In August 2025, Pegah Peivandi was invited to paint a one-day mural at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) as part of its rotating artist program. Three hours into creating a piece dedicated to Palestine, she was approached by organizers and asked to stop after a police officer reported her work for depicting symbols associated with Palestinian resistance. What began as a simple, unfinished watermelon (just a red semi-circle outlined in white and green) became a powerful reflection on censorship, surveillance, and the way acts of solidarity are reframed as “political” when they confront genocide.
“Before the Seeds” reflects on censorship, neutrality, and the myth of “non-political” art, urging viewers to question how institutions define what is acceptable to express. The mural from the CNE will live on the plumb’s bar starting on November 22nd 2025.
In collaboration with Colour Code Print, a limited series of one-of-a-kind risograph prints of the mural will be available for purchase on December 6th 2025, with 100% of proceeds supporting The Sameer Project and the Sudan Solidarity Collective.
@thesameerproject @sudansolidaritycollective
Organized by: Emerald @em_thepainter
Prints: Colour Code Print @colourcodeprint
Documentation: @pegahpeivandi
“Before the Seeds” reflects on censorship, neutrality, and the myth of “non-political” art, urging viewers to question how institutions define what is acceptable to express. The mural from the CNE will live on the plumb’s bar starting on November 22nd 2025.
In collaboration with Colour Code Print, a limited series of one-of-a-kind risograph prints of the mural will be available for purchase on December 6th 2025, with 100% of proceeds supporting The Sameer Project and the Sudan Solidarity Collective.
@thesameerproject @sudansolidaritycollective
Organized by: Emerald @em_thepainter
Prints: Colour Code Print @colourcodeprint
Documentation: @pegahpeivandi
