A legacy project to honour the inspiration and strength found by Okotoks through the pandemic residents has been unveiled.
In September, the Town of Okotoks invited its citizens to create artwork on 5x7 canvasses, with the criteria being that each creation had to include a work or phrase people found inspiring through COVID-19.
On Oct. 9, the completed 50-piece mural was completed at Pason Centennial Arenas, made from the near-70 canvasses turned in at the Okotoks Recreation Centre.
“With the flow of the board and the colour, as well as visual impact, so we had something that would pop on the wall we chose the specific ones that are here,” said event specialist Zach Adams, adding the remaining works may be incorporated into a smaller installation at the Okotoks Recreation Centre.
He said it was difficult to choose from among the pieces submitted, because each of them was good and told its own story about how people coped with the pandemic.
Common words and phrases found across a number of panels included ‘home’ and ‘family,’ he said.
“We had a lot of ‘family’ ones, which obviously makes sense because that’s what’s getting us through this right now,” said Adams.
Each canvas is unique in its structure and texture, with some coloured, some painted, and a variety of mediums ranging from watercolour to papier mache. Some of the family-oriented tiles included game pieces like Scrabble tiles, dominoes and miniature playing cards.
“We didn’t want to limit it in any way,” said Adams.
He said the art was made by residents ranging from five years old to over 60, and some were done as co-operative projects with entire families pitching in to create their piece.
Others were done by professional artists, he said.
“There are some very, very well done pieces,” said Adams. “There are a few that were done with family game night themes and the family went in all together and put the pieces on to contribute to one project.”
The mural is located on the second floor of the Pason Centennial Arenas, in an area as-yet closed to the public. Adams said he hopes people will appreciate the work of their fellow residents once it opens up, and that some of the phrases or artwork will resonate.
“There’s a lot of really inspirational quotes and really great meaning up there, and it’s just fun to see peoples’ thought process in art,” he said. “It’s nice to see all these positive things and how people got through a difficult time, because we’re used to so much negativity around it.”
