A mural that was supposed to bring happiness and hopefulness to downtown Chilliwack has been destroyed by vandalism.
Someone has spraypainted over the beautiful mural on the side of Harvest on Mill Street. The mural was a work of love by a local artist and created with the help of students at Central elementary last year.
Teacher and lead artist Mollie Swankey said the project took just over a year to create, and involved many students, an Indigenous artist, a few teachers from the elementary school, and even a donation of the supplies by Fortin’s Home Hardware. The mural now has been spraypainted over entirely with a large slogan: #FreeBrodie2K17.
“This is the saddest I’ve felt in a while,” Swankey said in a post about the destruction on Facebook.
“Not sure who is left responsible for cleaning it up but I still have all the paint and will painstakingly fix it myself if I have to. Even though I am 7.5 months pregnant!”
Other quickly offered to lend their help. Oftentimes, murals are sealed with a protective spray that makes it easier to remove graffiti if it should happen.
This mural was not sealed yet.
The mural features Indigenous imagery in teal, red and greys. The children painted their hands and surrounded the mural with their handprints. Swankey said she won’t let the incident get her down.
“As soon as I started painting this I knew we had a good solid community,” she says. “Everyone was so supportive and encouraging, and happy to see something positive on the north side. I won’t let this get me down and continue to see my Chilliwack as a growing and caring community.”
The graffiti seems to be calling for the release of Brodie Tyrel Robinson. He was recently charged on numerous counts, following a violent crime spree that included the alleged attempted murder of Grinder, an RCMP dog.
It also comes as the City of Chilliwack is looking for artist submissions for the large wall at the Five Corners Park.
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jpeters@theprogress.com
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