Image: Artist Juranjo Surace / A rendering of the proposed mural that will be painted on the side of 9345 Main Street in downtown Chilliwack. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

More murals coming to Chilliwack

More murals coming to Chilliwack, though one city councillor isn’t thrilled with one heading to Main Street

Jul 4, 2024 | 7:30 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack Councillor Chris Kloot wasn’t exactly thrilled at the newest mural set to adorn an empty wall on Main Street, one of three murals council and Mayor Ken Popove pondered this week.

Kloot, a 10-year member of city council, said at Tuesday’s council meeting that he hoped a future mural would reflect Chilliwack’s past, like its farming community, military legacy through Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack, or Indigenous themes, as Chilliwack is home to thousands of people of First Nations descent.

Instead, a group of robots playing poker is slated to be painted on a blank canvas at 9345 Main Street. The artist behind the AI-inspired illustration is Juanjo Surace of Barcelona, Spain. His works are described in a City of Chilliwack staff report as “strange, eerie and bizarre.” In Surace’s own words, he aims to reflect the social canons of decent manners, which are often misused.

“My image reflects the human use of AI in day-to-day activities, using mesmerizing and fantastic dimensions as metaphors for human activities,” said Surace, who is slated to paint the mural from August 3-16, 2024, according to a city staff report.

Of the other two murals that came before council, one consists of a scene straight out of the Great Blue Heron Reserve depicting majestic birds.

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The other is reminiscent of a feel-good, California-type sign that welcomes visitors, albeit to Cottonwood Centre mall.

Image: Artist Carly Bouwman / Cottonwood Centre mall mural.

Kloot said the proposed mural on Main Street misses the mark.

“Great efforts have gone into revitalizing our downtown area, and ultimately the District 1881 project that was supported by the council of the day was picked because of the history of the area to reflect the history of our community,” Kloot said Tuesday (July 2). “I think there continues to be an opportunity where we can enhance that history, and part of that could be through murals. If we were to separate these three murals, I would not support the mural proposed on Main Street. To me, I don’t feel it’s attractive. I recognize that art, again, is in the eye of the beholder; I don’t think it enhances the downtown experience.”

Kloot referenced dazzling murals that appear in Chemainus, a quaint artisan village nestled between the mountains and ocean on the Cowichan coast of Vancouver Island, a community that is synonymous with dazzling murals of all types.

“If you look at some of the the murals in Chemainus, it reflects the history of that area and the ocean that it sits on,” Kloot said. “I feel like we have the opportunity to potentially have some sort of guidelines, we want to see some of the natural beauty represented in our area, maybe the history of our community, the farming pioneers, the Indigenous themes, CFB Chilliwack, I feel like we’re missing the mark without that being represented in some of these murals. I personally don’t like the one that’s going on Main Street. I feel like going forward, we should potentially look at something that would give guidelines to continue to enhance the history of the area of our Five Corners.”

Councillor Read, the chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee, whose goal is to promote and facilitate the integration of public art throughout Chilliwack, said all three pieces of art are unique.

“I understand they’re all three unique pieces and do represent different things, some from history, some from current things we do see in our community,” Read said. “I think we also have to keep in mind that the art sitting on the walls now is something that people traveled to from far away communities because they’re renowned artists, something that’s free for our entire community. It’s not just one type of art that somebody wants to see. I think we need to keep an open mind as to how bring art into our community. I’m not a fan of scary or obscene or any kind of art like that. Something that brings a unique perspective to the community is really important. It’s for the entire community, it’s not just for 1-2 types of demographics.”

Councillor Jason Lum employed a bit of sarcasm as he welcomed the three newest murals.

“Definitely my favourite meeting of the year when all of council becomes an art critic, how history is influenced by our own biases and interpretation,” Lum said. “I’m really glad to see so man. murals migrating southward. I would love to see the rest of the community also benefit from some of these world class murals.”

Mayor Popove asked if there was a strategy in case existing downtown murals become faded or don’t look fresh any longer.

Councillor Read said it is her understanding that artists’ work can be painted over, but the responsibility lies with the Chilliwack Community Arts Council to make sure existing murals are maintained. Chilliwack council can only tell the arts council if a mural isn’t looking tip-top, Read clarified.

Councillors wound up approving all three murals on a unanimous vote.