Regional arts councils and local artists are calling on residents of Ladysmith and surrounding communities to contribute their visions of the future of culture to a portable mural project this week.
Barry Strasbourg-Thompson, a visual artist and art teacher based in Chemainus, is spearheading the mural’s production as part of a Cowichan Culture Speaks Easy project, a joint venture between the Cowichan Valley Arts Council (CVAC) and the Ladysmith Arts Council (LAC).
Strasbourg-Thompson said the aim of the project is to convey community members’ visions for the future of local culture, and those lofty aspirations are reflected in the theme governing the mural’s creation: Our Future Culture — Visions of What We Want.
Working out of a studio at the Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery, the mural will be laid out on a pair of panels by Strasbourg-Thompson and other local artists during a public drop-in session Thursday, Aug. 29.
Using materials provided by the CVAC, Strasbourg-Thompson and colleagues hope to record the visions and ideas presented to them by participating members of the public to create a mural measuring 40 inches by 60 inches.
After the mural has been completed, it will hang in the gallery’s entrance for “about a month,” Strasbourg-Thompson said, before it’s loaned out to various businesses or public institutions for a month or two at a time.
“By moving it around, we’ll get more viewing of it,” Strasbourg-Thompson said, adding that he was “surprised by the amount of interest that’s been generated by the production of the mural.”
“I’m really pleased with the intended participation,” he added.
Anyone hoping to contribute ideas or visions to the project is asked to drop by the Ladysmith Waterfront Gallery — located at 610 Oyster Bay Dr. — between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, or to submit their ideas to Strasbourg-Thompson via e-mail prior to the drop-in session.
Submit your vision of “what our future culture would ideally be like” to Strasbourg-Thompson at brush.stroke@shaw.ca.