One of the proposed Behind the Mask murals for the B.C Housing building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

By Liam Verster

Eight murals

Council to debate modified Behind the Mask mural project request

Sep 6, 2022 | 6:00 AM

Vernon city council is expected to make its final decision on a modified version of the proposed Behind the Mask mural project which has been a topic of debate for several months.

Council has discussed the murals depicting people in masks that represent their struggles with mental health several times since the proposal was first brought forward by the Vernon Public Art Gallery (VPAG) in May.

The original request was to allow for the 12 murals to be put up at locations throughout Vernon on a five year timeline, and for the city to allocate up to $33,000 to cover the installation. Council was also asked to amend a sign bylaw to allow for the murals to be installed on several privately owned buildings.

VPAG is once again bringing the matter before council, though the total number of murals has been reduced to eight pieces: two on the downtown parkade, one on the Civic Memorial Park Building, one at Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services, one at the Vernon Community Arts Centre, two on the B.C. Housing Building, and one on C.L.A. Financial Management Services.

The proposed murals for the downtown parkade (photos courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

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The proposed mural for the Civic Memorial Park building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

The proposed mural for the Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services’ building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

The proposed Behind the Mask mural for the Vernon Community Arts Centre building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

The proposed Behind the Mask murals for the B.C. Housing building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

The proposed Behind the Mask mural for the C.L.A. Financial Management Services building (photo courtesy of Vernon Public Art Gallery / City of Vernon)

It also requested that the City of Vernon provide funds to install the pieces on public buildings.

City staff is recommending that council accept the updated location information with the issue to be before council for its regular meeting this afternoon.

The proposed mural project has been a controversial matter for the past several months.

City council originally approved the requests in May, then brought it back for further discussions after receiving lots of public opposition, mainly with concerns ranging from the images being inappropriate and scary, to the fear they will scare tourists away, to the thought that it will not have the desired effect of educating people about mental health.

This led to the Art Gallery being tasked with holding public consultations, which it did over a two-week period in July with a free open house at the gallery to show the pieces, tell viewers the background information related to the project, and collect feedback.

The result of those public consultations showed that 313 Vernon residents attended the gallery to have their say, and that 65.1 per cent of respondents were either in support or strongly in support of having the murals up.

In response to the feedback, VPAG again asked that council approve the installation of murals, and requested that the city provide funds to install the pieces on public buildings.

The matter was brought before council during the Aug. 15 meeting, though it was pointed out that some of the listed addresses were wrong, and deferred the matter to a future meeting once the corrections were made.

A report from City of Vernon staff for the Aug. 15 meeting recommended that council take no action related to the request.

Council will once again discuss the project and is expected to make a final decision on the murals at its meeting today (Sept. 6).