Drivers coming into Pemberton will notice a stunning new addition to its community centre. A mural showcasing the village’s youngest members’ creativity is now on the northeast side of the building. The eye-catching mural is the brainchild of the Pemberton Arts Council (PAC) and Squamish-based artist, Alex Fowkes.
Young budding artists created the piece during a three-day-long youth mural camp led by Fowkes. Kids from Grade 8 to 12 were given the theme of nature and allowed to let their imaginations run wild. The group unveiled the fruits of their labour to a large crowd on Wednesday, Aug. 28. A colourful blend of bees, leaves and fish have brought some much-needed colour to the community centre building.
“What makes this project particularly special is the involvement of our local youth,” said Village of Pemberton CAO, Elizabeth Tracy, at the unveiling.
“The hard work, creativity and collaboration are evident in every brush stroke. It serves as a prime example of what we can achieve when we come together and support artistic initiatives within our community.”
Tracy said the mural offers a snapshot of life in the thriving cultural hub that is Pemberton.
“It represents the unique character and energy of the Pemberton Valley—a place where creativity can thrive and where every member of the community regardless of age can contribute to our shared cultural landscape,” she said.
Fowkes has been at the forefront of mural camps in the Sea to Sky corridor for the last five years. He ensures that kids have full ownership of the project. “They are involved in all the ideas,” he said. “The first day is very much about gathering ideas and seeing what those ideas could be. We make a list of ideas, and we draw them all. We had a theme from the community centre which was ‘nature.' I would screenshot all the kids’ ideas and then we lay them out on the computer. They picked the colour and the layout. The next two days were just painting.”
The talented group learned to work as a team, a tricky challenge for even adult creatives. “The collaboration element is really important for the kids,” said Fowkes. “It’s hard to get eight kids to work on one thing for eight days straight. From a community point of view, seeing what our youth can create with some guidance is amazing.”
Budding Michelangelo, Cora Fuller, was excited to see her work in its new permanent home. “I was really eager to do it because I love painting,” said the 14-year-old. “You don’t normally have these kinds of projects that include everyone, even youth. We got to be such a huge part of it. It’s really cool. I really loved seeing how us kids made something for the whole community.”
