The Cathedral Village Arts Festival is collaborating with a handful of local artists to liven up the Albert Street Memorial Bridge Tunnel.
The project received over one hundred applicants, before ten artists were chosen to add some of their own flavour to the tunnel.
For years, the underpass has been a hotspot for taggers and graffiti artists, but it will now receive a much needed makeover.
One of the artists responsible being commissioned for the project, Erickka Patmore believes that the murals will show the diverse local talent.
“I think this is a great opportunity to use artwork to promote local artists, to discourage from tagging and graffiti and brighten up this little path here. I think it’s great, I really love that it’s going to keep developing throughout the years as well,” she said.
The lifespan of each mural will be no longer than a few years and they will be renewed yearly on a rotating schedule.
Each artist painting the murals draws inspiration from different aspects of their life, for Geanna Dunbar that includes her love of turtles.
“I’ve always been attracted to turtles. I have multiple tattooed on my body, sometimes recurring in my dreams, so as soon as I saw that we had a record-breaking one, I just dove right into it,” she said.
Wascana Lake is home to the largest Western painted turtle on record, at 26.6 cm.
Dunbar, for one, is happy to see that the tunnel is getting an artistic overhaul.
“I can’t imagine these seniors running through here, these kids walking through here and seeing what’s written, it’s just not welcoming at all, so it’ll be really nice to see everyone come out,” she said.
For Patmore, the project is a great opportunity to display her work on a large scale.
“This is my first ever mural, this is my first public opportunity on a scale like this, and I’m really excited to have the exposure, I’m excited to be able to put this on my artistic CV as I continue looking for opportunities,” she said.
The Cathedral Village Arts Festival anticipates that all of the artists will be finished their murals by early July.