The Muskoka Community Mural Project: #HateFreeMuskoka
In 2023, as part of its annual work-planning activities, the IDEA Advisory Group (IAG) elected to create community murals to help promote the importance of the IDEA principles, and in particular, to encourage a #HateFreeMuskoka.
IDEA = Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-racism or Anti-hate.
After a public bidding process that favoured artists with lived experience of discrimination, as well as artists with ties to Muskoka, the IAG selected two artists to complete the murals: Jim Bravo as the lead artist and Steph Schofield as the assistant artist. In total, 14 proposals were received from across Ontario.
Viewers are encouraged to pose with the murals and post their photos to social media using #HateFreeMuskoka to ensure everyone knows they belong in Muskoka!
About the Artist
 | Jim Bravo was born in Ecuador, South America, and is of Afrolatino descent. He is a graduate of The Ontario College of Art and Design University where he majored in Fine Art and public monument painting. A multi-award-winning painter, including first honour for the prestigious 2023 Kingston Prize for Contemporary Canadian Portraiture, Bravo is also the recipient of the Toronto Art Council’s Black Projects grant for 2022 and 2023, an Ontario Arts Council creation grant for 2022, and is a four-year consecutive winner of the city of Toronto’s prestigious TABIA Mural Award. Jim lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For more information on Jim’s private and public art, as well as previous awards: Jim Bravo. You can follow Jim on Instagram @jimpaintermanbravo |
Artist Statement: Jim Bravo
I am honored to have been entrusted to work on this exciting mural project for the District of Muskoka and explore themes and narratives around inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism. Engaging with IAG members, local artists and subject matter experts, as well as with community representatives from the various municipalities, has been an illuminating experience, and allowed me to establish a unique cross-town/township mural dialogue.
At the heart of each mural is the respect for sacred environments, the celebration of diversity, and a path toward a greater harmony. I believe I speak for all involved in this multi-mural campaign when I state that the goal is that it will spark a renewed interest in the merit of public art, and an increased sense of belonging for residents and visitors alike.
About the Murals
For a place like Muskoka, it is impossible not to honour nature, which is a large part of the Muskoka image and reality. For that reason, lakes, rocks and trees are shown in the background of all the murals and the flora and fauna depicted are all found locally.
Created in 2024: Gravenhurst and Bracebridge
Colour is one of the most important elements in Jim's work. In the Gravenhurst and Bracebridge murals, the sunrise/sunset palette is based on the colors of a traditional Ribbon Skirt owned by a friend, who is Cree. He felt the colour spectrum was a natural fit for reflecting the theme of growth and change. He also felt the colour palette was particularly relevant since orange is the official colour of Orange Shirt Day and has been adopted as the colour for Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which takes place on September 30 each year.
Along with the colour scheme, a bottom "frieze" of water depicting various local fish ties the Gravenhurst and Bracebridge murals together. Fish have been a timeless and important food source for Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial, as well as for generations of Muskoka’s residents and visitors. Water, another element sacred to Indigenous cultures, frames both murals in order to emphasize its importance as the source of growth. Women are the water keepers in Indigenous culture and water ensures that the IDEA seeds being planted in the Bracebridge mural are able to grow and thrive in the Gravenhurst mural.
The Gravenhurst and Bracebridge murals also incorporate elements of summer and cottage life, and include iconic images such as the Muskoka’s steamships.
Steph Schofield, a local painter who explores colourful, contemporary, Canadian landscapes with a focus on Muskoka, was the assistant artist on the Gravenhurst and Bracebridge Murals. For more information about Steph’s artistic experiences and credentials: Steph Schofield
Created in 2025: Township of Muskoka Lakes
In 2025 Jim undertook a new challenge and created three smaller murals in the Port Carling Library. The three murals stand separately as beautiful pieces of art but also demonstrate the beauty of diversity when considered together: diversity of people, (gender, abilities, age, race, etc.) as well as diversity of seasons, times of day, landscapes, flora and perspective (e.g. one mural is viewed from the bottom looking up, one from the top looking down and one straight on).
Working with elder Christopher Stock, a member of Wahta Mohawks First Nation and an Indigenous cultural educator, Jim created these three murals to celebrate the beauty of Muskoka's natural elements and honour the teachings found in the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, also known as Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen.
Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen is a traditional oral Haudenosaunee practice that serves to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all creation. It's a way to begin and end gatherings, ceremonies, and daily life by recognizing and thanking all the elements of the natural world and their contributions to human well-being.
It is important to note there are various versions of the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen but they all serve the same purpose, which is to express gratitude.
To learn more about the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen and read the full version in both English and Haudenosaunee, go to Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address.
Themes and Symbolism
Bracebridge Mural: Muskoka Lumber Community Centre (on Salmon Avenue)
The Bracebridge mural is located in the lobby of the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre on Salmon Avenue.
The characters depicted show diversity in ability, race and gender. The gentleman using a walking aid is modelled off Jim’s uncle. He is standing beside a bag of IDEA seeds to plant. Included in the mural is a pregnant woman. She represents the birth of a new generation who will bring with them tolerance, respect and acceptance of new cultures, races, religions and gender identities.
