Thirteen nominees have now gone to a vote to be painted by Okotoks’ first-ever artist in residence
In June, Okotoks artist Tanya Zakarow was announced to be inaugural artist in residence through a joint initiative with the Town of Okotoks, the Okotoks Arts Council and Okotoks Public Library.
Her project will be to paint portraits of three Okotoks residents who have had an impact on the town and its social fabric.
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“Tanya’s a really great person, super eager, happy to be in this community, and the project just fits so well,” said Allan Boss, Okotoks Culture and Heritage lead.
“Not only is she an Okotoks artist but her project is very specifically about Okotokians, and those individuals in our community that have made it much more vibrant and brought life to the community.
“We put out the call to the community for nominations for people they thought were influential, then we got numerous nominations.”
The 13 nominees are: Bill McFarlane, Cathy McVee, Dale Fea, Dave Forsyth, Ed Sands, Gabby Bishop, Lori Chibry, Marg Cox, Mary Gillard, Ron Schreiber, Sandi Kennedy, Shirley Paradis and Tom Barker.
That list of Okotokians has now gone to a public vote. Voting continues until Aug. 27.
“What we want is for the public to say, ‘Who of these nominees do you think should have their portraits immortalized?’ Eventually those pieces will become part of the Town of Okotoks public art collection and will be able to be displayed indefinitely,” Boss said.
“I think there are some that surprised me, and some that I was expecting, so it’s great to see that broad range of folks up there, and I think as with any popularity contest, I’m excited to see what the responses are.
“So, I encourage people to look, see the nominees and vote, and if they’ve got somebody who they think should be the winner, they should make sure they spread the word.”
For more information or to vote on an Okotokian to be made into a portrait, visit okotoks.ca.
The portrait selections will be announced on Sept. 6 at a meet-and-greet with Zakarow.
