Vernon Matters file photo

By Liam Verster

Save the Sveva Caetani Mural Petition

UPDATE: Petition to preserve mural accepted for information

Feb 24, 2025 | 12:50 PM

Vernon City Council accepted a petition to preserve the Sveva Caetani mural Monday.

Council was presented the petition by Dawn Tucker and Judy Rose, asking to preserve the mural on 32nd Ave. near 30th St. which was at risk of being demolished for a new development.

The petition also asked that the city establish a Public & Culture Arts Policy as well as an independent Public Arts & Culture Advisory Committee to manage public art pieces.

During the regular meeting Monday, Feb. 245, Tucker said that, without the policy or committee, there were no best practices in place for maintaining the murals, which caused issues for business owners who were promised that the murals would be kept in their best condition.

“Murals are starting to be damaged and are starting to have issues with things disappearing,” Tucker told council.

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“Is education happening with the owners around copyright? Is that occurring, I don’t know. What happened to the contracts? There were supposed to be contracts with the murals. There’s conflicts with things like the sign bylaw, in terms of this gets decided, there’s the open spaces where the DVA (Downtown Vernon Association) Board gets to decide maybe where there’s decommissioning, that was originally in our Art Policy, which was very progressive at the time. There was even money in our original Art Policy that went towards development, putting money towards our art which allowed for more money in our maintenance fund to purchase new art. We don’t have that currently.”

Tucker noted the murals are also a big draw for tourists, and not having them maintained could impact local businesses and the economy.

Tucker also stated that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the murals and the city could be getting grants to maintain the pieces, taking the pressure off taxpayers.

Following the presentation, Councillor Kelly Fehr asked that staff bring forward some details about the Public Arts & Culture Advisory Committee that used to be in place in Vernon so he could learn more about their work in the past.

Councillor Teresa Durning added the Public Art Policy had been discussed previously at the request of the public, though indicated it would likely not be started until the next term “due to capacity” and adding the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee already had a Public Art Policy in place.

Council voted in favour of accepting the presentation for information.

There was a member of the public that tried to speak up following the vote, though Mayor Victor Cumming stated the person was Out of Order as the presentation was only to be provided to council and there was no opportunity for public input at the time.

“The presentation made by Dawn Tucker is just a presentation to council, there is no public input section attached to that,” Cumming informed the person in the Council Chambers.

“There isn’t a debate, there isn’t a conversation. There’s a presentation to council.”

The Mayor noted that anyone who wished to provide input on the matter could do so by writing a letter or speaking with city staff.

— Original Story —

A petition to preserve the Sveva Caetani mural will be delivered to the City of Vernon.

The petitioners said in a letter that the proposed removal of the mural on 32nd Ave. and 30th St. raised concerns of Vernon’s “lack of a public art policy, artist rights, and economic fairness,” adding these issues impact the community, local businesses, and the broader creative economy.

“Public art is not only nice to look at – it is a proven driver of economic revitalization, tourism, and community engagement,” the petitioners’ letter stated.

“Our murals have brought millions of dollars into our local economy over the years.”

Additionally, the letter stated the lack of an Arts and Culture Policy was a concern, and that it would be “in the public interest to establish practices and policies as part of broader cultural asset management practices” to restore and expand murals .

“Our community deserves this economic driver. Especially the Sveva mural, whose namesake was locked away for so long deserves to not be locked away from the global draw that she is.”

In addition to maintaining the aforementioned mural, the petitioners asked that the city provide clarity on the sale of the property from the Cultural Corridor beside the Sveva Caetani mural; implement a formal arts and culture policy; and create an Independent Public Art and Culture Advisory Committee.

The petition, as of the latest update at 3 p.m. on Feb. 13, had 1,659 signatures, with the organizers looking to bring that up to 2,500.

The petitioners will present their request to Vernon City Council at the regular meeting Monday, Feb. 24.