Image: M. Vanden Bosch / PML / A man paints a mural on the side of the former Auld Phillips building near Yale and Nowell. The Chilliwack Mural Festival will be held in downtown Chilliwack on Mill Street today from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Mural festival

Chilliwack Mural Festival to showcase 10 new murals today at downtown celebration

Aug 20, 2022 | 7:31 AM

CHILLIWACK — The Chilliwack Mural Festival hopes to revitalize the once dreary downtown core with an all-day celebration of art, music, pride, and festivities galore today (Aug. 20).

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and features a lineup off local artists and performers to commemorate the arrival of 10 new contemporary murals replete with 4 music stages, 14 live artists, a legal graffiti wall, dance battles, roaming performances, a community-led wall, and more.

In partnership with the Chilliwack Community Arts Council, visual artists from Switzerland, Los Angeles, northern B.C., Edmonton, Vancouver, Abbotsford and Chilliwack round out the list of talented performers.

While the Chilliwack Mural Festival will be marking its third year of murals in the downtown core, the festival event will be the inaugural year (mainly due to the pandemic) to merge visual and performing artists and celebrate contemporary art on a larger scale.

“Chilliwack Mural Festival is a joyful and bold celebration of public art, with an emphasis on music, dance, performances, and community,” said Amber Price, co-founder and curator of the Chilliwack Mural Festival. “We’re excited to share the incredible portfolio of work that we have built over the past three years, and create a family-friendly, free community event that celebrates creativity, culture, and cutting-edge artistic expression. Celebrating our creative class is a true honour and privilege. Artists inspire all of us; their genius is integral to our community’s health, wellbeing and economy.”

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For Lise Oakley, director of the mural festival, it’s all about providing art that inspires and makes people feel welcome.

“Through our festival, we strive to provide accessible forward thinking public art that is welcoming for all,” Oakley said. “It’s exciting for us to work with so many partners and bring excitement to our local arts community.”

Attendees are encouraged to stop by the multiple mural sites and stages to engage with the local and visiting artists while they work and witness the artwork come to life.

The festivities will happen on Mill Street, Victoria Street, and Kipp Avenue.

Visit chilliwackmuralfestival.com for information.