Un Mur, Nos Voix (One Wall, Our Voices)

Project lead: École Saint-Nom-de-Jésus

Artist(s) involved: Mique Michelle

Mural, Visual arts

Hornepayne, Northern Ontario

Person using spray paint and stencils to add a fleur-de-lis and a green symbol to a colourful mural. — Mique Michelle and a young person work together with stencils on Franco-Ontarian symbols incorporated into Un mur, nos voix !.

In Hornepayne, École Saint Nom de Jésus forms a small Francophone community within a building shared with an English-language school. Through Un mur, nos voix !, students chose to let the walls of their new space speak, so that French would not only be taught there, but also seen, recognized, and truly feel at home.

Guided by Franco-Ontarian and mural artist Mique Michelle, students, alumni, and staff members filled the corridor with symbols that reflect who they are: the train, the forest, the trillium, the fleur-de-lis, the school’s mascot, and the words “love” and “pride.” Together, they transformed a passageway into a living portrait of Hornepayne and their attachment to the French language.

The mural gradually reveals itself as people move through the school. From one section to the next, the corridor unfolds the story of a small community proud to display its language, its land, and its presence.

Section of an indoor mural showing a green frog leaping above the word “AMOUR,” surrounded by stylized green vegetation.

Section of an indoor mural showing a black bear lying near a train car, surrounded by a stylized forest and vegetation in shades of green, blue, and turquoise.

Section of an indoor mural showing two train cars bearing the word “RESPECT” in large stylized letters, in front of green and turquoise vegetation.

Section of an indoor mural showing train cars covered in large stylized letters, surrounded by green and turquoise vegetation, with a small frog at the bottom.

Section of an indoor mural showing several yellow train cars moving through stylized green vegetation and flowing blue, green, and purple forms.

Section of an indoor mural showing two train cars surrounded by colourful vegetation. The car on the right bears the word “FIERS,” a fleur-de-lis, and a trillium.

Section of an indoor mural depicting a green fish swimming in a blue river in front of a stylized forest, with symbols of Ontario’s Francophone community at the bottom.

Section of an indoor mural depicting a forest and waterway landscape in shades of green, blue, and turquoise, with stylized audio equipment and a line resembling a sound wave followed by the word “Franco.”

Detail of a colourful mural depicting a brown train car bearing the word “FIÈRE,” surrounded by stylized green, turquoise, and orange vegetation.

Hornepayne, Painted by Its Youth

Before painting the walls, Mique Michelle invited students to reflect on what they wanted to say about their school, their community, and their lives in French. Their ideas guided the composition and gave each section of the corridor a place within the collective story.

Working alongside the artist, the students learned mural-making techniques and, for many, used spray paint for the first time. From June 8 to 11, 2026, students, alumni, and staff members worked together to bring the artwork to life across the walls.

In this remote rural community, the project offered a rare opportunity to participate in a professional artistic process directly within their school.

At the unveiling, students introduced families to the elements of the mural and explained their meaning. The artwork thus became a lasting reflection of their perspective on Hornepayne and of the place they have chosen to give to the French language there.

Selfie of artist Mique Michelle with students and staff in front of their new mural in the hallway. — Students, former students, staff members and Mique Michelle celebrate the completion of the collective mural.

Five children draw together with markers on a large sheet of brown paper spread across the floor. — Younger students also take part in the creative process, drawing the colours, shapes and elements they would like to see in the mural.

Three young students and the artist paint the lower part of a white wall green, beneath black outlines of a forest and a train. — Ideas developed during the workshop begin to take shape on the walls of the new Francophone space.

Artist Mique Michelle helps very young children paint a train yellow on the hallway wall. — With guidance from Mique Michelle, young participants take an active role in adding colour to the mural.

A person uses spray paint and a stencil to add symbols of Ontario’s Francophone community to a train car painted in a mural. — The fleur-de-lis and other symbols chosen by the students are incorporated into the composition using stencils and spray paint.

A child paints a section of a mural depicting a landscape with blue water and vegetation in different shades of green. — The landscapes, water and vegetation of Hornepayne find their place in a section of the mural imagined by the students.

A person applies spray paint to a mural depicting two train cars surrounded by green vegetation while another person watches. — The train, an important part of Hornepayne’s identity, takes shape through the use of spray paint.

Une personne applique de la peinture en aérosol au pochoir sur une murale représentant un grand animal sombre couché devant une végétation dense. — Another section brings wildlife and the forest into the students’ visual story of their community and surroundings.

A person uses spray paint and a stencil on a mural depicting a train car surrounded by green vegetation. — Young participants add the finishing details to the mural, bringing together their words, symbols and perspectives on Hornepayne.

All Credits

Project led by: École Saint Nom de Jésus
Leadership, overall coordination and logistics: Simon Fortin-Ukrainetz
Mural artist and co-creation support: Mique Michelle
Mural creation: Students and alumni of École Saint Nom de Jésus
Guidance and participation: Staff of École Saint Nom de Jésus
Main partner: Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario

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