Mike Hooves
Calgary, Canada
Mike Hooves is a prairie queer working in illustration, animation, murals, and film in Treaty 7 – Calgary. They received their bachelor of design with a focus on illustration from AUArts in 2016. Mike uses simple shapes, saturated colour, and gestural linework to create playful and engaging imagery that utilises queer aesthetics and signifiers.
In 2022, CBC Calgary held a Battle of the Burbs initiative wherein Calgary communities where asked to vote to pick Calgary’s best suburb. After nearly 119,000 votes, the community of Silver Springs was crowned as Calgary’s best suburb. As a reward, the winning community won a Calgary Eyeopener walking show + celebration and a mural painted with a BUMP artist to be completed during the 2022 Festival. Mike Hooves was selected by CBC & BUMP Festival to lead this special project.
Mural Title
“SILVER SPRINGS”
Mural Statement
Mike Hooves mural for 2022 BUMP was made through CBC’s Battle of the Burbs Contest, where Calgarians voted for the best suburb in the city with the winning prize being a BUMP mural. Mike Hooves was selected as the muralist to give this community a mural that celebrates their history, neighbourhood and stories.
“I emphasized the natural aspects of silver springs – the foliage, flowers from the
many gardens, as well as some of the animals who live in the neighbourhood (I’ve heard many
folks mention bobcat sightings, and I’ve seen many magpies).”
