Mural recognizes the transition from hate to hope

Lauren Semple and Lys Glassford met with the youth from Risebridge over the summer to have conversations about the inquiry and what hate to hope means to them. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

A new mural at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre showcases communities coming together and transitioning hate to hope. 

The British Columbia's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner showcased the mural on Thursday. This mural is one of four that were made around the province in response to the report from the Human Rights Commissioner titled “From Hate to Hope”. The report comes out of an inquiry into the rise of hate and violence that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic towards different groups of people. “From Hate to Hope” calls on all communities in the province to work to understand and confront hate. 

Commissioner Kasari Govender spoke over Zoom at the launch saying that the overall inquiry found that hate did rise over the pandemic. But she also says, although there was a rise, hate is nothing new.

“It is a deeply unfortunate reality of our time, that we are continually reminded why it does work to address at better so much with the anti-SOGI marches that happened earlier this fall to and the rise of anti-trans hate in that time period, to the rise of Islamophobic and anti-semitic hate incidents,” Govender said. 

In her speech, she mentioned that although they were celebrating hope she still worries about hate that is still being spread.

“I know that gender diverse and trans people have often been at the centre of hate. Sort of a focal point, but also that hate impacts all of us,” Govender said. “I'm really deeply worried about the way in which children bear the brunt of adult conflict of hate.”

She says she hopes this mural will provide an opportunity for people to reflect on the big impacts of hate.

The mural was co-designed with Humanity in Art and Risebridge’s youth summer program. 

Lauren Semple and Lys Glassford are the artists from Humanity in Art. They met with the youth from Risebridge over the summer to have conversations about the inquiry and what hate to hope means to them. From the conversations came the inspiration for the mural.

The mural features the ocean, land, mountains and sea, as well as a community of homes, is the background to rainbow butterflies, a rainbow caterpillar and a blue, white and pink cocoon, reflecting the same colours as the transgender flag.

Semple spoke at the launch about the conversations that the youth had and the ideas they wanted to see represented in the mural. 

“And so what we heard, what we took away from those conversations had to do with transformation and transition, it was acknowledging that hate to hope is a journey. It's a growth process,” Semple said. “It's not something that happens overnight, it's something that happens with time, and it leaves us all in a better, more beautiful place.

Semple and Glassford spoke to CHLY after their speech. Semple mentioned the meaning being the mural 

“So we use the metamorphosis of the butterfly, the transitioning from night to day, to kind of show that, but really, a big thing for us is using bright colours to take a space that can look institutional, which the brick and beige paint of the aquatic centre can and we like to add bright colours in to really make people feel more engaged by the space,” Semple said.

She spoke about the themes of inclusion in the mural so everyone, no matter their age could enjoy it.

“But we wanted to make sure the concepts were really accessible. So while we've been painting it, it's been really wonderful to have kids of all ages come up and be able to identify the bugs to be able to identify that it's this metamorphosis,” Semple said. “They are pointing out elements, and commenting on the colours and things, so we think it translates. But above all, I think whether someone's read the hate to help mural or not, we want it to inspire hope.”

Glassford said that there has been some anti-transgender hate occurring in Nanaimo and that this mural is more important than ever.

“So it was important for us to try to create safety in our inner city again,” Gladdford said. “So a lot of our artwork is always to do with community connection and trying to bring people in and that like calling culture and trying to create helpful conversations.”

Hisham is 13 years old and took part in the Risebridge summer camp. He is excited to see ideas he had come to life in the mural for all to see. He spoke during the launch, saying he believes that children need to be taught at early ages to not spread hate.

“Kids aren't born to hate the racist and homophobic but it just happens because they are taught it,” Hisham said.

He spoke to CHLY after his speech about his excitement for people, especially youth, to be recognized in the mural.

“It's everybody being represented, how we went from dark to light, how you can see that it's no longer just darkness, it's becoming a bright future,” Hisham said

He hopes people will take away the idea that we don’t have to hate and we can have a better future together.

“The butterfly, it starts as a caterpillar. It can grow into a big butterfly, it's not always going to be a little scrawny caterpillar,” Hisham said.

When asked what youth should do if they feel like they are a target of hate, Hisham says, to reach out to someone you can trust like a parent, teacher, or counsellor.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.