EDMONTON—A six-storey-high kaleidoscopic mural could look down on Old Strathcona if a new campaign is successful.

A group of Edmontonians, led by filmmaker and restaurant owner Michael Maxxis, has launched a push to have world-renowned street artist Okuda San Miguel liven up the wall of the Crawford Block annex on Whyte Avenue and Gateway Boulevard with what Maxxis said would be the biggest mural in Edmonton.

He said San Miguel has agreed to do the piece. Now, Edmontonians need to raise $40,000 to make it happen.

“Our landlord asked us if we want to do a mural on the side of the building, and they meant like our logo and the other businesses in the building’s logos,” Maxxis said. “But I took it like, ‘Well, if you’re going to let us paint on that building, can we do something really amazing and profound?’”

Maxxis got in touch with the Spanish artist through a friend in Los Angeles.

He’s been able to cover about half the cost with help from the building’s landlord and a grant from the city’s Capital City Clean Up program, and he’s turned to GoFundMe for the rest.

The money will cover the artwork, as well as custom paint from Italy, a boom-lift rental and flights for San Miguel and his crew.

San Miguel is known for his vibrant artwork using geometric prints that often meld with human and animal figures. His work is showcased in urban centres around the world.

Considering some of the world’s most well-known musicians make millions for a single show at Commonwealth Stadium, Maxxis said the mural is an “incredible bargain.”

He said there’s no one else he would rather have do the piece.

“It’s very positive, but it’s still symbolic, it still makes a statement. It’s expressive, it’s beautiful. I think the colours, the imagery are relevant. I think the styles and subject matters really can relate to Alberta — he deals a lot with wildlife, landscapes, nature,” Maxxis said.

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“And a mural that big, and in that visible of a location, I think there’s an obligation to do something positive that does have a message and says something. But I’d like to cast a really positive light from this mural, and I think Okuda more than anyone else in the world can do that.”

Two years ago, Maxxis got L.A. street artist Cleon Peterson to Edmonton to paint a black-and-white mural across a two-storey, 24-metre-long brick wall on the north side of Crawford Block, which houses the restaurants El Cortez and Have Mercy.

He said adding another world-renowned artist to the city landscape will draw global attention and help Edmonton develop as a cultural centre similar to Portland and Austin.

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More importantly, he hopes to inspire awe from passersby, just like he sees with the Peterson piece.

“For me, most importantly, is when kids look up at it and they take in that profound art of a large scale and it inspires them,” he said. “It’s just like when they watch a great film or hear a great song. It just elevates their standards, it imbues them with creative colours.”

The first 350 people who donate to the campaign will get a spray can used by San Miguel.

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