ESTEVAN — This summer Estevan gained several diverse beautiful murals, thanks to many talented local artists and the Estevan Arts Council.
While some projects were privately done, eight images appeared in different locations as part of the arts council's beautification project. The effort covered a mural on the side of Blunt Expressions, done by Keisha and B.J Zieger; benches on 13th Avenue (by Gale Tytlandsvik), in front of Fas Gas (by Brenda Blackburn), and on Fourth Street across from the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (by Carson Elson); three flower murals on the side of Pharmasave created by Blackburn, Norma Jones and Jackie H. Wall; and a little bee on a utility box by the back alley entrance to the Garden on Fourth by Tytlandsvik.
Tytlandsvik, who spearheaded Estevan's beautification this summer, said after she put a call out for murals they received quite a bit of interest from local artists. The arts council moved forward with some submissions, but they are not done with adding colours and energy to this city yet, and there will be a second call for art submissions this fall.
"I put the call out and we had a pretty good turnout, and I am going to do that again this fall. I think now that there's interest, I might get a better turnout for submissions. And there're still several spots available for projects that we'd like to do," Tytlandsvik shared.
Hardly any artists wanted to paint a full-scale mural, as no one has time for it, Tytlandsvik said. But with the help of BK Creations, the Estevan Arts Council was able to accept smaller art pieces, then scale them, vinyl print and wrap them on metal surfaces.
In the case of benches and the murals on Pharmasave, Tytlandsvik said that the initial acquisition of aluminum panels was a bit more expensive, but once that's in place, they will be able to replace art on those panels and other metal surfaces at a lower cost.
Tytlandsvik noted that not only should printed art last for at least 10 years and is more cost-efficient than painted murals, it also looks good, which serves their main goal – city beautification.
"A lot of people think that Brenda [Blackburn] painted that bench right there because it looks so real. And one of the artists who is on the side of Pharmasave said she is absolutely floored at how we took a small painting, blew it up that big and printed it and hung it up," Tytlandsvik said.
"It's wonderful to have original art, but my goal was to get as many artists as I could involved to beautify the city and I had a small budget. So that being said, I think we got an awful lot done. We brought in lots of different people, and I still got a few more to go."
Tytlandsvik said they also have more spots available that they want to get done soon, including the side of TD Bank, a panel by Jenny Joans’ store entrance on Fourth and at least one more bench.
"For sure, I want to get the TD Bank done this year and one other bench," she said.
The arts council also has permission to do several light boxes at intersections around the city. Besides, they are talking to the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion about having some art on their front, looking to have a few more benches and hoping to acquire several more spots for art for the next year. Tytlandsvik also received a submission for a big mural on the side of the Room by Room Furniture store. It hasn't been approved yet, but the arts council will be looking into redoing that mural eventually.
Another art project that will be happening this fall will be a vinyl-printed mural by Byron Fichter that will be coming up on the side of 1127 Fourth Street.
"It's not through the arts council, but he contacted me and said, 'I want to do something. Do you have a spot?' And I said yes," Tytlandsvik recalled, adding that Fichter also wanted to cover the cost of the mural. "He said the community has been so good to him he would like to give back. So I was strictly there on a consult base."
The arts council approved Fichter's project and it will be coming up soon. What it will be remains a surprise for the community, but Tytlandsvik hinted that it will be something local and beautiful, and she is pretty confident people will like the choice.
Tytlandsvik said this summer they got some momentum going, they accomplished several beautification projects, and a lot of art was created independently around the community. Three new people joined the Estevan Arts Council board and visual arts committee at their latest annual general meeting, and Tytlandsvik hopes they will have more colour spreading around Estevan next year.
"I'm really happy with the ones that are up, and I hope that this next call for art turns up, and maybe it'll bring some new people," Tytlandsvik said. "We're going to try and stick with vibrant and energetic [theme]."
Tytlandsvik is also planning on developing a map of all Estevan murals, done privately and under the arts council.
"I'll be doing a map through the arts council of all of the art so that we can have the little tour for people," she said.
