Ottawa artists Jimmy Baptiste, Kalkidan Assefa, and Allen André aim to inspire hope with their bold new mural We ‘Gon Be Alright. The mural’s completion on July 13 marked the first mural to be painted on Bank Street in 2020.
The mural, located at the intersection of Bank Street and Lisgar Street in Centretown, was organized by the Bank Street Business Improvement Area (BIA). Wallack’s Art Supplies sponsored the material cost of the mural and the City of Ottawa also provided funding through a grant offered by the city’s economic development branch.
Baptiste said the mural is a celebration of Black culture.
“We’ve taken a lot of pride in painting this mural as three Black artists, knowing full well of the social movement that is happening around the world,” Baptiste said.
The mural’s title We ‘Gon Be Alright, was inspired by the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 GRAMMY-winning single “Alright” which addresses racial inequality and police violence.
“It’s a message of hope for Black people, but also for people in different situations of despair or even in predominantly underfunded and over-excluded neighborhoods across the world,” Baptiste said.
Baptiste said Lamar’s song really touched him because it was made to speak to all people. The song emerged following the murder of Michael Brown in 2014 at the hands of police during a period of renaissance for Black pride through music. Baptiste said he believes people are now understanding what hip hop and rap culture have been saying about how police brutality is against Black communities.
He added that the mural was an attempt at finding hope, despite the challenges of racism and police brutality.
“We were just trying to find a message of hope that everybody can relate to.”
For Leadman, the mural was an opportunity to breathe life into the community during a demoralizing time.
“People can lose hope, so I think it’s important that there is positive messaging because it’s in our own hands to make a change, you know?” Leadman said. “It’s not up to someone else, it’s up to us and part of that is saying you know what? We’re going to be ok.”
Leadman added that We ‘Gon Be Alright became an artistic engagement experience for the whole community—onlookers came up to the trio of artists, offering them coffee and beginning a discourse. She added that she believes the mural has sparked an important cultural conversation in the community.
Michael Wallack, Wallack’s Art Supplies president and BIA board member, explained that despite the challenges COVID-19 created for his business, supporting this project was a no-brainer because it lined up perfectly with their core mission to empower artists.
“What’s really amazing about this mural is that it’s far more than your typical, ‘quick-whipped’ mural—it was not made in a day, it took over 10 days, the guys worked way into the mornings, it’s a piece of fine art,” Wallack said.
Wallack added that the mural completely transformed the empty lot where a new building was supposed to go up almost 10 years ago.
“Without these murals, it’s quite an unattractive space, it’s harsh, almost dystopian,” Wallack said. “A mural like this coming in brings happiness, it brings comments and questions, it brings in community.”
The mural has attracted positive comments from the community, city, and even global admirers according to Baptiste, who expressed his gratitude to the organizations, businesses, and individuals which made the execution of the mural possible. He added that he hopes the mural will be a reminder to the community to fight for justice.
“Do not give up the fight,” Baptiste said. “It’s easy to be a follower at the beginning of any movement because that is when the energy is the strongest, but I believe it is still strong when people continue to fight when it’s hard and people aren’t looking.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
