The Fernie & District Arts Council is delighted to share with you the selected artist for the Fernie Mural Project; Michael Hepher with his piece, ‘All Kinds of Beauty.’

We are very excited to have this piece added to the Fernie community and public art inventory with thanks to Columbia Basin Trust for awarding funding for the project.

We received six very strong applications and the jury had a tough but exciting time selecting the final piece.

The Fernie Arts Council are not only excited about the selected artwork but also the process for this project, which we hope will be a framework for the future. This began early on in the project by meeting with community groups, hosting round tables, and surveying the community to provide applicants with information to create a piece of which Fernie can be proud.

The Jury did an excellent and very thorough job of reviewing the applications based on the criteria, ensuring the best decision was made. The Jury was made up of the following people: Vanessa Croome- Vice President of FDAC, owner/operator of Claris Media and Visual Artist; Ron Ulrich- Executive Director of the Fernie Historical Society and curator of the Fernie Museum; Theresa Malan- local resident with seven years’ experience working for commercial galleries and on public art projects in Banff; Erica Hornquist- Architect graduate and owner/operator of Wild Wolves Design; Mel MacVoy- Visual Artist with a degree in Fine art.

Along with the voting members we had building owner representation from Mary Heavey and city liaison Marta Proctor, Community Services Director.

The mural will be located on The Beanpod, 691 2nd Avenue, Fernie, on the outside wall. The mural will be on the side of the building on 7th Street.

The location will be prepared in the next couple of weeks. It was decided a local professional painting company (Palata) will be employed to prepare the wall to ensure that the surface for the mural is in the best condition and ready for application. Palata Painting will also apply the top coats of mural and graffiti protection, again to ensure the best quality for the mural which will help ensure the longevity of the piece.

Mike Hepher will begin applying the mural on the week of Sept. 2nd with the aim to be complete by early October. We will have a celebration and opening mid-October with the date to be confirmed.

We hope that the community will appreciate the newest addition to public art in Fernie. If anyone would like further information on the project, process or artist please contact Louise Ferguson at [email protected].

Fernie & District Arts Council

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