Two Tri-City artists are adding dashes of colour to Vancouver’s grey walls by showcasing their talent in the Vancouver Mural Festival.
The annual fest, which includes more than 60 new murals in 11 neighbourhoods, runs until Aug. 22 and features the work of Nada Hayek of Port Moody and Port Coquitlam’s Hyerim Yoon.
It will be the first time either has painted a mural.
Hayek, who grew up in Coquitlam and is a Capilano University visual arts graduate, told the Tri-City News that she was invited by one of the festival curators.
“I agreed to participate because I thought it would be a good opportunity to have my work be seen and because I was curious to try something new.”
Titled With Special Guests, her mural is located in a prominent location: at Granville and Robson, behind the Lennox Pub.
The collage-like composition — in primary colours, with hints of pink and golden brown — is a nod to the famous musicians who have performed at Granville venues such as David Bowie, Tina Turner, Prince and Dizzy Gillespie.
“I’d like the mural to be a nice surprise to people who don't normally frequent the area,” she said. “As I've been painting, I can hear onlookers on the street trying to name all the musicians in the piece, so I guess it also acts as a fun little pop-culture guessing game.”
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But her mural scene contrasts with Yoon’s.
Next week, Yoon will start painting A Bouquet as part of the Garden Path in the River District, in south Vancouver.
The display, which will highlight 10 murals, is an extension to the already existing Mural Gallery that was created last summer in the new neighbourhood.
A Bouquet, she said, represents various memories in a person’s life and is filled with peonies, roses and “the usual flowers around Vancouver.”
Trained in industrial arts at Hansung University in Seoul, Yoon told the Tri-City News that she applied to the mural fest because, in Korea, “I like to go to art exhibits but in Vancouver, I saw that art filled the walls and I wanted to see that everywhere. I was so impressed.”
Being a part of the mural festival is Yoon’s way to give back to her newly adopted country. “I want to be a part of Vancouver and connect with others. I feel like I’m really a part of here now, and everyone can see my artwork.”
This year’s Vancouver Mural Festival includes more than 60 new murals in 11 Vancouver neighbourhoods:
- Cambie Village
- Downtown
- Edgemont Village
- Hogan’s Alley
- Marpole
- Mount Pleasant
- Punjabi Market
- River District
- South Granville
- Strathcona
- West End
To see the locations of the murals, visit vanmuralfest.ca or download the app.
