My name is Fisher Monahan and I’m a mural artist. To me, public art and Thunder Bay are two peas in a pod. It’s safe to say that our city loves its murals. I mean, what else are we to do with these wide-open beautiful brick facades?
When you think of local murals, you likely have a few favourites that come to mind in high profile locations, but look a little further and you’ll discover some on lesser-known streets and corners as well.
I had been absent from Thunder Bay from late April to late August, riding my bicycle from Toronto to Halifax (yes, a decent ride indeed). I was dozing off in my tent somewhere in the backwoods of PEI when my phone buzzed. It was an email from Thunder Bay’s own Shelby Gagnon— a prolific muralist and creator. She was writing to inform me that my application to the Thunder Bay Museum’s “Pillar Project” was successful, and I was being given a spot on the team of 5 artists to redesign the museum’s stone pillars. The 5 “muralized” pillars now stand vibrantly for everyone to see. If you visit the location yourself, you might be hard-pressed to find a congruent theme between each artist’s work, and that’s the point. The initiative began as a callout to Thunder Bay artists from diverse walks of life to contribute to the city’s growing art scene. We decided the best course of action would be to assign each muralist one pillar with free creative reign over what they produce. One of the artists, Vicki Nerino, took a floral approach, stuffing the 10 foot tall pillar with overgrown, high-density vegetation. Inspired by Ma-Nee Chacaby, a local two-spirit elder, Vicki’s pillar represents sentiments on the importance of healing, honouring the four sacred medicines of the Anishinabek (tobacco, sage, cedar, and sweetgrass). My pillar, in stark contrast to Vicki’s, employs almost no colour, and features a collection of redesigned sketchbook drawings from my time wandering the city.
Not far from the museum, at the corner of Simpson and Pruden, is a colossal, semi-realistic, perfectly scaled mural by Brian Nieminan that can only be described as a portal to a different era. It depicts three stone arches in the foreground, with scenes of different streetscapes drawn perfectly to scale. In a feat of optical illusions, the scenes seem to shift as you walk by, something like how the Mona Lisa is said to follow viewers with her eyes. While admiring this mural one day, an elderly gentleman on a mobility scooter came zipping down the sidewalk, abruptly coming to a halt beside me. “What a sight eh?”, he asked. I replied slyly, “Do you know anything about its backstory?”. “Not really, but don’t it feel like you’re looking at a portal?”. I replied back, “I was thinking the same thing”.
Recently, I found myself at a coffee shop on St. Paul Street, sitting at the window looking at a surprising alley of murals straight in front of me. My phone said “Cooke Street” which runs parallel to Red River Road for about 300 meters. Old brick buildings line each side of the street, offering a glimpse into the backend of the businesses that inhabit these ends. I had a hard time finding information on any of the tags left by the mural artists who painted here. I’ve been told that this area is called Graffiti Alley. It’s a slice of a big city’s bustling urban core, restaurant dumpsters scattered about, moving slightly every garbage day to reveal a previously hidden bit of a mural.
Just around the corner at Lakehead Beer Company is a collaborative mural by Shelby Gagnon, Ricky Kruger, Lak William, Ryan Pooman, Johnny Longfeather, and Luke Goerzen. It depicts a fluid landscape of animals and celestial bodies weaving about the wall along their outdoor patio. Gagnon notes that to her, it’s an “appreciation of the lands and waters we are home to in Northern Ontario,” and, “the calming effect it has on our bodies.”
As I stood admiring the images in the winter breeze, a calm came over me. These murals helped bring me much needed joy during the coldest season of the year. It’s my hope that they do the same for you.