Since 2007, a series of murals have lined a concrete wall on Beatty Street between Georgia and Dunsmuir in Vancouver, B.C. After a 3-year stint of providing colorful artistic flair to a dismal area in downtown Vancouver, these murals have been removed by the city as so-called “maintenance in that area”.
On December 23rd, 2009, these vibrant works of art, which were commissioned by the Steve Nash Foundation, have been replaced by blue paint.
Shortly after these sponsored murals were removed, another piece of art became the focal point on the blue backdrop. It consists of 5 interlocking rings similar to those of the Olympic logo and text that reads: “With glowing hearts, we kill the arts”.
A resounding and ironic statement that echoes through Vancouver’s art community as the Liberal Government plans to cut 90% of B.C.’s arts funding by 2011.
I sat down with the artists responsible for this powerful message and asked them what they have against the color blue.
Artist #1
When we found out about the wall getting covered up, as an artist in Vancouver, it felt like a double slap in the face. With funding cuts to city programs that support murals and then to have this mural be removed, we felt like something had to be said. My fellow artist come up with the design and kind of hit the nail on the head and we thought it had to be done. We needed to make a statement and we’ve had this message spread like wildfire after putting it up and have had feedback from the most random people.
I just don’t understand who would think it’s a better decision to paint over a beautiful wall that many artists have worked on and think it’s better to pain it blue. It just kind of blows my mind! So, we did it to just say, no, no, that’s not cool.
Artist #2
We’re defending the arts in this city. Cities are developed through their character and their personality is developed through years and years of art, culture and music and such. You can’t create character or culture in a matter of a few days; it takes along time and is done by many, many people. So, this mural, which was in an area of town that was a little bit bland, was sponsored by a sports foundation and created by some really great artists. And for a group of people from the city to come in and decide that that mural should be taken down and painted over, and to have that level of art and culture removed, is quite upsetting. And, like Artist #1 said, he’s a muralist and I’m a designer and we had to voice our opinion in that regard. We’ve had a lot of response from the community mostly all in favor of our opinion. We don’t want to reflect too much. What we’ve done has served it’s purpose and it’s got a conversation and a debate going about this, so now, it’s time to move forward and work on the next step. We all agree that we want to have that mural restored, not with the original work, but a new mural. We’re willing to help organize it. We’ve got the manpower, production skills and talent to do it. This city also has dozens and dozens of great graffiti artists and muralists who will no doubt flock to this space. So, what we’re going to try to do next is get a mural back up on that space, once the Olympics are over.
Artist #3
It seemed to me that it’s such a highly visible area and whether VANOC was involved in the decision to roll it out blue; you know, the entire world’s eyes are going to be on Vancouver right now and that mural really showcased part of the culture of Vancouver, which is the arts community. And I think that’s something that really gets overlooked. It definitely did in the city’s budget and it really hit home that they could have at least given exposure and some color to the city. It’s right on the back of a parking lot for an Olympic venue, and for them to roll it blue without any public consultation about it and then go back and say that it was part of the maintenance contract for this fiscal year, it just kind of all added up and that was kind of the last straw. We are a community, and it was time to make our voices heard. We can’t just sit back because we do have a voice because we are the people that are really out there. So, the location was key and the blue was a great background for the piece.
Artist #1
I’ve noticed that a lot of corporate billboards and vinyl signage is being placed on the side of high-rises and I think it makes a dangerous statement or precedent for downtown and having this piece of public art removed, while corporate ads are going up with little or no concern, makes a really ugly statement about where the direction of art support is going.
She: Do you think this mural was removed as a direct hit by the by the B.C. Arts funding cuts?
Artists #2
No, I think it was removed because the parking lot directly above it will be used for a major Olympic venue and they wanted it to look that way. I have no idea why they would do that but Artist #3 had a really good point that the city is in a budget crunch, they’re cutting funding to the arts, so they spent money destroying art, which doesn’t make sense fiscally. And second, that was an excellent location for the world to see the culture, character and talent that is in this city. Thousands of cameras will be on that spot throughout the 2 weeks of the Olympics and now its gone, and we have a blue wall. So, I think that is a reason to point a finger at the city, as both a fiscally and culturally poor decision. And if you were to look at the future of business, showing that you have a high level of talent and character and personality in a city attracts investment from other companies because it shows that you have a depth in the culture and those people are going to be the people who are running the companies.
Artist #1
Maybe it’s a statement on the lack of foresight towards showcasing culture and maybe they removed it for a corporate reason. They had a certain design in mind and the energy of Vancouver wasn’t allowed to shine through that strict guideline on what the Olympics are supposed to look like. Who put these large stipulations on it? Who knows. I would suspect the largest sponsors. I would assume that they have rented out that space for corporate ads to be run during the games, probably by the same companies doing the other corporate advertising for the Olympics. Or it could just be that they wanted it to be a blank wall, I don’t know! (*Laughter ensues)
Maybe they’re just white washing over it for a more sleek corporate appeal, which I think is just offensive.
Artist #3
I really like to hope that that’s not the case, but I suspect it is as well. This is our city and it’s the residents that make a city what it is, but it feels to me like my city is being stolen and it’s like I don’t have a voice anymore. It really hit home.
She: Any plans for any anti-Olympic art in the next 3 weeks?
Artist #1 & #3: You’ll be the first to know!
She: Any last words?
Artist#1
I never really had a hate on for the Olympics but I just really do not understand why this needed to happen and I really think something needed to be said in the defense of artists in Vancouver.
