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The “Giving Wings to the Dream” mural is one of the City of Calgary’s most famous and oldest public art. It is listed in Calgary’s best sites with the Peace bridge and has been at its location, 1st street and 7th avenue SW, since 1995. This art was made by Doug Driediger, a Calgary-based artist, muralist, and graphic designer. Overall, Doug has completed over 40 murals across Western Canada, and many of his works have been commissioned by the Canadian Government, Parks Canada, and the Royal Alberta Museum. The mural depicts two large human hands reaching up to a white dove flying off into the sky. It symbolizes the purpose of CUPS, Calgary Urban Projects Society, a non-profit organization that assists Calgarians facing poverty and trauma through integrated healthcare, education, and housing. 2020 marks this mural‘s 25th anniversary, but rather than this mural being celebrated, this mural is being suggested to be painted over due to recent social events.
2020 is a year that symbolizes a time for change and acceptance of various thoughts and ideas. One event which marks an evolution is the Black Lives Movement (BLM). This movement is a political and social event emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for Black people. In the rise of this movement, more attention has been brought towards monuments or paintings that promoted racial inequality and racial brutality, and all racially motivated violence of Black people. Many actions have been taken in light of this movement to recognize the injustice that Black people are facing and force governments to recognize the inequality and fix it.
The City of Calgary has suggested replacing the CUPS mural by Driediger, “Giving Wings to the Dream” with a Black Lives Matter Mural. Many Calgarians are expressing their thoughts towards this proposal both for and against this controversial project. We sent out a survey and received multiple responses. Almost 85% of the people who took the survey wanted the City of Calgary to relocate the BLM mural because of the current state of the world. Due to the current misinformation that has been spread about the BLM movement, the popular opinion states that this location choice will only add to the chaos. The act of covering of a historical and racially inclusive mural about disenfranchised Calgarians with one that only directly recognizes one group is a contradiction to what BLM stands for.
When Doug had been asked about his thoughts on the Council’s proposal, it was clear that he was disappointed. He was willing to update the mural by removing the CUPS reference, having already moved to another building, and to rework the hands to represent Calgary’s diversity. Currently, petitions are being signed by many Calgarians to relocate the BLM mural and leave the “Giving Wings to Dreams” alone.
REYME SEKHON
SENIOR JOURNALIST
beingreyme@gmail.com