The red dress worn by one of the planters was included to acknowledge the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG / MMIWG2S), the orange shirts acknowledge the Every Child Matters movement (Orange Shirt Day), the pink shirt acknowledges the importance of combatting bullying and discrimination in our communities, and the dark blue shirt recognizes deaf awareness. As a subtle shout out to the 2S-LGBTQI+ community, Jim has included a rainbow bracelet on the arm of one of the planters.
The Bracebridge mural is meant to be at the end of the day with both the moon and sun visible in the sky and with longer shadows stretching across the landscape.
The ‘floating’ trowel at the bottom of the mural allows viewers to interact with the mural by becoming a planter of the IDEA seeds, have their photo taken, and shared on social media using #HateFreeMuskoka. We want everyone to know they belong in Muskoka!
Gravenhurst Mural: 205 Muskoka Road South (facing Hotchkiss Street) 
The Gravenhurst Mural is located outside and is painted on a wall facing Hotchkiss Street, just off the main street of the town.
The colourful letters of I, D, E, and A, as well as the people painting them, represent different backgrounds and illustrate how people with different points of diversity can come together to grow and create beauty. The Gravenhurst mural shows a change of season as the seeds from the Bracebridge mural have now grown into mature plants, ideas and acceptance.
In the Gravenhurst mural, an Indigenous woman is handing a cedar branch to one of the painters and in this way is sharing Indigenous ways of knowing and being to other cultures and future generations. Cedar, along with tobacco, sage and sweet grass, is one of four sacred medicines recognized in many Indigenous cultures for ceremony, healing, and wellness.
As in the Bracebridge mural, this mural is full of symbolism. The red shirt worn by one of the painters is meant to acknowledge persons living with disabilities, the orange shirt acknowledges the Every Child Matters movement (Orange Shirt Day) and the pink shirt acknowledges the importance of combatting bullying and discrimination in our communities. As a subtle shout out to the 2S-LGBTQ+ community, Jim has included a rainbow colour swatch which is being held by the painter standing atop the letter E.
The 'floating' Rubberset paintbrush in the middle of the E allows viewers to interact with the mural by becoming a painter of the IDEA letters. It is also an historic reference to Gravenhurst’s industrial past.
Viewers are encouraged to pose with the mural and post their photos to social media using #HateFreeMuskoka to ensure everyone knows they belong in Muskoka!
Township of Muskoka Lakes Mural: Port Carling Public Library at 69 Joseph Street
In this set of murals, collectively titled Now Our Minds Are One, there are once again themes of diversity, inclusion, education and harmony, as well as deep symbolism in each mural.
Now Our Minds Are One: Part One
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This mural depicts a late afternoon in autumn with the moon already in view and dramatic skies high above Grandfather rock, considered a source of wisdom and knowledge in some Indigenous cultures. This mural is located above the entrance to the library, requiring viewers to look up as if from the bottom of the rock face, which was inspired by Huckleberry Rock in Milford Bay. This perspective is meant to create a feeling of height, expanse and humility.
The figure on the left represents an ancestor or traditional Indigenous Wisdom Keeper who is watching over all the generations, reminding them how to live in harmony with nature. One of the figures has a rainbow stripe on their pantleg, as a shout out to the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Another figure has a service dog and yet another wears a red dress to acknowledge the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG / MMIWG2S).
Now Our Minds Are One: Part Two
This mural is set in summer and, as it’s located in the children’s section of the library, shows a group of young people sitting around a fire while receiving a lesson by the water. The time of day is late evening when faces and figurative details are still discernible as the sky shifts from light to dark. It is also the time when the first stars begin to emerge and spread across the sky like jewels. The starry sky recognizes the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve, located in the Township of Muskoka Lakes.
Symbolism in this mural includes the orange shirt worn by one of the figures sitting around the fire, which acknowledges the Every Child Matters movement (Orange Shirt Day), the pink shirt worn by another figure acknowledges the importance of combatting bullying and discrimination in our communities, and the woman pointing up at the stars is wearing a red dress in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG / MMIWG2S). The walking aids resting against an outcrop of granite recognize diversity in abilities.
Now Our Minds Are One: Part Three
Located on the lower level of the library, this mural has been created with a slight bird’s eye view as most people will see it first from the second floor. The winter scene shows a bright sunny day with shadows extending across the path where people are walking, holding and reading ‘IDEA’ books to honour both nature and knowledge. The scene celebrates the support Mother Earth gives all humans for life and acknowledges the care she has provided since the beginning of time.
The winter scene allowed Jim to use a variations of blues, light pinks and purples, as well as the deep-hued evergreens — a distinct colour palette of Muskoka.
In this mural, one figure is reading a book that is written in braille to acknowledge a diversity of abilities. As well, the figures are wearing symbolic colours seen in the other murals: orange to acknowledge the Every Child Matters movement (Orange Shirt Day) and red to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG / MMIWG2S).
This is just a sample of some of the symbolism depicted in these IDEA murals but we challenge you to find more!
