My mural experience has ranged from creating artwork from local artists, creating with my own art and collaborating with other artists.
Murals I have been honored to be apart of have been
- Na'Tsa'maht, The Unity Wall Mural Phase III on the Breakwater in Victoria BC
- The Rock Bay Mural Project on Pembroke St. and Government in Victoria
- The Sister Rising Mural at the University of Victoria, McPherson Library, University of Victoria
- Moksana Yoga Studio, Camas Dream Mural in the "Moon Studio", Victoria
- First Peoples Cultural Council, Indigifest Community Mural, Legend of Camosung
- Lkwungen Youth Mural for the LAND BACK Exhibition at Open Space Arts Society, Victoria
Na'Tsa'maht - The Unity Wall Mural Phase III
In 2013, I was a painter for the phase 3 of the Na'Tsa'maht, Unity wall Mural, which can be found on the break water down at Ogden Point, in Victoria BC. For more information, photos and videos of that project, check out
The mural celebrate and honor the local Indigenous people in Victoria BC, The Lekwungen, now known as the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. The Unity Wall Mural was designed by Butch Dick from Songhees and Darlene Gait from Esquilmalt.
Rock Bay Mural
In 2015, I was a painter for the Rock Bay Mural, which can be found on Government and Pembroke St. just north of downtown Victoria. For more information, photos and videos of that project, check out
The Mural celebrates and honors the local Indigenous people in Victoria BC. The Lekwungen, now known as the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. The Unity Wall Mural was design by local artists Butch Dick from Songhees and Darlene Gait from Esquilmalt.
Camas Dream - Moksana Yoga Studio
The Camas Dream Mural was created in the summer of 2018 at the the Moksana Yoga studio in Victoria BC.
This design came to Brianna in a dream after the owner Ida, let Brianna know her ideas for the mural design; this included images of landscape, blue and calming. With these ideas in mind Brianna fell asleep one night and in her dream she woke up on one of the traditional Islands of the Songhees people, T'lches (Chatham Island). On this island she woke up surrounded by tall green grass and a shining night time sky in the distance. Curious about where the light came from she walked towards it; this brought her before a field full of beautiful purple Camas flowers. Camas in the Lekwugen territory was a highly sought after food source that was key in the local diet. Due to changes in our environment and constant construction, invasive plant species and people not knowing, these plants have nearly gone extinct. If it wasn't for the Matriarchs throughout these territories that look after the Camas they would be gone. To honor those matriarchs and the key ladies who have ensured this plants survival Brianna drew the moon in their honor, for their continued work of the survival of the Camas flower in the local Lekwugen territories in Victoria BC.
This Mural is located in the MokSana Yoga Centre "Moon Studio" Measuring 208ft long by 10 ft tall
The Sisters Rising Mural
The Sisters Rising mural was done in partnership with IYILS and Sisters Rising from the University of Victoria. With the permission of the Fearless Collective, we used the creation methodology they had developed for their murals.
More information on the Fearless Collective here
Nicole Neidhardt was the lead artist alongside Brianna as local Lekwungen artist. We worked with a powerful team of people from IYLIS, Sisters Rising, and the Child and Youth Care students from UVIC to bring this project to fruition in October 2018. The image from the mural emerged from a workshop held with local Indigenous women and women of color in Victoria.
The mural and the process was then presented at the Sisters Rising Conference in October 2018 at the First Peoples' House at UVIC.
The Mural is 8ft x 12ft painted on Diabond panels and is permanently installed in the McPherson Library at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, BC.
Camossung Community Mural - Indigifest
In the summer of 2019 crowds gathered on a sunny day at Gorge Park in the traditional territories of the Lekwungen people for Indigifest, a free one-day festival with two live music stages. The festival featured people from FPCC arts program - Performers, production, graffiti art, cedar weaving and a community mural.
Indigifest - info, photos and more
Brianna facilitated a mural painting throughout the day that shared the traditional legend of Camossung of the area.
The legend itself has several pieces and versions, the version in which Brianna shared went as such:
Camossung was a young girl whose home site was destroyed by the great flood. After searching and scouring the land for food, she found none and her and the community were left starving. Camossung went to the water pleading XLAS (hayles) the transformer -who was the sun at this moment - to provide her with food and XLAS responded to her pleadings.
XLAS leaned down and offered her sturgeon, the girl said no she did not like it, so XLAS threw it somewhere on the mainland.
Then XLAS offered cranberries, and again she refused, so XLAS threw it towards what is known as Shawnigan Lake.
Camossung refused many things such till she aggreeed to the various foods of ducks, herring, coho and oysters; all which grew in abundance before colonization. As XALS was about to punish her for her greed, Camossung thought of her people and asked XALS for one more thing, she asked XALS for trees that 'would touch the sky', flowers to cover the rocks, a good harbor to protect the canoes and for milder, warmer winds.
Taking these into consideration XLAS nodded and changed some of Camossungs' people into trees known today as Garry Oaks, transformed others into flowers known as blue Camas and Easter Lily. Then finally XLAS bade the northwest win warrior spirit not to deal too harshly with the land of Camossung.
With these changes in place XLAS made the harbour of the Gorge, then sprinkled water on Camossung, thus turning her into a rock. This was so that she could protect the plentiful things that would feed and heal her people for years to come. Though this was a great sacrifice her, her grandfather cared for her dearly and volunteered to join her as a rock protecting the Lekwugen lands and the abundance of foods and plants that flourished in the Lekwugen territories.
At one point in time these rocks could be seen under the water of the Gorge where the reversible falls are; unfortunately the rocks were blasted in the 1900s.
Participants at Indigifest were given the chance to help paint the community canvas mural that measured 6ft x 4ft depicting the story of Camossung.
Lekwungen Youth Mural for the LAND BACK Exhibition
Over the month of September 2020, Open Space worked with Kinship Rising and artists Brianna Bear and Nicole Neidhardt on a mural project with Lekwungen youth. As a result of the limitations regarding in-person meetings and prioritizing the safety of community members during COVID-19, we decided that face-to- face mural design workshop with local youth was not possible. Twenty care packages were dropped off to youth in Lekwungen communities of Esquimalt and Songhees with items for self-care and creativity, and a process for contributing to the mural design with the themes of the shoreline; the place where the land and water meet. These artistic contributions from the youth were transformed into the design composition created by Brianna Bear and Nicole Neidhardt.
Artwork contributions from Lekwugen youtuh: Shauntelle Dick-Charleson, Julia George, Leigh-Annah Sam, Wilfrado Harris and Carmanah Dick with support from Morgan Mowatt, Gina Mowatt, Hayden Neidhardt and Annabelle Hill.
More information on LAND BACK Exhibit
This page is still under construction - photos to be posted in the near future.