Murals celebrating northeast Calgary's past, present and future now on display

The pillars of a pedestrian walkway over Metis Trail in northeast Calgary now bear wrap-around murals created by a local artist. (Instagram/sydtheartiste)

Work on Calgary's newest public art installation is now complete and residents in the northeast are starting to take notice.

The project consists of seven metres of murals, all drawn up in a superhero graphic style to represent the many stages of that section of the city's development.

The two artists involved in the work, Syndonne Warren and Mida Kadri, say they've been flooded with positive feedback from the community.

"The northeast means so much to me and it was crucial for me to really capture the essence of the neighbourhood," Warren, whose family moved to Calgary from Jamaica when she was very young, said in a release.

"It wasn't uncommon for us to learn phrases in Mandarin or any language of our friends or eat food that was new to us.

"In my experience, the northeast is really a place of interchanging and embracing many different cultures."

City officials say the Northeast Public Art initiative was meant to address a shortage of such projects in that quadrant of Calgary.

"This bridge project really nails it in terms of capturing the essence of community and the fact that the northeast has become synonymous with people from all different cultures living together in a colourful way," said Toyin Oladele, project manager with the campaign.

Several more public art installations are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks, including a bench, bike rack and picnic table, mini galleries that showcase the work of local artists, a sculpture at the Genesis Centre and several documentary films about how northeast Calgary inspires artistic designs.