The Reach, the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) and participating artists invite the community to gather for the launch of Abbotsford’s newest piece of public art on Thursday, May 30.
The art is a mural adorning the back Hemingway’s Books in the lane off Montrose Avenue in Historic Downtown Abbotsford. The launch takes place at 5:45 p.m. during the ADBA’s Art and Wine Walk.
Laura Schneider, executive director of The Reach, said the CITI/SEEN project is a new initiative this year.
“I think that public art can position artists as agents of change in our community,” she said.
Mentor-artist Tara-Lynn Kozma-Perrin was chosen to lead a team of emerging artists to design, plan, and create the mural.
CITI/SEEN is part of Emerge, a program at The Reach that supports the professional development of aspiring artists and arts professionals between the ages of 18-35.
The artists who worked on the mural included Abbotsford’s Madeline Hildebrandt, who recently completed a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) with a visual arts major.
Josh Koole is a 21-year-old self-taught artist from Langley who will attend Emily Carr University this fall.
Alayna Tam is an 18-year old artist from Abbotsford who, over the past year, travelled to Tijuana, Mexico and Kathmandu, Nepal working as a photography intern.
Rio Zapata is a self-taught illustrator born in Medellín, Colombia, who came to Canada as a refugee in his childhood. He now attends the UFV as a student of the bachelor of fine arts program.
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