4 Hamilton public art displays to check out

Explore beyond the McMaster campus and visit these art displays throughout the city this semester! 

As midterm season is upon us, take a break and visit these art displays throughout the city! 

Bead Maze – West Harbour GO Station, 353 James St North 

This piece was designed by Laura Marotta, a local artist who explores the intersection between geometry, architecture and modular construction, involves producing standardized components of a structure in an off-site and assemble them on-site. Bead Maze was commissioned by Metrolinx and the City of Hamilton in 2016. It is an enlarged bead maze meant to portray the freedom and mobility provided by public transit. Each colour represents a specific component: green represents the Metrolink trains maneuvering through the city’s infrastructure, which is grey, while benefiting the environment, represented by blue. The structure represents a moving network, moving and stopping, like the trains. 

Carter Park Mural – 32 Stinson St 

This mural was painted by Bryce Huffman, a local tattoo artist, and was commissioned by the Stinson Community Association and the City of Hamilton. The mural fuses portrayals of animals and sports, creating a playful and youthful vibe. For instance, it includes a blue bird wearing a baseball cap sitting on a baseball bat branch with a nest of baseballs. Through this image and others, it highlights historical and environmental attributes of the area.  

Be:longings – 85 Oak Knoll Dr 

Gary Barwin, Simon Frank and Tor Lukasik-Foss collaborated to create Be:longings. They are all local artists. It was installed this year in July to honour the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Nazi-occupied Hungary who oversaw a mission that saved nearly 100,000 Jews. It is composed of ten bronze suitcases situated in different parts of the new Churchill Park pathway to represent the themes of travel, escape, refugees, emigration and human rights. 

Growing Together – 27 Hwy 5 

Growing Together is a wall mural and five banners created by artist Andrés Correa. It explores the themes of landscape and family, as well as the importance of having a sense of community by representing the diversity in the city and the residents of Flamborough. This was commissioned by the City of Hamilton and installed in 2013. Correa captures a sense of community by integrating groups of people of all ages playing sports together in a rural landscape, showing that they are growing together as one community. 

Enjoy checking these out!