CASE STUDY
GARTH WORTHINGTON SCHOOL
A vibrant K-9 school with a love of music.
Client: Group2 Architecture, Chandos Construction, Edmonton Public Schools Location: Edmonton, Alberta Canada Project Type: Hand painted muralsDate Completed: September 2021
Garth Worthington School is a K-9 school that was established in 2021 in the Chapelle neighbourhood, located in SW Edmonton, Alberta. The school is named after Garth Worthington: a teacher who was a lifelong musician and singer, who shared his love of music both in and outside of the classroom.
In his honour, the architectural concept for this building was uniquely designed to pay homage to the school’s namesake. From the facade designed to look like a page of transposed sheet music, where the school windows represent notes from the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi,” to the black and white vertical metal stripes of the school’s entry way that emulate piano keys, the school is built around a love and a passion for music.
The client’s vision for this project was to design a mural that would compliment the existing architecture and that would nicely tie-in to the prominent music references located throughout the design of the school.
WATCH THE PAINTING OF THE GARTH WORTHINGTON SCHOOL MURAL
Video Credit: Jed Lim Visuals
EXTERIOR MURAL
100 x 28 ft hand painted Garth Worthington School Mural
Client requested the mural reference the school’s namesake, respect the architectural concept, be appropriate for K-9 grade students, and be respectful of Edmonton Public Schools’ values of accountability, collaboration, equity, and integrity. The rest was left to my creative freedom. Playing around a concept powered by creativity, imagination, diversity, and exploration, just some of the many aspects that schools encompass. The mural is painted in an abstract style where a bold, captivating mural is created through an array of hidden imagery with meaning to be found. The abstract style allows for a unique experience as everyone’s eye and mind interpretates colours, forms, and shapes differently.
Aerial photography of school credit: Jed Lim Visuals
Can you find these images within the mural?:
- Two hands interlocked
- Face silhouette
- Open book
- Hand holding a pencil
- Bird
- Music staff
- Floral and greenery
- Abstract patterning
INTERIOR LOGO
Hand painted logo on gymnasium wall, 8 x 11 ft.
Client requested that the craft of hand painting be carried on inside and for the Garth Worthington School logo to be hand painted in the gymnasium.
