Pride on the Walls: The Stories Behind Ottawa's 2SLGBTQIA+ Public Art

With global Pride in June and Capital Pride coming up in August, we are looking at the public art celebrating Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. The murals we selected below serve as beautiful reminders that 2SLGBTQIA+ identities are an essential and celebrated part of the city's fabric.

The "We Demand" Mural

Created in August 2011, this mural commemorates the 40th anniversary of Canada's first major queer civil rights demonstration, the "We Demand" protest of 1971. Located in The Village at the corner of Bank and Gilmour streets, the artwork remains an important visual marker for the community's ongoing fight for equality.

The piece is a collaborative effort between Ottawa’s Dan Metcalfe, a freelance designer and illustrator and artist Rob Lariviere, known as "FallDowng”.

The Story of the Wall

The mural features a large-scale open book on the left that anchors the historical context directly on the brick, leading into an illustrative scene of the rainy parliament protest. The central composition depicts a young Charlie Hill reading the ten demands for equal rights [^1].

To understand the weight of what Hill is reading, you have to look past the famous 1969 Omnibus Bill, which famously promised that the state had no place in the bedrooms of the nation. While that law decriminalized certain acts behind closed doors, systemic discrimination in public life remained completely unchecked [^2].

The We Demand mural at Bank and Gilmour, celebrating the legacy of Canada's first major queer civil rights protest

The activists in 1971 were risking their livelihoods to challenge severe state-sanctioned oppression, most notably the Cold War-era purges [^3]. At the time, the RCMP was running aggressive surveillance campaigns using a pseudo-scientific system to identify, interrogate, and systematically fire queer Canadians from the military and civil service under the guise of national security risks [^3]. The manifesto read by Hill directly demanded an end to this state espionage.

By pulling this moment of resistance out of the archives and onto a major commercial corridor, Metcalfe and FallDowng ensure that modern Centretown will not forget the foundations of its own community. In a city filled with statues of politicians, this wall stands as a powerful reminder that real progress is made by everyday people who are willing to stand up and demand change.

The ByWard Market Pride Mural

Moving over to the ByWard Market, the canvas shifts from brick walls to moving pieces. The market regularly hosts art installations on modular shipping containers. Because these structures rotate locations, they turn the historic district into an interactive outdoor gallery.

One of the most joyful additions to this rotating outdoor gallery is a dedicated celebration of Pride, painted by local muralist Rob Lariviere (FallDowng).

The composition features character-driven elements like a smiling sun, friendly cartoon pets, and a proud figure holding up a classic rainbow flag under the word "PRIDE."

Centretown: "The Pink Flamingo" by Mique Michelle

Tucked away in Centretown, you can find a stunning and expressive piece titled The Pink Flamingo. The mural was painted by Mique Michelle, a celebrated Franco-Ontarian graffiti artist [^4].

Art Inspired by Advocacy

Mique drew the concept for this mural directly from the Pink Flamingo advocacy group [^5]. Founded and led by Black trans and queer activists, the organization focuses on organizing safe spaces, educational seminars, and community-building opportunities specifically designed to uplift and empower the QTBIPOC (Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) community.

By bringing this message of intersectional resilience to an Ottawa brick wall, Mique bridges regional movements, turning a standard exterior wall into a visual celebration of QTBIPOC strength.

A vibrant, large-scale outdoor graffiti mural painted on an urban brick wall. The artwork features stylized, highly expressive pink flamingos intertwined with abstract shapes and fluid, layered lines in rich shades of pink — The Pink Flamingo by Mique Michelle, bringing bright, bold energy and an empowering cross-country message to Centretown.

A Call for More Walls

While writing this article, our team was inspired by the depth of storytelling on our streets, and it made us eager to see even more 2SLGBTQIA+ voices represented in Ottawa's public landscape.

We would love to see the City of Ottawa and local Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) continue investing heavily in community placemaking by commissioning more 2SLGBTQIA+ public art. Concrete underpasses, empty brick facades, and public alleys are blank canvases waiting to be transformed into spaces of belonging. By continuing to fund local queer, trans, and intersectional artists, our city can ensure that our public landscape mirrors the true, diverse spirit of the people who live here.

Help Us Complete the Archive

At Ottawalls, our goal is to build an exhaustive, living map of our city’s public art, but we can't be down every alleyway at once. Did we miss a hidden pride mural in your neighborhood? Is there a new queer street artist we should be profiling?

Drop us a line, send us a photo, or submit a location pin through our website. Let’s work together to keep mapping, archiving, and celebrating the incredible artists that make Ottawa a city we can all be proud of.

Whether you are taking a self-guided mural walk through Centretown or spotting the moving installations in the market, we hope you have an incredible time celebrating our community's vibrant history and future.

Happy Pride, Ottawa! ❤️