INSPIRATIONAL MURALS, illustrating his community’s history and culture was central to the vision that Dr. Karl Schutz (left) had when pursuing his dream… a dream that became reality in 1982 and went on to become world famous… Chemainus ~ The Little Town That Did. He ‘raised the bar’ for economic survival through renewal in a small town that is located on Vancouver Island, BC.
In the first twelve months following completion of the Chemainus Downtown Revitalization Program, which included the first five murals in the Chemainus Festival of Murals, 300,000 tourists came to admire these beautiful works of art. The Chemainus murals collection has grown from 5 to 50 with 90,000 to 100,000 tourists arriving annually to enjoy the murals.
Karl earned the nickname ‘Mr. Chemainus’ as a result. For the next 40 years, Karl went on to consult with communities worldwide, encouraging all to reinvent their economies through arts and tourism, earning an Honorary Doctorate for his efforts. His ‘modus operandi’… create the art… they will come!
WE – as citizens of Delta – have the very same opportunity at hand… Murals in the Village …much akin to the reality that unfolded in Chemainus. Our community has a rich history associated with our Indigenous peoples, fishers, farmers and keepers of ‘all that is wild and beautiful’. We are blessed with living on the shores of British Columbia’s largest river as it flows through a very fertile delta and into the Salish Sea.
The ‘big one‘, as one opportunity of many, is the potential for the City of Delta to host the biennial Global Mural Conference (GMC) in 2022. The GMC is facilitated by the Global Mural Association (GMA), founded in 1997 by Dr. Karl Schutz. Serge Malefant, President, GMA, has been most helpful providing advice and support in the dialogue between key people at the City of Delta and Richard Mayer, a longtime resident of Ladner.
The GMC in 2020 takes place over four days in Hua Quan Village, home to artists and musicians from across China. This village is surrounded by over 100 murals, all part of ‘The Miracle Project’. For the City of Delta to host the 2022 conference, it needs to meet GMA’s 14-point criteria; firstly by becoming a member of GMA and sending a representative to the 2020 conference.
All ‘pie in the sky’ until the City of Delta decides to act on this opportunity!
Inspired by the possibilities? Wishing to get involved in the quintessential dialogue to realizing this dream in Delta? Would the communities in Delta… Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta …benefit from a community-wide murals program?
Answers these questions and more will put you at ease with the who, what, when, where, why and how!
For more info…
Richard Mayer
CEO, Inspiration
email me
