The newly installed Skate Spot in the West Shore Neighborhood provides a public site for a community mural. The artwork will be located at the West Shore Community Centre Skate Spot, 1011-1015 Bayly Street, Pickering.

Through a very competitive public Call to Artists, the City advised by the Jury, Public Art Committee and the Cultural Advisory Committee has awarded this opportunity to the artist fatspatrol (Fathima Mohiuddin) & Mural Routes.

This public art piece is intended to be created and executed with the help of the community (West Shore Neighborhood Association, local youth and the City’s Programming team), reflective of the neighborhood and the recreational activities that take place in this location. The public art will be created with spray paint and applied directly to the surface of the existing hardscaped Skate Spot. Due to the expected use of the Skate Spot, and based on lifespan of similar public art works, this public art work is expected to last between five to ten years before maintenance or replacement is required.

About the Artwork

For the community engagement process, the artist fatspatrol will involve Mural Routes, an organization based in Toronto who activates communities by facilitating the creation of responsive, collaborative murals. Mural Routes’ work is rooted in the belief that murals are a catalyst for community building –community consultation and engagement processes are embedded in the work that they do. They have had a long history of community engagement and consultation for all of their murals. Each mural project has offered a different process, customized to each of the different communities they have been involved with (drop-in sessions, online surveys, etc.). Mural Routes has also embedded accessible mural workshops and education as a part of community consultations to empower and engage local residents for many mural projects.

Make sure to check back this page soon for more information on how to participate in the execution of the mural.

About the Artist

"I grew up in Dubai. I went to school with kids from 90 different countries. As teenagers we would all congregate at a skate bowl on the beach.

"In 2018 I painted a skatepark in Mimico, Toronto with Lakeshore Arts. I designed the piece based on vintage skateboard artwork and symbols I thought were relevant to the culture. For this particular project I spent some time observing the movements of skaters as they travel through the skate park that resulted in painting an eagle in flight. I shared this with skaters I know to ensure it made sense for them.

"The project also involved engaging emerging artists in the neighbourhood in priming and some painting (as per their abilities) and knowledge sharing during the process.

"I’m also interested to paint a skate park again because I think my skills as an artist have developed a fair amount since 2018 and I’d like to have another go at it. There were a lot of moments of learning in that project in 2018 which I feel will carry over to make this project even more successful."

To learn more, visit fatspatrol’s webpage.