The Kaleidoscope is a functioning art piece that serves as a sitting area for transit goers while adding beauty and representation to the communities of Northeast Calgary.

“Typically, art is to be looked at and not touched, but mine is interactive, it is for public use,” says Pajarillo. “People can sit on it and wait for the bus. I hope bus riders feel like they are a part of the art I created.”

Pajarillo is a visual artist, fashion designer and educator who resides in the Whitehorn area of Northeast Calgary. She immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2008 and worked as a food service worker. Before her arrival, she took a year completing an architectural course at the Far Eastern University Manila in 1985, along with a fashion design course at Slim’s Fashion and Arts School in Makati, Philippines in 1986. Pajarillo graduated from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a Painting major in 1992. She also attended an advanced fashion design class in 2001 held by the late Danilo Franco, a well-known celebrity fashion designer in the Philippines.

Pajarillo’s art style includes elements of cubism and realism but explores numerous art styles. Her interests are human figures and movements, facial expressions, everyday life, history of arts, cultural arts and dances of the world.

“I’m very much inclined to follow the art of Picasso. He's a cubist artist, and that's what I’m an expert on; that’s my forte.”

Pajarillo's art bench is part of a city project called the Northeast Public Art Initiative, designed to bring more art to the Northeast, with the least art of the four city quadrants. The project funds numerous functional art pieces that serve the purpose of art while being useful for Calgarians, such as providing seating or safe bike parking. Alongside Pajarillo's bench, more functional art pieces are being created, including a picnic table by Apiow Akwai and a bike rack by Vikram Johal.

“The Northeast public art initiative aims to address a historic discrepancy we’ve seen in the city with many more visible artworks in areas of Calgary such as the downtown, and less in the Northeast,” reflects Project Manager for Public Art, Toyin Oladele. “I’m proud of the art we are bringing to the Northeast and the positive impact this will have on Calgarians in the Northeast. The more art we can install that truly reflects the character of a community, the more people feel a sense of belonging.”

When Pajarillo heard about the opportunity, she was inspired to get involved. To her, it was a chance to represent her community of Whitehorn and share with Calgarians the goodness in the Northeast that often goes unnoticed.

“When the call for artists was posted, it was an opportunity for me to represent the Northeast,” says Pajarillo. “I was only living here [in the Northeast] for two years, and I had heard negative opinions about the area expressed that I personally didn’t experience. I live in Whitehorn, a peaceful community, so I didn’t have a negative impression of the community at all.”

Pajarillo’s The Kaleidoscope takes inspiration from a rapper named Francis Magalona in the Philippines. In his song, Kaleidoscope World, he sings, “Every colour, every hue is represented by me and you,” something Pajarillo wanted to embody in her artwork. “I believe [the song and lyric] relates so much to the diversity of culture and people here in the Northeast, in Calgary, and the whole of Canada.”

Throughout the creation, Pajarillo worked alongside Elder Cindy Daniels from the Stoney Nakoda community and Elder Treffrey Deerfoot from the Blackfoot community. They advised her on how she could represent Indigenous culture in the artwork. For instance, the bench’s backrest includes numerous animals, like the bison, an important food source that provides warmth by using the bison hides as winter clothing. The bench also features an eagle, wolf, and bear. In red is a figure of the Calgary Tower, which represents the city of Calgary.

“I am very fortunate to be here and be active and recognized in the arts community. It's like living a dream of what I wanted for myself because I wanted to be a full-time artist. It makes me feel alive.”