Stina Baudin completed a night‑sky mural on the roof of a 19th‑century barn in Quebec’s Eastern Townships on Tuesday, July 18, 2026, to draw public attention to the region’s largely forgotten Black history.
The work, painted directly onto the barn’s roof, depicts a deep, star‑filled sky that stretches over the historic structure. Baudin chose the barn because it represents the agricultural legacy of the area while providing a prominent canvas visible from nearby roads. The night‑sky motif was intended to evoke a sense of continuity, linking past generations to the present.
The Eastern Townships have housed a Black community since the 1800s, a fact that remains little known outside local circles. Historical records show families establishing farms, churches, and schools, yet their contributions have rarely been highlighted in mainstream narratives. Baudin’s mural is part of a broader effort to commemorate that heritage through public art, offering a visual reminder of the community’s long‑standing presence.
By placing the artwork on a structure that dates back to the same century when Black settlers first arrived, the project creates a direct visual dialogue between the past and the present. The mural’s placement on the barn’s roof ensures that it can be seen by both residents and visitors traveling through the rural landscape, turning an ordinary agricultural building into a landmark of cultural memory.
Local officials and cultural organizations have noted that such public‑art initiatives help preserve stories that might otherwise fade. While the mural does not contain specific historical imagery, its symbolic night‑sky backdrop serves as an invitation for residents to explore the hidden chapters of their region’s past.
Baudin’s contribution adds a new layer to the ongoing conversation about representation and remembrance in Quebec’s rural communities, using art to illuminate histories that have long been overlooked.