Steps Forward: 150th Anniversary Yellow Staircase Mural Project

Since the opening of the Sharp Centre in 2004, the Yellow Staircase has stood as one of OCAD University’s most vibrant—and complex—sites of community expression.

It has been at turns messy and magnificent, political and playful, chaotic and deeply moving. Layered with creativity, dissent, memorialization, celebration and critique, the staircase has long captured the raw, unfiltered pulse of our students.

For OCAD U’s 150th anniversary, this space invites us to honour that history while imagining new possibilities: elevating the spirit of openness and experimentation that has defined it, while embracing forms of creative intervention that inspire connection, respect, and pride.

Featuring work by Alexa Morrison, Mataya Guy, Jordyn Hendricks, Caylen Monroe, the Dreamzzz collective (Minjeong Ju, Lisa Shao, and Liam Ethan), and the Mature Student Collective with community coordination by Faven Bell-Jerome.