Beautifying the Downtown Eastside (DTES)

Community Murals

Twenty-two community mural projects now animate neighbourhood walls. Dozens of artists have partnered with community groups and neighbours to discuss, design and create artwork that tells community stories. The murals range in size from one of the smallest images at 556 Powell and one of the largest covering over 7,600 sq. ft of the Vancouver Native Housing facility in the historic Orwell Hotel. A mural map is being to offer a walking mural tour with complete background information about each mural, including how they were created. The murals are also coming to the net as a virtual mural tour to show off these magnificent pieces of community art.

A better way to cover an old box - BC Hydro and City partner to transform hydro boxes

A partnership between the City and BC Hydro educated, engaged and beautified all at the same time. It even acted to prevent graffiti. More than 230 young people were engaged by outreach teams at community centres and through neighbourhood groups to learn about energy savings and the environment. The youth shared their environmental messages through art work. The art work was then transferred to BC Hydro boxes called padmounted transformers by professional artists. The art-covered boxes discourage graffiti and look beautiful in neighbourhoods. The project is known as the BC Hydro Padmounted Transformer (PMT) Beautification Project.

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