2025

Water is Life

Hannah | Rhys | Alyssa | Athena | Aria | Rowan | Paytyn | Sherence | Charlie | Milana | Lily | Evelina | Hafsah | Emiliana | Max | Jaelin | Hannah 

The Creative Commons Mural Project on the Pipeline Trail between Weir St North and Tragina Ave North began in 2022 as a hybrid in person and on line creative collaboration between neighbourhood youth and Hamilton artists.

For the renewal of the imagery in spring 2025, 18 students from W.H. Ballard Elementary school explored the natural environment of their urban neighbourhood. Their imagery visualizes conservation, and embeds the value of the pipeline that brings clean water to the city of Hamilton from Lake Ontario. 

During ten visual art sessions with 3 Hamilton artists, WH Ballard students practiced drawing, painting, designing patterns, and laying out the visual content for all eight panels. They then painted the entire mural in one day. The text below the images is the students’ collective chiasmus exercise paying homage to Hamilton dubpoet Klyde Broox, whose vision for the creative commons “say what you see, see what your say” lives on in the mural.

Artists/facilitators: 

Ingrid Mayrhofer, Elizabeth Seidl, Nathan Eugene Carson

We are grateful to W.H. Ballard and Miss Psarakis, Hamilton Dialogues, Councillor Tammy Hwang, the Hamilton Naturalists Club, Bethany, Ed, and Werner for their support for the project.