On June 27, Vernon will celebrate Canada’s multicultural strengths with a temporary public art installation and the rededication of Vernon’s multicultural mural. Part of a signature Michelle Loughery Route Blue Wayfinder, the community-based engagement project combines youth skills building and celebrates water stewardship through heritage story telling.
The idea is to have the buoys, painted by youth, elders, artists and other community members, strung on
posts that will be erected along a cross-Canada route
“Each installation will create unique storytelling exchanges, of where we come from and celebrate Canadian diversity,” said Michelle Loughery, a Vernon, BC-based and internationally renowned mural artist.
Loughery has spearheaded the project with the help of the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives, with financial help from the Government of Canada and support from the City of Vernon and the Vernon School District (SD 22). The Canada 150 Diversity Mural Bead Project features art painted on flotation buoys, which have been provided by the Ocean Legacy Foundation, a Canadian-based non-profit which conducts clean-up expeditions to mitigate ocean plastic pollution.
“Art and heritage inspires and engages in artistic storytelling and conversation,” said Loughery. “The Canada 150 – Diversity Mural Beads’ Route Blue™ Highway Buoy program will celebrate and connect our multicultural strengths. As buoys have origin stories, so do our First Peoples and new Canadians. Collectively, their stories are connected and interwoven in the roots and routes of this great nation of Canada.”
Inspired by ancient hand-to-land art skills across all cultures, the Canada 150 Diversity Mural Bead Project is rooted in the award winning multicultural mural created by Loughery and a team of youth from Loughery’s Wayfinder Project. Painted on Vernon’s post office in 2000, the multicultural mural is part of a 26-mural collection started by the City of Vernon, the Greater Vernon Museum and the Downtown Vernon Association and Loughery in 1999.
“The multicultural mural was created in response to a letter from a group of students requesting a multicultural mural be created, and also honours Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his contributions to multiculturalism in Canada,” said Loughery.
The City of Vernon is supporting this project by funding the re-glazing of the mural for the event.
“The Vernon Mural project was an innovative program that many communities have emulated. The murals have created a signature tourism draw to our downtown and the stories of the people who have worked to create this great city are a heritage legacy. The project was and is a testimony to the power of youth and community working together. The multicultural mural especially tells the importance of people and education in the community plan,” said Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund.
The public is invited to participate in the launch of the Canada 150 Diversity Mural Beads and the rededication of the multicultural mural in the Civic Plaza, located in front of the Greater Vernon Museum, June 27 at 5 p.m.