Another public art mural is coming to downtown Peterborough this summer, to be painted on the side of the YES Shelter for Youth and Families building at 196 Brock Street.
A proposal from Toronto-based graphic designers and illustrators Andrea Manica and Caitlin Taguibao was selected for the project.
The proposal from Manico and Taguibao, who have collaborated in the past on public murals, was one of three on a shortlist out of 26 proposals submitted earlier this year to the City of Peterborough Public Art Program.
Manico and Taguibao’s mural design features strawberry plants and dandelions in different stages of life. The two artists described the concept behind the design in their submission.
“The dandelion can often be seen growing between cracks in the sidewalk, in abandoned industrial spaces, and abundantly on the sides of roads. Sometimes considered a pesky plant, we would like to instead celebrate the resilience of its growth and recognize the many nurturing and medicinal properties it holds.
“Also featured is the strawberry plant, the first fruit of the Ontario season and a symbol of birth. When viewing our mural, we hope the takeaway is a sense of joy and playfulness — that refreshing feeling you get when you bite into a strawberry.”
The mural will cover the entire east-facing brick façade of the Brock Street building, approximately 1,271 square feet. The wall is adjacent to a municipal parking lot.
“We were drawn to Andrea and Caitlin’s commitment to celebrating resilience under challenging circumstances, something that we see in the youth and families we serve every single day,” says Meagan La Plante, executive director of YES Shelter for Youth and Families. “We hope that it will inspire and bring joy to our clients, staff, volunteers and supporters for years to come.”
Manico and Taguibao’s artwork is expected to be completed in fall 2018. The total project budget is $20,000.
This is the third public art mural commissioned as part of the Downtown Mural Project, conceived in partnership with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Association (DBIA) and funded by the DBIA and the City of Peterborough.
Artist Alex Bierk installed his “Passing Cloud” mural on the east wall of the Highway Enforcement Legal Protection (H.E.L.P.) building at 114 Simcoe Street in 2016, and artist Chrissy Poitras painted her “Floral Abstraction” mural on the south wall of the building at 378 Aylmer Street in Peterborough, which houses both Artspace and Peterborough GreenUP, in 2017.
In addition to the downtown murals, the City of Peterborough Public Art Program has funded two murals under the arches of the Hunter Street bridge.
