New Living Wall Garden by Raquel Da Silva in Rosalie Sharp Pavilion

A new living wall wall work by DRPT student Raquel Da Silva has been installed in OCAD University’s Rosalie Sharp Pavilion. This project was commissioned by the Faculty of Art and the Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD), and generously supported by Mercedes Benz Financial Services (MBFS) sponsorships.

As part of the Faculty of Art’s Painting in the Expanded Field course, students were asked to create site-specific proposals for a window/wallcorner in the recently renovated Rosalie Sharp Pavilion. Taking into account the building’s focus on experiential learning, the CEAD on level 3 and the publicly visible space, seventeen unique proposals were presented.

A committee of representatives from the CEAD, the Faculty of Art and OCAD U’s Health and Safety team shortlisted three proposals before selecting Raquel Da Silva’s project, Garden of CEAD. Raquel’s piece interpreted the CEAD as a safe space which provides students with the opportunities to grow and flourish. With this in mind, this project realizes the concept of a “garden” through the integration of live plants to foster the idea of growth and transformation. The piece is composed of several layers: a background design painted on the wall, wall-mounted planters and several laser-cut shapes and characters. The result is a three-dimensional wall garden that will grow over time.

Special thanks to Colette Laliberté for facilitating this project and making it possible.

Honourable Mentions:
Fourteen Art Students by Brianna Bruce
Sunseed by Hana Elmisry and Nicole Kim