It's a Wrap!

kc dyer
1 day ago
3 min read

Lions Bay Arts spearheads new Beach Park feature

Canada Day at the new Beach Park was a big hit, and the star of the show was the new artwork wrapped around the facilities building.

Designed by artist Ciarra Saylor, a District of Squamish resident, the art installation features animals that are present in every day Village life, including sea lions, river otters, whales, and giant octopus.

The project has been spearheaded by Lions Bay Arts, and treasurer Leslie Nolin says it has been a collaboration of the highest level.

"The park facilities would have been just a concrete box if it wasn't for the Rogers/Mailey funding, Ute Philip's push, my operations and Jonathan Wreglesworth's expertise in public art," says Nolin. "Really, it's been a completely collaborative process with Lions Bay Arts chutzpah as momentum."

Wreglesworth echoes this sentiment. "There was zero money in the Beach Park budget for the building's exterior," he told The Watershed. "Lions Bay Arts responded to a recommendation by the architect for a mural, despite there being no funding. We sent out a 'Call for Artists' in print and online, with a focus on the North Shore and Sea to Sky. We promoted through our Sea to Sky Arts Council Alliance, which includes Bowen Island, Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton."

The result was more than 50 expressions of interest from artists throughout the region. This group was shortlisted to six artists, and the winning design was the work of Saylor, who has experience creating murals at locations including the Squamish Public Library and Collingwood Junior School.

In an excerpt from her submission, Saylor said that as an artist, her intention "is to bring light, joy and intergenerational smiles to residents and visitors alike, offering a daily reminder of the thriving marine and sky ecosystems that surround us and creating a photo-worthy backdrop that fosters community pride."

She said she worked to come up with a design to align Lions Bay Arts’ goals for the piece, and hopes it will "serve as a spirited, welcoming landmark for years to come."

Wreglesworth emphasizes that no Village taxpayer dollars were spent on this art installation. "The project has been entirely funded by a donation from long-time residents Victoria Rogers and Kim Mailey in their collaboration with Blink 49 Studios."

The installation was installed in the week leading up to Canada Day, and takes the form of a long-lasting skin that wraps around the concrete shell of the new building.

Wreglesworth notes that the Lions Bay Arts team gave a lot of thought to the materials to be used in this project. "Often original artworks installed on public buildings near the ocean are notoriously known to break down very quickly," he said. "This material is designed to last seven to 10 years. And in the future, when the art project has run its course, we'll either replace with art we currently have or make another call-out to artists and re-skin building with something different."

Wreglesworth, who moved to Lions Bay back in 2010, designed the trail signs found dotted around the Village. The signs were installed in 2010 and 2011, and were created through a very similar process to that used in this Beach Park art installation. They remain in good shape to this day, still providing hikers clear directions some 15 years after initial installation.

Lions Bay Arts has been engaged in creating public art in the community for more than 16 years, working with a number of different local groups including Bird Friendly, Butterflyway, UNESCO and Lions Bay School to create public art projects around the Village.

"We're very proud of the work," says Wreglesworth. "We've been supporting these initiatives within the public art and design realm, so this project felt like a natural for us."