Victoria artist continues to show off beauty of local neighbourhoods through hand drawn maps

An artist living in Victoria is gaining popularity for her hand drawn maps of local neighbourhoods.

Masami Teramachi is inspiring people to get out and explore their communities and the small businesses and hidden gems that call them home.

Masami, who now works at a local PR company, is from the small city of Gifu, Japan, and came to Victoria in 2020 to study at the University of Victoria. During the pandemic, she took the opportunity to walk around her home in Fernwood, which inspired her first map in Canada.

From locally owned stores and restaurants, little libraries, murals, beautiful architecture and friendly faces, Masami decided to document her walks in the form of a unique hand drawn map.

She also has an Instagram account, “Walk with Masami,” where she shares stories about her adventures.

After her map of Fernwood became popular, the Burnside-Gorge Community Association reached out to her for their new community map. Masami took part on a community mapping project back in September, where she spoke with residents and created a new map with all their favourite local spots.

Masami says she believes each community has a unique character, and that “we can create value from anything if we appreciate the small things we already have.”

The new community map is available at Burnside-Gorge Community Centre. You can also follow Masami on Instagram @walk_with_masami.