artists 1 Love would like to thank TD, Edmonton Community Foundation, and Autism Edmonton for their support.
2021 ARTISTS
AJA LOUDEN
AJA Louden (AJA sounds like ‘Ajay’, short for Adrian Joseph Alexander) is a muralist, designer and educator working out of Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Born to a family tree with roots split between Jamaica and Canada, Louden is a child of contrast. He grew up in a rural community near a big city, and alternated his time between skateboarding, drawing on things, and feeding goats and horses. Whether it’s his larger than life, detailed, freehand spray-painted portraits, or his work using hand lettering, stylewriting and sign painting to celebrate the beauty of language and the written word, AJA uses painting as a lens through which he may see more clearly, and as a tool to help others be seen.
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Braxton
Santiago - Garneau
Braxton Garneau is an emerging artist from Amiskwaciwâskahikan ‘Edmonton’ on Treaty 6 territory. In 2020, He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in intermedia at the University of Alberta. His practice is rooted in an exploration of familial and collective histories.
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Garneau primarily works in painting, installation, and printmaking, often distilling his own research through a combination of these methods. He has participated in several group exhibitions including Nice to Meet You in FAB Gallery at the University of Alberta, 5 Artists 1 Love exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta, and most recently It's About Time: Dancing Black in Canada 1900 - 1970 and Now at the Mitchell Gallery.
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Keon Courtney
Keon Courtney is a self-taught portrait artist born and raised in Edmonton, AB. He has always had a passion for art but did not start drawing until his late twenties. His passion for portraiture has always been on the forefront of his art journey. He started out as mainly a digital artist but has branched out trying several different mediums; most recently focusing on portraits in charcoal. Keon finds his inspiration in the process of attempting to bring life and soul to his artwork.
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Fetsum Teclemariam
My paintings are visual proverbs. Using the figure, still life objects, and landscapes as a means of self-expression, I communicate the cultural heritage and emotions of the places that I come from and the experience of the culture where I live now.
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I grew up in a community in Africa where I was not allowed to express my thoughts, concerns, and feelings in public - speaking out had terrible consequences. As a result, I started to express, my anger, frustrations, sense of betrayal, joy and beauty through my paintings, and still do.
The marks that I make with my brushes and charcoal are connected to my feelings, and express and communicate a situation. I depict both ugly realities and joyful feelings through the strokes, and by so doing, address the paradox of human life and my own thoughts and feelings.
Using oil as a medium, I am able to have more layers on the canvas which allows me to capture the experience of having multiple feelings at the same time as well as capture feelings that come in sequence.
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My paintings express my feelings of the physical environment around me and the people who live in it, yet, they are not an exclusive presentation of self. Hence, I invite my audience to search for connections to themselves in my paintings, and examine how they relate to themselves and to their surroundings.
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Raneece Buddan
Raneece Buddan is a Jamaican Artist residing in Edmonton, Alberta. She completed her BFA in Art and Design at the University of Alberta in 2020. Focusing on painting and sculpture, her work is centered on her cultural identity as a Jamaican woman of African and East Indian descent. She depicts the merging of both cultures with the use of fabric from each. The fabric is used as an additional identifier for who she is, rather than her skin tone as colorism is an issue she noticed within both communities. The importance of hair is also a commonality and a symbol you can find in her work as well.
Her process is based on her research on traditional and contemporary art from each culture. She explores different processes and artists from each as a foundation while doing her own experimentations with materials and mediums. She is interested in combining synthetic and natural materials in a colorful and unconventional way. She finds the figures within the grains of the wood and the mounds of clay where it is stuck between a phase of abstraction and realism; a state of uncertainty. The goal of each piece she creates is to learn more about herself throughout the process.
jay Dontae
jay Dontae’s art poetically blurs the line between dreams and reality, hope and despair, nostalgia and futurism, and so on... but beyond that he really just wants to make something beautiful that connects. His distinct style can be noted by his focus on deconstruction and exaggerated distortion of the human form, his vibrant colour palette, and his ability to mesh beauty and menace. Painting, fashion, digital artwork, creative direction, and poetry are just a few of the mediums Dontae uses to convey his vision.
