The Clark County Mural Society (CCMS) is ready to kick off a new project aimed at beautifying the heart of Vancouver while increasing tourism and an appreciation of the city’s historical roots.
“We are hoping to create a historical mural tour so that people can get an idea of all the history here in Vancouver, and we’re putting a modern, fun take on the actual artistic pieces,” said CCMS organizer Nikki White.
Competing artists will be asked to research a particular theme for their mural that coincides with the area’s rich history.
“We’re hoping the mural artists will do their research, get their background on the theme and then create something really cool with it,” said White.
The seven themes chosen by CCMS include:
• The Chinook Indians
• The naming of the Columbia River
• Captain William Broughton claims land for the British under the orders of Captain George Vancouver
• Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery
• Hudson’s Bay Company establishes Fort Vancouver
• The first apple trees planted by the Hudson Bay Company
• Multicultural communities spring up all around the fort
The buildings involved in the mural contest will not be revealed until next week. However, White said the locations were carefully chosen so that they are walking map-friendly.
“We put our themes in order and picked a take-off point down by the Remembrance Wall… We wanted to be able to have something that started there
and works its way up downtown,” she said.
White noted that the benefits of doing business in a community with mural paintings are numerous. In addition to creating a more beautiful wall, she said, murals increase property values and encourage participation from different organizations. They have also been used to decrease vandalism, to eliminate graffiti and to increase commercial activity.
“What we have noticed is that it [a mural] promotes economic development by increasing tourism,” said White. “I know a lot of people don’t really think people are going to come see a mural, but when you have a group of murals it’s an attraction and people come for that specific reason.”
Lee Rafferty, executive director of Vancouver’s Downtown Association, echoed the idea that murals can serve as generators of economic activity.
“I think that there are downtowns that can point to a large collection of murals as being something that has really brought another reason for people to visit their town and it has become part of that whole experience,” said Rafferty. “We don’t have that kind of concentration yet, but we know that when buildings go up, if they will invest in art, that makes a powerful statement about how the community feels about the finer things in life.”
In an effort to raise prize money for the completion, the mural society will host a wine and beer tasting with a raffle at the Atrium Lounge on April 19. Sherwin-Williams is expected to donate paint to competing artists.
The deadline for artists to enter the mural competition is May 11. More information will be available at www.ccmurals.org next week.
