Nine mural artists will be adding colour and life to walls in the downtown core as part of this year’s Chilliwack Mural Festival, organizers announced Wednesday (May 29).
The event, which runs Aug. 1 to 17 will feature three local artists, while the other six are from Argentina, Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Local muralists include Ovila Mailhot, Chief Terry Horne and his daughter Jordyn Horne.
The nine artists will be painting during the weeks leading up to the festival itself, which is set for Aug. 15 to 17 and will be held in District 1881, Mill Street, and Central Community Park.
“I am excited for this year’s muralists to bring their artistic visions to the walls of downtown Chilliwack,” said Lise Oakley, executive director of the Chilliwack Arts Council. “The muralists painting will be the perfect lead-up to the Chilliwack Mural Festival on Aug. 15 to 17. This is when the downtown comes alive with vibrant live music performances, interactive art activities, food trucks, and an art market.”
Mailhot is a Coast Salish graphic artist and designer. Originally from Seabird Island, he lived in Chilliwack for several years and now lives in Lafayette, Indiana. His roots are both in Stó:lō and the Nlaka’pamux Nation.
He feels compelled to create new work and revitalize the techniques and approaches to Indigenous art, Mailhot said.
Horne is a member of the Yakweakwioose band of the Coast Salish First Nation. He was born in Chilliwack and carries the ancestral name of the Siyemches, passed down to him by his grandfather Frank Malloway.
His preferred artistic medium is wood, mainly red cedar, from which he carved house posts, totem poles, and masks. He will be painting his first mural with his daughter, Jordyn Horne.
International muralists include Fio Silva, a big-scale Argentine muralist born in Buenos Aires. The combination of animals and organic elements shapes the movement of her figures. Her works refer to nature, time, and strength.
Guillem Font resides between Barcelona and Mexico City where he actively develops and produces his artistic projects across various disciplines such as drawing, illustration, engraving, scenography, animation, and mural painting.
Born in Argentina, Juanjo Surace began his artistic journey as a self-taught artist and later worked as a 3D animator and illustrator in Barcelona, Spain. His work is often described as strange, eerie, and bizarre. It showcases high creativity and imagination.
NEAN is the pseudonym of a Belgian street artist with a fascinating style who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. Entirely self-taught, NEAN started creating on paper before turning to aerosol spray paint and a passion for portraits.
Hailing from the United Kingdom, Sophie Mess creates vibrant botanical-inspired artworks that radiate with energy and life, resonating with a deep connection with nature, capturing its essence through bold colours, intricate details, and imaginative perspectives.
Leon Keer is from the Netherlands, and is one of the world’s leading artists in anamorphic street art, and often presents his art by adding new technologies, such as augmented reality and video mapping.
For more information on the muralists, visit chilliwackmuralfestival.com/muralists.
Looking for more events taking place in and around Chilliwack? Check out What’s happening Chilliwack in our community section.
