I love this idea so much!  One of Calgary’s oldest neighbourhoods, the Beltline, has invited local and international artists to paint murals on the walls of some of its buildings – they call the project BUMP (Beltline Urban Murals Project).  They are holding their inaugural mural festival this weekend, but as I cannot attend, I took a walk around this morning and checked out some of the artwork on my own.  (I didn’t get to all of them – but as they are permanent installations, I am excited to make more trips to view the others).

The one in the photo I’ve posted is a definite stop-in-your-tracks-and-stare kind of work.  The artist is Faith 47 (XLVII), originally from South Africa, but currently based in Los Angeles. You’ll notice the words on the left-hand side of the work: “Fortes et liber.” The provincial motto of our province, Alberta, is “Fortis et liber” (strong and free).  There have been comments on social media speculating as to why the word “fortes” is used in the work instead of “fortis” (and worrying that there may be a misspelling). I haven’t yet seen a statement from the artist so I’m curious, myself.  I checked the meaning for the Latin “fortes” and came up with “fortune,” or “luck.”  An interesting mystery!

The website for the BUMP festival is here, if you’re interested in taking a look at photos of some of the other work (a few of them are still in progress).  It’s a great initiative and I hope the community will continue to add installations in years to come!