The latest mural created by UBCO visual arts students was unveiled yesterday. This is the sixth mural created downtown as part of UBCO’s annual summer course.
Hope Floats, the latest mural painted by UBC Okanagan visual arts students, was officially revealed in downtown Kelowna yesterday.
For the past six weeks, 14 students have been busy painting the mural on the side of the Columbia Bottle Depot building located on St. Paul Street. This is the sixth mural created by UBCO visual arts students, in collaboration with instructors Jorden and David Doody, who have led the mural course for six years.
Throughout the course, students are guided through the steps of planning, pitching and painting a public mural. They gain the experience of working with a diverse range of technologies, including projectors and mechanical lifts, while also learning paint applications and techniques common to mural painting.
The theme of “hope” certainly resonated with this year’s project, says Jorden Doody.
“The scene suggests a quiet wish of hope and joy. On one side, we see a hand dipping into the water, and on the other, we see a paper boat floating in the calm water,” she explains. “Together, these symbolize the power of imagination and show that even in uncertainty, hope carries us forward.”
And it was hope that helped when the team had to change mural locations at the eleventh hour.
This is not the original location for this year’s mural, explains David Doody. In the second week of the course, they learned they needed a new location because of a potential future development next to the original site.
“We see future developments as exciting and essential growth for our community,” he says. “We want to help beautify it during the transition by creating exciting and dynamic works of art that can help bridge the gap.”
Luckily, the momentum of public murals survived and they quickly found a new location. Public artists often trade long-term permanence for access to high-visibility but temporary locations, explains David Doody.
“Even with the delay in getting started at the new location, we are so proud of the hard work and dedication our students have put in making this masterpiece come to life,” he adds.
This year’s mural was made possible by a partnership with the Columbia Bottle Depot and the ongoing support from Sunbelt Rentals and Dulux Paints.
David Doody is a lecturer in the visual arts program in UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and a 2008 alumnus. Jorden Doody is a sessional lecturer as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts alumnus. Together, they have produced more than 30 murals in Kelowna.
This year’s mural, Hope Floats, can be viewed on the side and back of the Columbia Bottle Depot at 1314 St. Paul Street. It can also be seen from the alley accessible from Cawston Avenue.
