A new mural painted on the outside and inside of the Immigrant Welcome Centre represents themes of coming to a new community.
Artists Cora Silvestru and Emily Thiessen, also known as Night and Day, discussed the mural with students of the Immigrant Welcome Centre to develop themes that they could incorporate into the piece.
The project is a collaboration between Comox Valley Arts Council and the Immigrant Welcome Centre.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a combination of our interpretation of what makes us feel welcome. But it鈥檚 built on the input and feedback and responses we got from the students who are coming from quite a few countries at this point,鈥� said Silvestru.
The themes that the English students felt reflected their move to the Comox Valley from various countries were mostly nature-based with trees, flowers and snow marking a prominent part of the mural.
鈥淲e had snow falling in this scene because several students mentioned that was something they experienced for the first time when they moved to Canada,鈥� said Thiessen.
The mural is also personal for the two artists as they are immigrants or first-generation Canadians. Silvestru is originally from Romania while Thiessen is a first generation Canadian with her mother being from Malaysia.
Both artists have been connected to artistry from a young age. Silvestru recalls her creative ways kicking in around age six while Thiessen recalls her journey starting around two years old.
鈥淎s soon as I could hold things to draw,鈥� said Thiessen.
Art has been a lifelong passion for both, with Silvestru attending art school in Ontario while Thiessen started her journey by designing posters for little organizations and then beoming the graphics editor for the University of Victoria鈥檚 student newspaper.
鈥淚 kind of realized that I could make some money from the work I was doing so I just continued to do so,鈥� said Thiessen.
The two artists described a lot of nature symbols on the mural.
"We knew right away that we wanted to incorporate as many elements from nature as features as possible,鈥� said Silvestru.
The artists painted a plant coming out of its pot, exposing the roots.
鈥淥ften the first thing you receive when you move is a plant. With the plant hovering in the sky, you can expose the roots and the meaning there is the way you鈥檙e uprooting yourself when you move to a new place then rooting yourself in the new place and hopefully thrive in the new place,鈥� said Silvestru.
鈥淲e did the plant with new buds coming up and then on the far side we have migrating birds, which was a symbol some students brought up as well,鈥� said Thiessen.
The birds move from one panel to another, helping illustrate the theme of migration.
There are also people weaving threads that represent the tying together of one鈥檚 culture with the land they are now a part of, tying the theme of new friendships and community together.
Tucked in the right corner is an Elder and grandchild representing what people are proud of in their cultures and how they pass that down to newer generations.
There is also a lighthouse that shines beams of light in different colours across the mural and flows to the outside of the building.
鈥淭he lighthouse also represents the way you are finding your way in a new territory,鈥� said Thiessen.
Night and Day had to work to integrate their styles and the colour palette they would work with. They mesh as opposites that come together for a common theme and project. They hope to collaborate on more projects together in the future.
鈥淲e were chatting about how it鈥檚 so strange that visual artists don鈥檛 collaborate as much as musicians. It just inspired us to think about it from that perspective of collaboration, because it鈥檚 kind of lacking a little bit in the visual art world,鈥� said Silvestru.
The official opening for the mural is Sept. 13.
