Churchill mural celebrates sisterhood
July 26, 2022
A pair of Collège Churchill High School graduates left a message for students that will last for years to come.
Students Sarah Karaim Normand and Sophia Gillespie created a colourful mural that adorns the downstairs hallway at Churchill. The message is simple: “women supporting women.”
Sarah designed and painted the mural for the school as part of a Grade 12 Graphics project; she enlisted her friend, Sophia, who is a talented artist in her own right.
“I decided that if I’m going to be putting my artwork out there, I would be choosing an important message,” Sarah said. “With the help of my very talented friend Sophia, we created this mural. We based the concept on what multiple women would create together as a sort of collective piece during a protest for women's rights.”
Graphics teacher Don Fuentes said the project was independently driven by the student.
“Sarah came up with the concept and I talked to admin about it,” he said. “She was able to meet the criteria for the curriculum and it all turned out great.”
After going through many ambitious design concepts, Sarah chose a more streamlined mural to meet a self-imposed June deadline for the project. Work began in the fall and the students were able to complete the mural prior to graduation.
“Any free time Sarah had, she was here working on it…and her schedule was pretty busy. She would be here at lunch quite a bit and before school started,” Mr. Fuentes said.
The teacher added that any mural in a public space can be a challenge to work on.
“There’s a lot of traffic here with the students in this hallway, and sometimes they want to talk and ask questions, so it can be difficult at times to focus on the work,” he said.
Mr. Fuentes commended Sarah and Sophia’s work: “they both did a great job. They put a lot of work into it and it’s a very clean design.”
The artwork serves as a colourful reminder of sisterhood.
“We as women will not get anywhere without supporting each other and uplifting one another. This perspective is crucial for positive change. This piece was made for women by women, in hopes of spreading a simple yet important message to the students of Collège Churchill High School and the community,” Sarah said.
