A Mural Bike Ride with CBC's This is Ottawa

Earlier this month, Ottawalls joined CBC's This is Ottawa host Robyn Bresnahan for a bike ride through Hintonburg to the Glebe, stopping at seven murals along the way. One of those pieces, a mural by artist Hakan, was discovered and documented during the ride itself!

You can check out the CBC Piece and the podcast at this link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/this-is-ottawa-podcast-street-art-map-9.7273720

We were joined by three artists who spoke about their work on location. Martin Freundorfer talked about his newest mural in Hintonburg and the Graffiti Octobot on the exterior of Urban Art Collective at 50 Bayswater.

Mique Michelle joined us at her large-scale Double Crested Cormorant painted in stark white on black for Urban Art Collective's Disrupt event in 2023. The piece is documented with the context of Bill 205, Ontario legislation concerning the hunting and trapping of the species, an issue Mique noted was still relevant at the time of creation. The text "Avec amor," with love, accompanies the image. The work is part of Mique's broader practice of art as activism, using public space to address legislation, identity, and community belonging.

In the Glebe, Tia Wong walked us through Chinese Aces Skate the Canal on Bank Street, her first mural, honoring Ottawa's first all-Chinese hockey team and its connection to the Rideau Canal Skateway's uncertain future. She spoke about her personal connection to the history behind the piece and what it meant to her to tell that story on a public wall.

Listen to the full episode on CBC's This is Ottawa podcast.

If you recognize a mural in the archive or know who painted a wall we haven't been able to attribute, you can submit what you know at ottawalls.art.