Whitehorse Elementary School celebrates 40 years of French immersion with 20-foot mural

École Whitehorse Elementary School is celebrating four decades of its French Immersion program with a new art project.

The mural, which is 20-feet high and 16-feet wide, was installed Friday on the front wall of the school facing 4th Ave.

Nathalie Parenteau, a Yukon and northern artist, is the painter behind the mural. She said she consulted 275 elementary school students to illustrate what it means to be part of the school's French immersion program.

"The design was inspired a lot from what the kids told me and showed me," she said.

The artists said the designing and brainstorming workshops took over a month.

"When I ask them what's one of the French things they like to do, they all kind of mention [a sugar shack]," Parenteau said.

Which is why she included a snowman wearing a red french voyageur cap at the bottom left corner of the mural.

The mural also depicts the Franco-Yukonnais flag which has mountains and gold bars, a wolf and a crow to include the First Nations of the Yukon, and three people from different ethnicities, sizes and identities so "everyone can recognize themselves," explained Parenteau. The sun, at the top right corner, is also made of the Francophonie Internationale symbol.

"I also used books turning into birds. So, it's like from your experiences here, the world is yours. That's really what I want people to feel when they see it," she said.

The mural's colours also match the recently painted red-and-yellow building.

Although there are plans to relocate the school in the coming years, Parenteau said this shouldn't affect the mural as the individual panels can be taken down and transported.

'It means a lot of things to me'

Parenteau, a Montreal-born artist, said she was thrilled for the opportunity, especially as she didn't have to apply for the commission.

"It means a lot of things to me as an artist. I think people respect my work at this point in my career and life," she said.

Parenteau has also painted other murals around Whitehorse, including Rhythms of a Northern Town, installed on the exterior of the Takhini Arena.

"You get here with time and it's an honour," she said.

For her recent mural, Parenteau said she spent six hours daily over the course of two months painting the large art project.

"I always do the smaller painting and then I roll up my sleeves and open the cans of paint," she said.

The official unveiling at École Whitehorse Elementary School will take place in the coming days.