SP0253: McGill’s Agriculture in Murals

Status: CANCELLED July 2020 

McGill's Agriculture in Murals project aims to add murals to each tunnel entrance to Burnside Hall (total of two murals). The murals with add imagery to the walls along the staircases leading down to the Burnside basement.

Read the full project description

During summer months, student clubs and staff teams volunteer to care for gardens outside Burnside Hall -- a space now known as the urban agriculture hub on campus. While Burnside’s outdoor space is an example of McGill’s sustainable initiatives, the building's interior does not promote the same vision for a sustainable future at McGill.

We propose adding murals to each tunnel entrance to Burnside Hall (total of two murals). The murals with add imagery to the walls along the staircases leading down to the Burnside basement. Most student traffic happens at the basement-level study area. The study area will undergo renovations to better meet students' study needs, however the tunnel entrances leading to the study area have no future plan and lack a sense of vibrancy, creativity, and connectivity.

The murals thus have two creative objectives: (1) to offer McGill students a space that promotes wellbeing, belonging, and identity, and (2) to tell a visual story which would link the Downtown campus' agricultural efforts with ones happening at Macdonald Campus.

The steps for creating the murals are as follows:

1) Site visit by mural production team.

2) The mural production team proposes artists based on the fit to the social environment and for the style of art that will lend itself best to the physical space. McGill team to receive artist proposal with associated budgets. Budget contingent on the cost of the artist(s) and square feet of mural. Overall costs include fair payment to the artist(s), materials, insurance, licensing, clean up, etc. From calls with mural production companies, the current estimated cost for each mural is ~15K.

3) Once the artist(s) are selected, the visual creative process begins. This is where the artist(s) develop a sketch and a digital rendering of the proposed work, usually with two rounds of possible modifications. This step also includes a timeline for approval.

4) Mural production begins. Mural project management team follows the production plan until completion.

The artwork will be completed while access to buildings remains restricted in order to limit the propagation of the COVID-19 virus. Security teams will be consulted prior to site visits and production to ensure the safety of the artist(s) and building occupants.

A brief survey will be distributed to project stakeholders (Burnside student clubs, departments, urban agriculture teams) to assess their impressions of the murals after they are completed. See Question 10 for project next steps after stakholder feedback is collected.

View Photos

Coming soon.

Connect with this project

Contact

stephanie.keller-busque [at] mcgill.ca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to top