Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

Travis Dobbs works on a mural in a Hay River alleyway. Young artists in that community are replacing the graffiti with a mural. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

HAY RIVER -What was until recently a graffiti-filled alley in Hay River has been transformed into a work of art.

A mural is being created on one side of Fields store, which had been a prime target for vandals with spray cans.

The alley is between Fields and an office building, where one tenant is the Association Franco-Culturelle de Hay River.

The association organized the mural project.

Three teenaged artists are creating a mural of seven panels, stretching the length of the alley.

Chantay Boulanger-Rowe, one of the artists, said the Fields' wall was covered in graffiti.

"It was so vulgar," said the 17-year-old.

The two other artists are Travis Dobbs, 16, and Jessica Mandeville, 19.

Each panel in the mural contains a different scene.

One of Dobbs' panels feature anime comic book characters he has created.

Creating the mural is a lot of fun, he said. "Bringing my characters to life in colour is awesome."

One of Boulanger-Rowe's two panels features dancers, while the other is an abstract.

Mandeville's panels will feature anime characters and an abstract design.

All panels of the mural are about 2.5 metres high. Five are almost five metres wide, while the other two are about 2.5 metres wide.

The project started in early July with the washing of the wall, followed by painting over the graffiti.

Boulanger-Rowe said apparently some young people didn't like that and threw rocks at the wall and the teens working on the project.

People working on the project have been doing everything they can to protect the mural from vandals as it is being created. They have even gone as far as to stay at the francophone association's office overnight to keep watch.

Once completed, the mural will be covered with a varnish. Anything sprayed on the mural can be washed off with a special kind of cleaner.

Boulanger-Rowe explained the project was suggested by last year's French culture co-ordinator at Ecole Boreale.

The co-ordinator thought the artwork he saw at the school would look good on a mural and donated $500 for the project. The money was used to buy paint.

Catherine Boulanger, a development agent with the association and Chantay's mother, said the mural is a learning experience for the young people, even if it gets damaged afterwards.

However, Boulanger said the artwork will be the kind that appeals to young people, and she hopes they will respect and appreciate it.

She said people working at the francophone association's offices had to look out the window and see the graffiti.

"It gave the neighbourhood a bad impression," she said.

Boulanger said it is hoped the project will be finished by mid-August.

It is also planned that a portrait of the late RCMP Const. Christopher Worden, who was shot to death in Hay River last fall, will be added above the murals.

The mural project is being supported by the francophone association with funding it receives from the Department of Canadian Heritage.