There has been a lot of talk about murals in downtown Abbotsford over the past few weeks, and Boardwalk Cafe and Games has decided to keep that conversation going.
Abbotsford’s only board game cafe announced last week that they are looking for a Black, Indigenous or person of colour to create a large, permanent mural that they hope will celebrate Abbotsford’s diversity of culture and its intersection with tabletop gaming.
Boardwalk owner Darin Graham told The News they have received several applications and will be making a decision on the artist this week.
“Abbotsford’s downtown is too void of meaningful representation of the diverse cultures within our city. When it comes to art in the downtown, there’s a problematic disproportion,” the call-out for artists states on the cafe’s social media pages. “We don’t own buildings, so we can’t commission outdoor installations. But we will endeavour to do what we can with what we have.”
Controversy was created last week after Ladner-based artist Mike Moser put the phrase “Make Abbotsford great again” on a downtown Abbotsford mural commemorating the contribution of builder Bob Bos. The phrase was not agreed to by the Downtown Abbotsford Business Association and the artist had to paint over the writing.
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Boardwalk Cafe and Games has had a presence in downtown Abbotsford since 2016, originally located in Abbotsford’s first department store, Gosling’s. The idea came about through fundraising through Kickstarter.
Boardwalk moved into its new 1,800-square-foot location at 33760 Essendene Ave. in 2020.
For more information on the cafe, visit abbyboardwalk.com.