#cypherwild

(Edmonton Arts Council staff with Happy Wall)

In just three weeks we’ll say ‘happy trails’ to Happy Wall on Churchill Square. Over the past 15 months, Edmontonians have created messages of hope and solidarity, sent birthday and anniversary wishes to loved ones, and promoted their festivals, events, and organizations. Flipping through images on his phone, Churchill Square programmer Bob Rasko says he’s happy with the results. “What amazed me was the instant sense of community that happened on the square. People wanted to create, share their special moments with the world, and in very essential ways, tell their stories. Happy Wall became an expression of the values and ideas uppermost in people’s minds.”

When the wall launched last May, people clamoured to create their messages and the enthusiasm remained undimmed by a freezing winter and wet spring/summer. “It was always a joy to go out on the square and see people using it. It wasn’t just a 15 minutes of fame thing. Having said that, it’s important to remember that Happy Wall was never meant to stay forever. It’s a transitory experience, but once the construction is finished, we’ll have new programming that we hope Edmontonians will find just as entertaining.”

(Testing Happy Wall’s illustrative capacity - image Bob Rasko)

Rasko says his best personal memory is of bringing his sons down to test the wall’s creative functionality. “We wanted to see if we could draw some pictures. Many of the posts at the beginning were text and we wanted to see what would happen with images. I think it worked pretty well!”

Other favourites include:

“There’s a guy who teaches Cree online, where people can ask to have words turned into syllabics. This one says “nehiyawewin”, which is the Cree term for the Cree language.”

 “I love the #YEGBike – love that they were able to create text and an image.”

“The handstand one is great because it’s not easy to write a clear message upside down. You can’t just slap it up, it requires a lot of planning and thinking to make it work. So, for this guy to execute all the steps, then do the handstand, and get a successful photo off -  I’m pretty impressed!”

 “Who doesn’t love Tacos on taco Tuesday?”

 “Although the Happy Wall kept changing, this message was up for an entire afternoon. It was nice to see people let that one simmer.” (image, Jason Syvixnay)

Over the next three weeks get down to Churchill Square and make your memory – snap a picture and share on Twitter and Instagram with the #HappyWall hashtag. Instagrammable wall aficionado Linda Hoang (Instagram, Twitter) is running a contest this month where one image each week will be selected to win a $50 gift certificate from TIX on the Square.

(Cypher Wild - image by Daena Crosby)

Matthew Wood has made a full time mission out of sharing his passion for Hip Hop music and dance with youth, and in doing so, being a mentor and positive influence.

Often referred to by his performing name “Creeasian,” Wood is well known in Edmonton’s Hip Hop circles having performed at Inner City High, the International Street Performers Festival, the International Fringe Theatre Festival, HipHop In the Park, iHuman Block party and more.