New mural on the Sir George Williams Campus celebrates the work and career of Gabor Szilasi
The Sir George Williams Campus is looking a little brighter these days thanks to a new mural in the heart of Quartier Concordia.
Located on the northwest corner of De Maisonneuve Boulevard and Mackay Street, the public artwork honours the career of Gabor Szilasi, photographer and professor emeritus in the Department of Studio Arts.
A major figure in photography in Canada, Szilasi began teaching in 1971, first at the Collège du Vieux Montréal, and then as a professor at Concordia from 1980 until his retirement in 1995.
“This mural reminds us that Gabor’s work continues to inspire many generations of artists, students and researchers,” says Annie Gérin, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. “The mural also embodies our faculty’s commitment to enrich our environment and the lives of our communities.”
The artwork was painted by Rafael Sottolichio and produced by MU, a charitable organization that aims to beautify Montreal by creating perennial murals rooted in the community. The project is part of the City of Montreal's Programme d’art mural and is the 31st entry in MU’s Tribute to Montreal’s Great Artists series.
From left: Andrea Szilasi, Gabor Szilasi and artist Rafael Sottolichio.
Inauguration event
Szilasi, his wife and fellow photographer, Doreen Lindsay, and their children joined Gérin, Sottolichio, Montreal mayor Valérie Plante and Helga Pritz, Hungarian consul general in Montreal, on September 27 for an inauguration ceremony to celebrate the new mural.
Other notable attendees included Concordia President Graham Carr, Helen Antoniou, chair of Concordia's Board of Governors, and Michael Di Grappa, vice-president of services and sustainability, as well as iconic Quebec artists Françoise Sullivan and Armand Vaillancourt.
The artwork consists of a reproduction of Szilasi’s 1971 photo, "Tempête de neige, février (1971)," as well as his self-portrait.
“Montreal has been a source of inspiration for Gabor since he came here in 1959,” Lindsay says. “His years of teaching at Concordia invigorated his life and led to friendships with both students and fellow faculty. He thanks all the people who worked together to create this mural as a remembrance of his photography.”
Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1928, Szilasi was heavily influenced by his experiences in his hometown and subsequent flight to Canada in 1957, after Hungary’s revolution.
His expansive oeuvre is preoccupied with social documentary. Szilasi’s humanistic chronicle of landscape, cityscape and everyday life earned him the Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts in 2010, the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas in 2009 and a Fine Arts Award of Distinction from Concordia in 2013.
For Di Grappa, the mural not only celebrates Szilasi’s monumental contributions but also offers Concordians, Montrealers and visitors a vibrant symbol of creativity and community spirit.
“This mural is more than just an aesthetic enhancement — it's a testament to how public art can redefine a space and elevate it into a cultural landmark,” he says.
See more photos from the making of the mural and the inauguration event:
