Hiking Johnston Canyon is one of artist Sheila Kernan’s earliest childhood memories of Banff National Park. So, when time came to submit a piece in response to a nation-wide call for artwork by the Banff Community Art Committee, the Calgary-based artist naturally chose her 2012 painting of Johnston Canyon.
“Revisiting these waterfalls and attempting to capture their beauty is pure delight for me; when I close my eyes, I remember“, she said.
When I Close My Eyes, the title of the oil on canvas, was selected by a jury for the first of two large-scale mural installations in Banff – a new direction for the Community Art Committee. The artwork will be reproduced to 24 x 30 feet and installed on a blank concrete wall facing a parking lot in downtown Banff. The installation will be celebration at a special event on Saturday, January 26, at noon at 220 Bear Street in the same parking lot. A small reception with hot refreshments follow the launch.
Large-scale, two dimensional artworks on exterior walls is a new direction for the Community Art Committee. Up to now, sculptural pieces have formed the nucleus of Banff’s public art program. The exhibition will grace the side of Bear Street Mall for five years. Additionally, three artworks will be installed for 18 months successively on the back of Banff Town Hall at 110 Bear Street.
Two artworks have already been selected for the Town Hall installation, but, in another new step, the committee is asking the Banff community to select the third piece from a choice of three artworks by Banff artists – Rainbow Hunter by Denise Swick, Raven #2 by Lynne Huras, and The Banff Bubble by Sarah Fuller.
Voting will start on January 26, after the unveiling, with stations set up at Banff Town Hall and the Banff Public Library, as well as online at www.banff.ca/publicart.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
DIANA WALTMANN, MANAGER, COMMUNICATIONS
TOWN OF BANFF
DIRECT: 403.762.1207, CELL: 403.431.2307
diana.waltmann@banff.ca