Melfort community art project finally complete

However, complications through the pandemic, as well as changes in the community services director position delayed the project a couple of years.

The vision, as well as the size of the mural, also played a part in finding it a new home.

“The original concept was that the mural was going to be kept inside the historic post office, but the scope and scale of the mural kind of changed and the decision was eventually made that this thing is a bit too big for inside the post office, and it doesn’t lend itself well to this space,” Rob Lok, director of community services, said.

That led to a re-shift toward the KVC, one that turned the once inside piece, outdoors.

And while that wasn’t the original plan, Lok told northeastNOW it worked out for the best.

“It’s just wonderful to add a piece of public art to the cityscape. They’re never easy projects to complete; public art can sometimes be a little controversial, and not everybody’s always in favour of what the art piece might be like, but I think the end result here is pretty solid.”

The mural features a number of different meanings and is meant to represent significant locations and people in Melfort’s history, while also recognizing the present and looking forward to the future.

It has yet to be named, however, a presentation/unveiling can be expected for June by the three artists.

One idea that’s being floated around is ‘the heart of the community’, which artist Joanne Bolen explained is a key piece of the puzzle.

“In small-town Saskatchewan, the post office is basically the one building that everybody needs to go to,” she said.

“No matter who you are, or what you do, that’s the building you go to to get your mail and all that and you end up seeing your neighbours or people you haven’t seen for a long time. It’s just basically a busy meeting place where you’re able to connect with other community members.”

The nine-piece mural, which is painted on four-by-eight pieces of plywood, gives the project a width of 36 feet and a height of eight feet.

The project is also accompanied by much smaller pieces inside the KVC, which include community and professional additions, old pieces of the post office, and pictures of the mural’s progress.

(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW Staff)

Brenda Mellon was another major contributing artist to the mural and according to her, that was one of the most important pieces of the project.

“It is really rewarding to see the finished mural up on the Kerry Vickar Centre, and although the plans did change, it does feel like it’s ended up where it should be. It was an honour to work on such a large-scale project for the community,” she added.

“I think all along our intention was that people would see themselves in the mural. That’s why we have included some of the different components of the project such as the community workshops, where we had about 100 participants from young children to senior citizens paint those tiles that are now encompassed in a different accompanying piece with the mural.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8

by Ben Tompkins

Melfort community art project finally complete

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