Vernon art gallery blasts city after support pulled for mural project

Photo: Contributed

The Vernon Public Art Gallery is slamming city council after it pulled the plug on a controversial mural project for the community.

Council voted this week to revoke a $33,000 grant for the “Behind the Mask” public art project, which would have seen people with mental-health challenges express their emotions by creating and being photographed wearing masks. The final phase of the project was the creation of large murals on city and private properties, based on the photos.

The art gallery says the city withdrawing its support of the project means the municipality has “missed an opportunity to show up for Vernon residents expressing their experience with mental health through art.”

“There needs to be a better system for decision-making on public art,” says Dauna Kennedy, executive director, Vernon Public Art Gallery.

“Few cities consult the public in the manner proposed by members of council because art is emotive and subjective. Public art is an important means of providing not only beautification to a community but also provoking thought and dialogue through critical works designed to challenge the viewer.”

When the project was revealed, it created an uproar with parts of the community. Duelling petitions were launched both in support, and opposition of the murals, something the gallery blamed on a “low-resolution image and negative commentary” that started circulating on social media.

Because the City of Vernon has no public art policy, the art gallery says it had to submit its proposal under the sign bylaws. The gallery received support from the city, Downtown Vernon Association and Planning Council before applying for funding through the Canada Council for the Arts.

The art gallery says prior to the city reversing its decision, the project had reached its funding goals with $55,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, $33,000 from the City of Vernon, $10,000 from the Regional District of North Okanagan and $7,500 from Vernon Tourism. The supplies and artist’s fee have already been paid for.

Once public debate over the murals started, the city told the art gallery to open public consultation on the issue. The gallery says 65 per cent of the 353 participants were in support of the mural moving forward, although one had to actually visit the gallery to provide their opinion.

“The gallery consultation was designed to ensure that whoever participated in the survey had the opportunity to see all the pieces, to read each artist statement and understand the entire process,” says Sarah Kennedy, gallery board member.

“This resulted in a much smaller sampling but still sufficient to be representative of the Vernon public. And every type of media was used to invite the public to come to the gallery to participate.”

The project, Sarah added, would have offered many benefits to the economy, community and culture.

“Recognizing how big of an issue mental health has become because of COVID, we wanted to create a dialogue around mental health using the visual arts as our language, and create awareness in a positive, engaging way,” says Dauna.

“We’ve already had a tremendous response from our community and the social services community about why it’s important to shed light on mental health issues, and we saw that as people visited the exhibit, and they really learned about the people behind the masks and the intention and very uplifting outcomes of this public art project, that it did give people a broader perspective.”

The gallery says it will now have to navigate the possibility of having to return grant funds to the Canada Council and “compromise its ability to secure future grants.”

This is a “serious threat” to the gallery’s reputation and damages its ability to obtain future funding, they said.

“Canada Council grants don’t come through every day,” says Andrew Powell, gallery president. “This project would have given us the opportunity to apply for operational funding which would have effectively subsidized the Gallery and saved the City money in the long run, especially as we look toward the promise of a new facility. We are unhappy with this decision, to say the least.”

The gallery says it has also been approached by another community willing to provide space for the mural installations.

“It’s disappointing to see this decision after we did all that we were asked to do and having previously secured the city’s support as well as that of mental health professionals and community groups,” says Powell.

“Thankfully, other communities have expressed interest in assuming this project and in supporting those with the courage to share their experiences with mental health.”