The mosaic mural made up of individual tiles creates a fall scene of Chief Mountain. The mural created in honour of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, is in the hangar near the main entrance of F.P. Walshe school.
A new mosaic mural near the entrance to F.P. Walshe school helps to celebrate the school’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.
The brightly coloured mural sits in an alcove in the hangar, the area near the school entrance where students and staff gather.
“I think it looks awesome,” art teacher Shanan Hunter said Friday.
The school embarked on the mosaic mural last fall as a project to honour the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
The Grade 6-12 students at F.P. Walshe school each painted a scene on an individual tile.
Those tiles were then combined to make up the mural.
The mosaic mural project was proposed as a way to bring the entire school together to create a work of art that is individual as well as together as one.
F.P. Walshe school teachers spent the week prior preparing students by showing videos related to truth and reconciliation, having them do their own research, and assigning reading.
The school’s Blackfoot elders also spoke to students about truth and reconciliation.
With that information, students sketched an image that they would paint on their individual tile.
The individual tiles were later united to create a fall scene of the iconic Chief Mountain.
Chief Mountain was chosen for its prominent place in the southern Alberta landscape, as well as its significance to Indigenous people.
The fall scene created with the more than 500 tiles also incorporates an image of a tipi students erected at the base of Chief Mountain during a land camp.
Hunter has noticed students taking a close look at the mural, and looking for the tiles they painted.
“They really seem to like it,” Hunter said.