For more on jay Dontae:
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Instagram @jaydontae
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Shaihiem Small
Shaihiem Small is an artist currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, originally from Toronto, Ontario. Shaihiem is a MacEwan Fine Arts graduate and has participated in multiple pop up art shows across the city and the group show Five Artists One Love hosted at the AGA. His art explores themes concerning the ethos of cultural identity. Currently this artist is venturing into the discipline of tattooing and is apprenticing at Shambhala Tattoos in Edmonton.
Hollee McKerchar
Born in Provost, Alberta, Hollee McKerchar has a lifetime of artistic expression. Throughout her childhood she studied dance, art, and music with a love for drawing and calligraphy. After recently recovering from a decade of chronic migraines, she is currently completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta.
She gathers her artistic inspiration from her depths of personal experiences, encounters, personal observations, and her vast curiosity. She blends color, words, and imagination to convey, express and spark conversations regarding social-cultural topics into an artistic art expression. Interestingly her first oil painting was spring 2013.
Shoko Cesar
“Interdisciplinary artist” Kanyamashokoro César (Shoko).
His double origins, Rwandan-German, and his five spoken languages give his work a cross cultural and dynamic approach. His work is visually interactive and complimentary with its environment.
Shoko believes to be a true artist, is to be able to see through and beyond what is visible.
In this multidimensional world, cohesion of cultures and thoughts, the exercise of seeing beyond what is superficial becomes an essential civic tool of cohabitation and reconciliation. By using an interpolation of rich colors and shapes, Shoko tries to create harmony and balance in what seems to be out of order. This process is an attempt to engage the viewer to exercise tolerance and see beyond.
His work has won national awards, gained international recognition and has been the subject of several magazines and TV documentaries including: Alberta Venture, Unlimited Magazine (Cover Page) Western Living, Canadian Interiors, and TV5.
Shoko’s work has expended from Visual Art to Public Art Installation, Furniture, Architecture and Product Design, Custom Yacht Design and complex Medical Design Devices.
“Art is a mirror of self that reflects its environment”
Lisa Mayes
Artist Statement
My practice examines manifestations of narrative, belonging, colonial legacy and the rendering of the notions of truth. Inspired by the interactions of production of knowledge, artifacts, folk literature, visual culture and how they interact with social constructs and our environment. My practice unfolds new narratives through installation, video, painting and sculpture. The works; Red White & Blue, Mardi Gras, Grandmother and Great Expectations, perform like entries in a journal that contain rituals for reclamation.
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Biography
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Lisa Mayes (b.1975, Edmonton, AB, Canada) born of Acadian, African American, Muscogee Creek, Irish and Scottish heritage lives and works in Montreal. Mayes produces multidisciplinary works about diaspora, the other, place and heritage affected by intergenerational trauma. By situating herself as the storyteller, Mayes effectively reclaims the story and subverts established narratives to make room for the other and welcomes a reimagined place with inclusion. Since the late 1990’s Mayes has been an interdisciplinary artist with a background in theatre, dance and visual arts.
Emily Schouten
Emily Schouten is a Fashion and Fine Art photographer who was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Emily began her love for photography at a young age when she commandeered her father's Minolta Maxxum 7000. She made her start in high school as one of the school's 2 sports photographers. Following high school, she dove into internships and work experience while studying English and Anthropology at Grant MacEwan. She then went on to complete NAIT’s Photographic Technology Program. During her study she completed many internships with local fashion and editorial photographers. Her final internship took place in New York City where she finalized her thesis with the help of her mentor.
Her latest project is a study on the 1972 Yamaha LS2 that was rebuilt by her husband shot on 35mm film. Her photography has been shown at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Scott Gallery, Latitude 53 Gallery, Garneau Theatre, The Citadel Theatre, and Augustana U of A Campus.
Emily is an avid travel enthusiast and always carries a 35mm camera on vacation. She enjoys solo road trips and getting lost in a new place. She is a classically trained pianist, a foodie, and a gamer.
Richard Lipscombe
Richard lived in Amber Valley, Athabasca as a youth, moved to Edmonton and has settled in St. Albert since 1973.
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When viewing a painting by Richard you will be visually captivated by the emotional vitality of his work. Whatever the medium, the celebration of the rich history of his African Canadian heritage is clearly reflected.
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Lipscombe’s careful attention to detail conveys the subject’s expressions through his fluid brushstrokes and painting technique and provides an uplifting experience for the viewer. Although a naturally gifted artist Lipscombe continued his study of painting and design at the Kootenay School of the Arts in Nelson, BC, and spent a summer in Europe touring and admiring the works of the masters.
