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PHOTOS: Nelson mural festival: ‘a huge act of community’

This year the mural festival became a music festival as well
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Cassie Suche and her mural on the back of the Wood Gundy building. See more photos below. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

Last year, 150 artists applied to create murals as part of the Nelson International Mural Festival.

This year there were more than 300 applicants from 30 countries, eventually narrowed down to eight, according to Sydney Black, the festival’s organizer. See photos of their murals below.

Last year about 700 people attended the various events in the festival.

This year Black estimates the crowds numbered 4,000.

The jump in attendance was partly because of last year’s thick wildfire smoke, notably absent this year. But also this year the festival was much more of a street party, with 30 musical performances compared to five last year. It was a music festival without tickets.

“Last year we mastered how we were doing murals and this year we mastered how we are doing music,” said Black.

Last year’s budget was $80,000; this year’s was $140,000.

“We saw all walks of life come out and dance: seniors, children, people who don’t have homes, everybody, dancing together and experiencing the art together,” Black said. “It was a huge act of community.”

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Mural by Jean Paul Langlois on the back of Cowan’s. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Matty Kakes. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Cassie Suche. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Mural by Alex Fowkes on the parkade. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Shelly Boyd of the Sinixt First Nation addresses the crowd at the opening. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Mural by Sheldon Pierre Louis on the parkade and Kevin Ledo’s portrait of J. Fred Hume on the Hume Hotel. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Mural by Benji Lowclass on the back of the dental building at Victoria and Josephine. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Jessa Gilbert created this mural at the intersection of Vernon and Cedar, and another at the corner of Vernon and Morgan St. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
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Mural by Matty Kakes on Thor’s pizza. Photo: Bill Metcalfe


Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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