Edmonton back alleys and parking lots become selfie destinations
Outdoor murals attract selfies, fashion, graduation and wedding shoots
Davina Stewart can't wait for visual artist Jill Stanton to finish her latest work, a vibrant mural on the east wall of the Varscona Theatre in Old Strathcona depicting bustling backstage life.
"It makes us feel more alive on the outside as well as on the inside, I think," says Stewart, Varscona spokesperson.
"We've now got something that is a place that people want to stand in front of and get their picture taken."
The murals, sponsored by NextFest, Capital City Clean-Up and the Old Strathcona Business Association, are part of the city's efforts to showcase local artists and make Edmonton more attractive, while deterring graffiti and taggers.
Across the river, Izabella Orzelski-Konikowski is directing volunteers including students from Old Scona Academic High School and the University of Alberta's Faculty of Extension in painting two wall murals on the outside of Edmonton's Food Bank.
"We come together closer as artists just to give to the community and to just create a better spirit that we can all do something for each other," she said.
Working with a host of people on a five-by-six-metre wall requires teamwork, she said.
"It's very difficult to know if the proportions are set up right, if the colouristic nuances are created in the proper way."
So she splits the volunteers into two teams, one to step back and take in the big picture "consulting from a distance," the other to attack the wall with paint and brushes.
Whether seeing the art up close in a selfie or standing further back, the murals' goal is the same: "to bring happiness," Orzelski-Konikowski said.