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Of his paintings, Lipscombe says, "When I am painting or drawing any subject, my strength comes from bringing the emotions of each subject to life. I am thankful each day for the gift I was given to be able to then transfer that emotion to a simple piece of paper or empty canvas.”
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"Lipscombe is married to Monica, a fellow artist and they are parents to three adult children and six grandchildren."
Judy Robinson
Art as Experience
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Judy BL Robinson came of age in Grenada witnessing the tumultuous upheaval of her country’s cultural revolution. Those experiences were pivotal in shaping her social consciousness and sense of community. Grenada ingrained her with an unshakable belief in humanity and our potential for greatness. She is a mother of three young adults and selflessly anchors numerous local non-profit organizations as a volunteer and/or board member. Her interest in art has been a captivating and ever evolving passion. As an avid appreciator and patron of the arts, as well as an entrepreneurial and fiercely independent spirit, it only seems natural that she would follow her passion for art as a career!
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From a young naiveté on the beaches of Grenada or marching for human rights, to a successful curator a world apart, to her most recent evolution as creator … Robinson’s artistic expression has evolved with all her passions. Her current art is an expression of her experiences that are meant to symbolize the increasingly complex, nuanced, and abstract interpretation of the world: the universal metamorphosis we all experience to varying degrees as we move through life.
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Robinson’s paintings are bold and audacious without pretention. They all evolve from a black canvas. It is her intention to honor her African Heritage inviting the spirit of the ancestors to guide her in articulating the idea of each work of art and its story. She strives to understand and educate through color and symbolism.
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Telling stories from time immemorial to include biblical times and today are important aspects of our human existence and critical to species survival. Robinson strongly believes that art and storytelling is vital to our reservoir of specie data and propagation. And, not unlike the church, her art emulates this idea and contemplates the relationship of the natural world and the sublime. Her art is not just to be admired and idolized … it is an experience.
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Robinson is very comfortable with abstract painting to make sense of her world and experiences. For her it is one of reflection and renewal. It is a deep understanding of a complex yet subtle interface of her inner and outer world. Her art is unapologetic and nonconforming in attitude as it offers a fresh take on familiar experiences.
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Her thoughts manifested in abstract art are provocative as well as spiritual … intoxicating even. Robinson’s art explores the fascinating complexity of the human condition, especially the psychological implications of slavery. She insists that slavery is a purely commercial initiative meant to generate huge profits at minimal cost. It has been the foundation of all empires throughout recorded history. This practice will certainly reappear without a profound shift in our values as consumers and co-creators.
Trevor ‘CURLY’ Peters
Trevor ‘CURLY’ Peters is a self taught Jamaican/Cree Canadian artist who divides his practice between graffiti art and fine art. In 1994 Peters was introduced to spray painting and immediately connected to the mystical lifestyle of leaving his mark in the dark. Those primitive styles and ways have now evolved over time with Peters having painted hundreds of pieces in cities all around the world. His main inspirations come from New York graffiti pioneers such as Dondi White and Rammellzee while he also connects to the classic work of Salvador Dali and Picasso. Now 26 years later he remains an active graffiti writer with one foot in traditional New York style and the other in a loose, experimental, abstract expression. As he manages both practices differently it is his intention to emulate the energy of his street paintings in his work as a fine artist. This energy applied to canvas is a portal into the textures of Peters experiences traveling and painting around the world. As he slowly transitions into the world of fine art he will always remain connected to his roots and time spent creating in the streets.
In 2016 Peters launched Rust Magic International Street Mural Festival with partner Annaliza Toledo. Rust Magic is a grassroots initiative with the intent to create a more vibrant aesthetic in the streets of their hometown Edmonton. Working with local and international artists, the project has gained significant adulation from the global street art community. The murals have added a new interactive texture to Edmonton that viewers are experiencing with great enthusiasm. As of 2020 The festival has seen the creation of 60 incredible murals by some of the leading artists in the industry. By hosting artist talks and events, Peters and Toledo are able to advocate on behalf of their movement with an authentic perspective and raw passion. Having built a strong network through years of painting and travelling, Peters is humbled by the support he has gained from his peers. Now in this new role as festival producer, curator and visionary it is his mission to give back to his community and properly translate the culture to a wider audience.
