The next time you happen by the entrance of Lakeside Rotary Park, you’re in for a surprise. Earlier this week, the bleak base of the Nelson Bridge came alive with colour through the talents of local youth.
It’s an eye popping new feature to our urban landscape and it’s a trend we hope continues in our community’s more glum corners.
The mural is the result of the Colours of Nelson project that has been in the works for several months. The project is an impressive blueprint that can now be used to pour more positivity into our community.
The project is a partnership between the Nelson and District Arts Council, Nelson City Police, the Rotary Daybreak Club, Nelson and District Youth Centre, Nelson City Hall and the Department of Highways/Ministry of Transportation. Each partner had their own motivation for taking part, but in the end all of them showed just what can be done with a spark of creativity.
When most people picture a young person with can of spray paint, it’s likely not a positive outcome. Graffiti has become a significant problem in our community. A quick stroll through the downtown core is all the proof you need.
There is good graffiti and bad graffiti. Tagging is nothing more than mindless vandalism. But when it’s done well, spray paint art is impressive and awakens blank spaces.
The platoon of young spray can artists that helped bring the bridge alive — Coleman Webb, Adrian Thibault, Bryn Stevenson, Rhoneil Eurchuck, Sérgio Santos, Amber Santos, Hannah De Boer, Matty Kakes, Alex Caulford, Olivia Mansveld, Dagan Cairn, Anaïs Fevrier, Brandon Brown, Ezra, and Raven Truth — have shown what can be achieved when a diverse group of interests are pulled together in an effort to beautify the city.
The best news is organizers of the project have more spaces in mind and more murals they can create. To achieve it, cash will be required. This project took $22,000 to pull off and was achieved through generosity of government and businesses. If we hope to see more of it the future, it will take a community effort to continue the momentum.