Four murals featuring contemporary Canadian and First Nations imagery now enhance the stairwell at Centennial Square Parkade. Created by a team of three professional artists and three local youth, the Infusing Spirit mural series is part of the City’s Art on Parkades initiative, designed to improve the parking experience downtown.
Painted with acrylic on birch wood, the four murals encompass three themes: the four elements – earth, fire water and air; the four views of Victoria – parks, city, harbour, skyline; and the four “vertical slices of wild” – underwater, shoreline, forest and sky.
The artworks symbolize “Infusing Spirits”, representing Victoria’s overlapping cultures and the importance of spirits who watch over us in our visible and invisible lives. The seawolf and salmon embody wildlife and the surrounding waters, while open hands welcome all people to the land of the camas. The branches of the Garry oak weave the connection of history and multicultural threads, and the two-spirited thunderbird crowns the mural, protecting the interconnectedness of families.