Driving down University Ave., it is impossible not to see at least one of Pamela Rojas’ outdoor murals. Her colourful and vibrant art can be seen on buildings across Kitchener-Waterloo.
Rojas is the art facilitator at The Family Centre’s creative space and has studio space at Globe Studios.
Her project, The Art of Belonging, focuses on immigrants’ experiences as they move to Canada. Her goal is to make space for immigrants who have moved to Waterloo Region as their new home. For her, the project is all about using art as a way to reclaim spaces.
“I immigrate[d] here as a professional. So, I came as a professional to Canada. There are others who came to Canada as a refugee claimant or government assistance refugees. But, you know, you feel like you lost your place,” Rojas said.
Rojas was born in Santiago, Chile. In 1995, she recognized her true passion in visual arts and began her specialized studies in ceramics and sculpture in Spain. After living and working in the United States with her husband for several years, they moved to the Waterloo Region in 2005.
Since her arrival, she has created many murals with vibrant colours and a sense of play that are now scattered across the region. In much of her work, Rojas explores the sense of grief many immigrants feel after leaving their home country.
“We are painting one mural now here in the family center in Cambridge, we are trying to finish it, and we have been working on that for a couple of months. It’s not about just the murals, it’s about how we create an understanding of grief,” Rojas said.
Rojas met many challenges at the beginning of her career in the region, constantly receiving rejections for her work. Rojas aims to improve new artists’ experience in the present.
Mytra Rivera from the KW Multicultural Center (KWMC) hired Rojas in 2009 to paint a mural for the center’s basement. This was Rojas’ first opportunity to paint a mural. The year after, Lucia Harrington, the Chief Executive Office of the KWMC, encouraged her to take her murals outside, much to Rojas’ excitement.
“The project was about the beautification of the city, having a topic that you can talk about it, accepting the differences and the similar things too, because there’s a lot of similar things when you are an immigrant,” Rojas said.
In March 2025, Motif Studios partnered with Rojas to create a short documentary called The Art of Belonging: Celebrating Pamela Rojas’ Artistic Legacy in Kitchener-Waterloo. Currently, she is working on the Resilience Project, which uses art to build resilience in children and families with a focus on immigrant experiences.
“I left my family, I left my friends. Why I should leave something that really made me happy, and it’s my passion, is making that [art], you know? I don’t want to give that power to anyone,” Rojas said.
She consistently involves others in the co-creation of art and is actively part of many community art projects. Fans and patrons can keep up with her on Instagram @p.rojas.art and on Facebook: Pamela Rojas Art. The Art of Belonging: Celebrating Pamela Rojas’ Artistic Legacy in Kitchener-Waterloo can be found on YouTube.
Leave a Reply