Burnaby residents will soon be able to paint a community mural in support of Ukraine

Bosa Properties will be inviting Burnaby residents to come to its construction site on Wilson Ave on Sundays and paint a community mural on the scaffolding there in support of Ukraine, as the country weathers a Russian invasion.

It comes after Burnaby resident Jordan Malcolm initially painted a mural on the site inscribed with the words “Stand with Ukraine,” and a sunflower—the country’s national flower.

However, the mural was defaced just days later with messaging consistent with Russian propaganda.

Malcolm told the Beacon that after that graffiti was painted over by workers at the construction site, he created a new mural—but that was also painted over the next day.

Police ended up being called to the scene of the mural on Thursday morning after Malcolm showed up to ask the construction workers why they had painted over it.

“Upon arrival, police spoke to all parties and learned that the company had painted over a mural on their property after discovering it had been defaced. This information upset the person that painted the mural. An argument ensued and police were called,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl Mike Kalanj said in an emailed statement.

“The situation was resolved on scene after discussions with all involved parties. No charges are being forwarded at this time.”

Bosa VP Jen Riley told the Beacon that Malcolm’s second mural was painted over because the company had decided to cover up any new vandalism or paint on the site whatsoever—and clarified that Malcolm hadn’t been given permission to paint the original mural either.

But now that they’ve seen there’s an appetite in the community for messages in support of Ukraine, they’ve decided that the Wilson Ave site is a good place to “be a part of the conversation.”

“We’re gonna call it a temporary ‘Community Canvas,’” Riley said.

“And that allows people to bring their art to the place from now until April 18.”

Anyone who has a positive message to share will be allowed to paint it on the hoarding on Sundays starting March 27, when work on the site is stopped, to ensure the safety of both the public and staff.

Riley said while projects of this kind would usually require a permit from the city, the company has received support from city councillor Colleen Jordan to allow it to go forward.

The community canvas will remain in place until April 18 to make room for a pre-existing partnership with Vancouver Mural Fest. This is the first time Bosa will partner with the festival in Burnaby, but Riley said the idea sprang from a similar project last year in Vancouver.

“So that was the first time where we thought we see opportunity in building art as your hoarding for construction—something kind of different. So we started there and thought we could bring it forward in Burnaby. … And that will be coming on to the scene starting on April 18, is when that painting begins,” she said.

“We couldn’t [start] in the winter. It’s one of the reasons that the site was vacant, is that we needed to wait for the right weather for us to be able to paint a mural outside in a really meaningful way. So that’s why it had been blank.”

That project will be painted by Vancouver-based artist Scott Sueme, Riley said.

Burnaby Beacon has reached out to Coun Colleen Jordan for more information.