New Inglewood artwork tells of the area's Indigenous history

CALGARY -

Five attention-grabbing murals unveiled Saturday in Inglewood are hoping to educate the public about Indigenous history and culture.

The art installations are on the Alexandra Centre Society building on Ninth Avenue S.E.

Artist Karen Scarlett says she wants them to tell the story of the community before it became what it is today.

"When I started doing research (for the piece), the Jack Long Park had just done an archeological dig and found the remains of a teepee circle," she said. "The Métis community has always been extremely strong here. So it seemed wrong to just paint settler content."

The area was likely once home to a trading post and vibrant Indigenous community.

"And so I had an Indigenous artist join us – Smith Wright – and a Métis artist – Ed McGown – and together we came up with the four panels and we called it Convergence. It's all about the community coming together and our different cultures coming together."

Beside the murals, painted QR codes lead to education, history and even some games.

They'll also tell the artist's story.

"This is a representation of what life was like before residential schools," Ryan Jason Allen Willert told CTV News. "Images, colour and symbols are more important than we think. They're like seeds being planted into the mind."

Leaders of the Alexandra Centre Society and its charitable programs say they hope the murals spark a conversation around truth and reconciliation.

"I want people to realize how important it is to continue to gather and to continue to be in community together," executive director Regina Chan said.