Whyte Avenue gets a pop of colour with "Rainbow Road" mural

Whyte Avenue just got a lot more colourful with a new “Rainbow Road” mural in Spur Line Alley in Old Strathcona.

An Edmonton-based artist, Amos Kajner-Nonnekes, says he spent about 36 hours with 35 gallons of paint to get the project completed.

“The inspiration for the piece comes from the ‘Rainbow Road’ level of Mario Kart,” said Kajner-Nonnekes in a statement to Daily Hive.

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“As we’ve been quarantined and staying inside for the last three months, it brought back memories of staying home sick as a child and playing Mario Kart for hours. Rainbow Road was always that crazy, colourful, whimsical level and we wanted to bring that experience and nostalgia to Whyte Avenue.”

This was a fun one. “Rainbow Road” in Spur Line Alley, @oldstrathcona. Check it out if you’re on Whyte Ave this weekend! #yegarts pic.twitter.com/bJhd1zccM2

— Amos Kajner-Nonnekes (@kajnernonnekes) July 11, 2020

Kajner-Nonnekes said that they had to wait for the right days to complete the mural due to inclement weather, but now that it’s ready, the community is loving it.

“The response from the community has been overwhelming! Even as we were painting people wanted to come and experience the alleyway. We’ve also had national engagement, which is something we didn’t expect,” he added.

“People are loving the whimsical, colourful pop that the alley brings to the area. Something you don’t often see in forgotten spaces like alleyways are these magnificent pops of colour, and the positive response from the community has been extremely gratifying.”

pic.twitter.com/rAaWHwahJO

— Amos Kajner-Nonnekes (@kajnernonnekes) July 11, 2020