Over the course of the summer, Yaletown will transform its many staircases into vibrant, eye-catching murals, the first few having already seen completion.
The staircase murals are part of a large-scale art project launched by the Yaletown Business Improvement Association (YBIA), with intentions of brightening up the community and supporting local artists.
The first completed piece is a giant dog mural painted by Lukas Lundberg. In addition to this recent Yaletown creation, Lundberg took part in the Vancouver Mural Festival’s #MakeArtWhileApart initiative. He also has an indoor mural at Tequila Cocina, a recently-opened Mexican restaurant in North Vancouver.
There are 20 staircases in Yaletown which used to be part of railway loading docks.
“The brick patios were actually the backs of warehouses,” she says. “Trains went down Hamilton and Mainland Street and offloaded onto the raised loading docks.”
And while there are plenty of staircases to be transformed, each poses a challenge for artists in terms of creating mural art.
“We have little staircases which are super challenging for mural art,” says O’Shea. “They’re 3D and not on a single surface. But you can play with them and because they’re short, they’re a little secret.”
