In September 2021, to acknowledge the first official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we commissioned Indigenous artists across Canada to create murals at six of our Petro-Canada locations. Marcel Mowatt who grew up in Pikogan, a reserve located in Témiscamingue, Quebec, created his mural, "Poïgan chesakewin", at our 470 Bronson Ave. location in Ottawa, Ontario.
Marcel is a self-taught artist and began painting as a young man as a way to connect with his culture and identity. He believes that art plays a significant role in storytelling, and many of his paintings reflect this belief.
While he has been painting for more than 40 years, this was Marcel’s first solo mural. To help take on a project of this size, he worked with Claudia Salguero, a Canadian-Colombian community engaged artist who acted as Marcel’s mentor and assisted in some of the technical aspects of creating his mural.
When asked about the message of his mural, Marcel noted that “It's for the people of the future. That's why I painted a big chief and a little boy. It signifies that we can make peace between [our] two cultures. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Reconciliation takes time. It doesn't happen just like that.”
Thank you, Marcel and Claudia, for creating this beautiful mural and for giving us an opportunity to appreciate and learn from your story of reconciliation. See the mural come to life and learn more about Marcel and Claudia’s participation in this project.
