Mural tour: 10 pieces of street art in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant and Strathcona neighbourhoods

by Jennifer Foden

If you’ve wandered the streets of Mount Pleasant or Strathcona in the past year, you’ll have likely noticed several bright, bold, beautiful murals adorning the buildings, storefronts and alleyways of both neighbourhoods. This is thanks to last year’s inaugural Vancouver Mural Festival, when 53 murals were installed. In anticipation of this year’s festival – which will see over 60 new murals painted in these same neighbourhoods August 7th to 12th – we give you 10 of our favourite murals currently beautifying Mount Pleasant and Strathcona. Want to see more? Vancouver Mural Festival offers walking tours every Saturday. You can also check out the Festival’s online interactive map. [Photo by Gabriel Martins]

Dire Wolves by Ben Tour, behind 49th Parallel Coffee at 2902 Main Street. Ben Tour, a B.C.-based artist hopes that the energy and spirit of the wolves in this geometric mural will pass along to its viewers. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

The Present is a Gift by Drew Young and Jay Senetchko, on Main Street, between Broadway and 10th. The portraits are of two people who live and work in Mount Pleasant. Paisley (left) is Coast Salish and was born and raised in the neighbourhood. Dr. Bob (right) has been working at an optometrist office in Mount Pleasant for over 60 years. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Untitled by Emily Gray and Oksana Gaidasheva, in alley one block west of Main Street, between Broadway and 8th. This mural by Emily Gray and Oksana Gaidasheva is of wildlife partying and bicycling in the moonlight. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Untitled by Jack Graydon (a.k.a Toilet Snake), in alley one block west of Main Street, between 8th and 7th. Portland-based artist Jack Graydon created a mural that incorporates imagery of skateboarding and the rebellious attitude of Vancouver’s Antisocial Skateboard Shop. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Tidal Recall by Dedos, at Cordova Street and Hawks Avenue. This mural by Dedos, a Vancouver-based graffiti artist, is a homage to traditional hip hop style, as well as surfing culture and pre-historic animals. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Armourer by Mandy Tsung and Chop Logik, at Cordova Street and Hawks Avenue. Mandy grew up surrounded by literature, magazines and comics that depicted captivating women. She created this mural with imagery that informs her view of what it is to be a woman. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Exhausting Machine by Never Crew, at Industrial Avenue and Western Street. This mural of a polar bear trapped inside a plastic bottle highlights the issue of natural resources exploitation in connection to pollution and climate warming. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Yama & Mara by Paige Bowman, at Industrial Avenue and Western Street. Inspired by the concepts of death and desire, this mural is of Buddhist figures Yama and Mara. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

Kids by Peter Ricq, on Southern Street between Station Street and Western Street. This mural explores kids who grow up too fast and never get the opportunity to just play or let their childhood unfold. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]

The Mad Symphony by Tim Mack, on Southern Street between Station Street and Western Street. Tim Mack, an illustrator and graphic designer, created a mural of a symphony with exaggerated forms and characters. [Photo courtesy of Vancouver Mural Festival]