Canadian Hotel gets a Gombey facelift

A stretch of Reid Street is getting a facelift today (Saturday), as volunteers are painting a Gombey-inspired mural in front of the old Canadian Hotel property.

The mural features a trio of Gombey faces and a slew of Bermudian sayings; the organizers – Bermemes creator De’jon Simons and Tiago Garcia – solicited the Bermudians’ favorite maxims and adages via social media. 

The sayings – Bakatown, aceboy, actin’ up, boasty – could already be seen late Saturday morning. The wall has been erected in front of what was the entrance to the old Canadian Hotel - a historic Hamilton property that has sat derelict for a number of years.

A handful of volunteers busied themselves with various pastels, filling in the words with pinks and yellows. 

“Any and all activities that bring positivity to Bermuda should be celebrated,” said Robyn Swan, a volunteer painter.

“I think it’s really important for Bermudians to express themselves,” said Emily Biermann, a Bermudian artist. “I don’t think a lot of Bermudians are in touch with their national identity. This is one way to get in touch with that.”

“It’s something to do on a Saturday,” said Dylan Robinson. “I’m not an artist, I’m just putting the paint on there.”

Mr Garcia, one of the organizers, hoped the mural would be a piece of visual inspiration.

“Public art should be considered health care,” he said.

He added, “It’s important to create shared spaces. It’s important to have cultural expression.”