Okotoks art students have partnered with the town to spruce up their community.
The Town of Okotoks invited students of the Alberta High School of Fine Arts (AHSFA) to submit design proposals for garbage bins to be placed around the community, an initiative dubbed Beautiful Bins.
“It didn’t feel like reality that I was chosen until I painted the first coat,” said Grade 10 AHSFA student Natalie Greening, one of six who had their proposed designs chosen.
“It’s kind of cool to think that a piece of my art will be out in the community and kids will be able to see it.”
The designs all centre around the concept of pollinators, and Greening hopes it will help warm people up to the tiny creatures.
“I feel like when people think of insects, they think of scary bugs and stuff, but in reality they’re cool and they’re just trying to help us out in a way,” she said.
Fellow bin artist Ava Morris also buys into the buzz around pollinators.
“We don’t really understand just how important they are, how much they impact our food industry, our overall health, the atmosphere,” Morris said. “They do so much and they’re just small little beings that play such a big part in our ecosystem.”
The chance to put that love into her art and have that go out into the world is a double win.
“I love doing art and the thought that it’s going to be displayed in the community and shown off is super exciting to me,” Morris said.
“And also just something I can do to help contribute, to add a little spice or personality to your surroundings as you go on a walk.”
Public art has been found to be an effective method of discouraging vandalism, as is cited in the Urban Parks Institute's Graffiti Primer.
AHSFA art teacher Michelle Smythe is pleased to see her students’ work shine in the community and welcomed the new concept as a natural evolution to past years’ ‘Paint a Potty’ initiatives where students would paint the various public washrooms around Okotoks.
"It’s quite different than us going out and painting, which is a nice change,” said Smythe. “It’s been really great to see them take on a leadership role and not have to be asked to do things, but they just actively start going and working on them.
“It’s really great that they have this opportunity — I don’t remember having opportunities like this. It’s great for them to have their work out in the community and for everyone to see what we’re doing.”
The six designs chosen will be painted by AHSFA students Sophia Partridge, Arie Cooper, Ava Morris, Natalie Greening, Jenna Kidd and Brooklyn Quinn.
See the award-winning designs and learn more about the Beautiful Bins project at https://www.okotoks.ca/beautiful-bins.
