Mural at 185 Ferguson Avenue North celebrates community
Mural designed by Kinga Zak and painted by Dallas Hofsten, sponsored by Creative Placemaking Grant from the City of Hamilton. It is located at 185 Ferguson Avenue North in the Meridian Co-Operative housing. This work celebrates community, diversity, growth, creativity, freedom, and belonging.
The composition moves from darkness into light, and a large tree connects the entire scene. Human silhouettes, butterflies, flowing plants, stars, and changing colors create a sense of community. It depicts a community made up of different people, experiences, cultures, ages, and forms of expression—all sharing the same space.
The Tree of Life is the central and most powerful symbol. Its roots, trunk, and wide-reaching branches represent strength, connection, stability, growth, and continuity. Just as many branches belong to one tree, individuals can follow different paths while remaining connected through a common community. The roots suggest our histories and foundations, while the branches reach outward and upward toward possibility and the future. The intricate spirals within the branches reinforce the idea that growth is not always a straight path—it develops, changes, and continues.
The human silhouettes represent people without defining them by facial features, race, clothing, or individual identity. Instead, they become universal figures. They are dancing, jumping, reaching, playing, exercising, holding hands, and expressing themselves in different ways. Their variety symbolizes individuality within unity: people do not need to look alike or behave alike in order to belong together. The figures also bring movement and life into the mural, suggesting a community that is active rather than static.
Throughout the mural, people appear both independently and in relationship with others, suggesting that a healthy community gives people the freedom to be themselves while also encouraging them to care for one another.
The butterflies and moths symbolize transformation, hope, freedom, renewal, and personal growth. Their movement across the mural suggests change and the possibility of becoming something new. Because transformation takes time, they can also represent the different stages of life and the idea that both individuals and communities continue to evolve.
The mural’s transition from the deep blue, moon-and-star-filled area into vivid pinks, yellows, oranges, and greens can be interpreted as a journey from night toward daylight, from reflection toward possibility, and from uncertainty toward hope. Rather than separating darkness and light, the artwork allows them to flow into one another, suggesting that every stage of experience has a place within the larger story.
The stars and moon introduce ideas of dreams, imagination, guidance, and aspiration. Stars have long been associated with finding direction, while the night sky invites people to imagine possibilities beyond what they can immediately see.
The flowing green plants, vines, and organic shapes echo the branches of the central tree. They represent nature, renewal, resilience, and interconnectedness. Their repeated spirals create visual continuity across the wall, almost as though energy is moving through the entire mural and connecting one person to another.
The path-like forms and roots running along the bottom provide another important symbol. They visually connect all of the figures, even when those figures are separated from one another. They can represent the shared ground, shared experiences, and common journey of a community. Everyone may be standing at a different point along that path, but they remain part of the same landscape.
Overall meaning
At its heart, the mural communicates the idea that a strong community does not require everyone to be the same. Like the branches of the tree, the people represented here move in different directions, express themselves differently, and occupy their own spaces, yet they remain connected by common roots and shared surroundings.
The mural celebrates unity without uniformity. Its movement, color, natural imagery, and human figures present community as something living—something that grows when people are free to create, play, connect, support one another, and contribute their own individuality.
The tree provides the roots, the people give the community life, and the butterflies represent its capacity to change and grow. Together, they tell a story of belonging: many people, many journeys, one shared community. #Meridianishavinfun
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