Riding the C-train North through Sunnyside station, passengers will see a shipping container in the beginning stages of a mural as part of the ContainR Youth Mural Project.  Eventually, this container will depict two women who represent the sun and the moon; both people of colour, sitting knee-to-knee against a royal blue background. I have had the privilege of spending a few hours talking with the artist: fifteen-year-old Kate MacLean.

We talked about her inspiration for and meaning in the mural.

“I just like to paint pretty people.”

“I don't think there is a very solid message behind it.”

Digging deeper, she remarked that part of her inspiration is the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the spatial dynamics between people during this ongoing pandemic.   

“If people want to interpret a message behind it and tell me, I would really like that.” As I sat in the sun chatting and watching the muralists paint, a passer-by stopped to admire all the murals and remarked that Kate’s was “just like the world right now.” His comment brought me to the realization that part of the beauty in public art lies in the fact that everyone can interpret it differently. Kate's love of “painting pretty people” provides a gateway for meaning to be found for people of every race, gender, ethnicity, and religion.