It was one of the most popular installation of the third Vancouver Biennale Art project: six concrete silos on Granville Island transformed into colourful giants.
But the future of the mural is uncertain.
When they were painted by a pair of urban artists, twin brothers from Brazil two years ago, the hope then was for a generous donor to pitch in the $35,000 needed every two years for maintenance.
However, Vancouver Biennale said Friday that still hasn’t happened.
“We want them to stay,” said Larry Baloun, Vice President of the concrete division for the company that owns the silos.
It wasn’t their idea to paint them – the artists approached them, along with Vancouver Biennale, a non-profit group.
Baloun said, back then, they were skeptical of the idea.
“The big risk was if the public didn’t like what this looked like, it would be a big white elephant,” Baloun remembered thinking at the time.
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“Can you imagine if that was something that everybody had hated? How big that would be? We want to make sure it was something that the community would endorse.”
Baloun said that’s hardly their concern now.
Raw Video: Granville Island silos transformed into public art
The biggest challenge is keeping an eye on the steady stream of tourists who wander into the plant to try and get a better shot of the silos.
Baloun said it’s hard to imagine a future without the silos.
“We’ve just been overwhelmed,” Baloun said of the public response. “It’s just phenomenal. Everyone just appreciates what’s been done there.”
The president of Vancouver Biennale, Barrie Mowatt, said he hasn’t had anyone step up yet to fund the project on a long term basis, but it has happened in the past.
When the ‘A-maze-ing Laughter’ installment was at risk of disappearing, a donor stepped in to keep it at Sunset Beach. It too has become a tourist attraction.
While it’s not likely the mural will be painted over, unless someone steps in to help, Vancouver Biennale said it doesn’t have the money to maintain it and it will fade away.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can through the organization’s website.
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