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September 18, 2026
# Steps Forward Celebrates Student Creativity and OCAD U's 150-Year Legacy
A member of the Mature Student Collective shares their collaborative mural making model on a tour of the works. Photo: Emilie Young.
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### Steps Forward Celebrates Student Creativity and OCAD U's 150-Year Legacy
Members of the OCAD U community gathered this week to celebrate the launch of ***Steps Forward***, a new series of student-created murals transforming the iconic Yellow Staircase as part of the university's 150th anniversary celebrations. The event welcomed students, faculty, staff, senior leaders, and community members for a first look at the completed works and guided tours led by the artists themselves.
Since the opening of the Sharp Centre in 2004, the Yellow Staircase has served as one of OCAD U's most visible and dynamic spaces for student expression. Layered over the years with artwork, messages, memorials, celebrations, and calls for change, the staircase has become a living reflection of the student experience. Through *Steps Forward*, OCAD U invited current students and recognized student groups to reimagine several staircase landings through intentional, large-scale murals that honour the university's past while looking toward its future.
Mataya Guy discusses her mural with tour participants. Photo: Sarah Mulholland.Developed through a competitive selection process, the project brought together a diverse group of student artists and collectives whose works explore themes of identity, belonging, imagination, community, and creative possibility. Featured artists include [**Alexa Morrison**](https://www.instagram.com/alexamorrison_/), [**Mataya Guy**](https://www.instagram.com/mng_illustration/), [**Jordyn Hendricks**](https://www.instagram.com/jordyn.hendricks/), [**Caylen Monroe**](https://www.instagram.com/caylenmonroe/), the **Dreamzzz collective** ([**Minjeong Ju**](https://www.instagram.com/mjart__0/)**,** [**Lisa Shao**](https://www.instagram.com/shao.jingxuan/)**, and** [**Liam Ethan**](https://www.instagram.com/liam.ethx_x/)), and the [**Mature Student Collective**](https://www.instagram.com/ocad_msc/) with community coordination by [**Faven Bell-Jerome**](https://www.instagram.com/studiousfae/). The resulting murals reflect the breadth of perspectives that make up OCAD U's student body while contributing to a welcoming and inspiring campus environment.
Liam Ethan from Dreamzzz collective shares insights into their mural with President & Vice Chancellor, Ana Serrano, and Provost, Vice-President Academic, Sandra Gabriele. Photo: Sarah Mulholland. 
Alexa Morrison describes the themes in her mural. Photo: Sarah Mulholland.“*Steps Forward* embodies the spirit of OCAD U’s 150th anniversary,” said Sarah Mulholland, Director, Office of Student Affairs. “The project celebrates the creativity and talent of today’s students while acknowledging the generations of artists, designers, and makers who have shaped our community over the past 150 years. Campus Life is committed to creating opportunities that bring people together, and these murals demonstrate how art can strengthen a sense of community while enlivening the spaces we share.”
Together, the murals invite the community to reflect on OCAD U's history, celebrate the present, and imagine the possibilities that lie ahead.
Muralist Caylen Monroe's mural reflects on queer and trans identities at OCAD U from the past, present and future. Photo: Sarah Mulholland. 
Provost, Vice-President Academic, Sandra Gabriele and President & Vice Chancellor, Ana Serrano tour Jordyn Hendrick's mural which reflects the land, waterways, and native plants of the area through Indigenous ways of knowing. Photo: Emilie Young. Special thanks to **Jasmine Cardenas Obando**, **Cindy Xue** and **Yeva Gulik** from Campus Life; the participating artists and collectives; applicants; selection committee members; Facilities & Studio Services; Environmental Health & Safety; and paint sponsors **Merit Decorating Centre** and **Benjamin Moore Paints Canada**, whose support helped bring the project to life.
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[Steps Forward brochure.pdf](/sites/default/files/2026-09/Steps%20Forward%20brochure.pdf) (5.73 MB)
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