Outdoor public washrooms are getting a facelift thanks to five talented Okotoks youth. The Paint-a-Potty contest winners were announced in a ceremony at Sheep River Park on Sept. 21. Of the 35 mural designs submitted, five were chosen to adorn public washrooms in Cimarron Park, Kinsmen Park, Howard Park and Sheep River Park. Winning artists were Foothills Composite High School/Alberta High School of Fine Arts students Desiree Quinn, Lucy Watt, Sydney Wayne-Nixon, Rori Golinoski and McKenzie Osberg. “We get to leave our imprint on the community and show we are a part and we’re not just some kids from the Comp who cause trouble,” said Quinn. Her design includes a whimsical tree that appears to be in a far-off land, something she would have loved as a child. “I thought kids, they have creative imaginations,” said Quinn. “When I was a kid I used to make up these stories with my friends and we’d go play in this fantasy world.” Fellow art student Osberg said she was excited for the opportunity to submit a design for the Paint-a-Potty contest. “I thought it would be cool to have murals around Okotoks of students’ drawings, but I didn’t think mine would get chosen,” she said. “But it’s super cool to have our own murals and to have this legacy for ourselves around Okotoks.” Osberg’s design focuses on colourful puzzle pieces with some abstract shapes and designs thrown in to complete the mural. When she thought of young children, puzzles came to mind and she decided to run with the idea. The students will painting their own designs onto the washroom walls later this fall or in the spring, depending on the weather. It will be the first time Osberg has painted anything larger than a standard canvas in class, and she said she’s looking forward to the experience, even though this canvas will be unconventional. “It’s a pubic washroom, but you never think about the number of people who use this, and they’re at parks so there are a lot of kids looking at them,” said Osberg. “It’s a cool place to have art, because they’ll be used a lot and people will see them all the time.” Having something nicer to look at in public parks is only one of the benefits of the Paint-a-Potty contest. The project actually arose out of a desire to deter vandalism. After instances of vandalism behind the Comp, art teacher Paul Rasporich spoke to his students about the difference between graffiti and being a mural artist. Then he noticed, while walking to work, a public washroom that was repeatedly spray-painted. “I talked to my students about that – the difference between unwanted painting and me being an artist, taking pride in your work and doing it properly,” said Rasporich. “We’ve had a lot of talks about respect and what respect means.” He began working with the Town of Okotoks on the idea to paint murals on the outdoor washrooms to deter more graffiti. “When the students get involved in doing the murals you will see the incidents of vandalism will go down because the students have more ownership and they’re stakeholders in our community,” said Rasporich. Allan Boss, Okotoks art and culture manager, said he was excited about the project from the get-go. He said it was a great opportunity to work with a school and make a difference for the community, and it should help prevent future damage to the washrooms, which are vandalized regularly. “You can see some of the outdoor garbage receptacles have been wrapped with designs to keep people from putting things on them,” said Boss. “We know statistically the incidents of vandalism and graffiti goes down.” Mayor Bill Robertson attended the ceremony to announce the contest winners. “Eight or nine years ago, if they told me I’d be celebrating a Paint-a-Potty project as part of the mayor’s duties I would have said they were ridiculous, but we live in interesting times,” said Robertson. “Here we are celebrating a very innovative project. This is phenomenal.” He said public washroom facilities are crucial in Okotoks, particularly for some of the senior population who use them regularly when walking along the Town’s pathway system. A washroom in Sheep River Park near the Laurie Boyd Bridge has been closed for several months due to incessant vandalism at the location, and Robertson said he’s received many inquiries and concerns about the closure, as some people relied on that washroom as part of their walks. In addition, the Town invested a lot of capital to install the washroom facilities throughout town, and having constant maintenance for vandalism is hard on the budget, he said. “We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these washrooms and we want to keep them open,” said Robertson. “We don’t want them vandalized, so this is a really cool project. “This project is a great way to partner with youth in our community, to create beautiful public art, give promising new artists a way to share their creativity and to help deter vandalism and graffiti.” With files from Isabelle Bagshaw
