MURAL FOR A MOUNTAIN TOWN

To stoke her imagination, abstract artist Jessa Gilbert hiked the mountain peaks and valleys surrounding the Village of Salmo. Her goal was to develop a concept for a larger-than-life public art piece that celebrated the natural beauty of the area.

Now, a stunning 10 x 75-foot mural depicts the valley’s streams, creeks and mountain ranges across the top of a centrally located building that houses the Salmo Valley Youth & Community Centre.

Spearheaded by the Salmo District Arts Council, a non-profit society devoted to supporting community arts and culture, the project was backed by a Public Art Grant from the Trust and complements three other murals already on the community building.

The mural captures the natural surroundings in a “shift in time” abstract piece that delicately transitions left-to-right from winter through summer. The snow-covered peaks of Kootenay Pass run off into a flowing river, which bleeds into the valley’s soft green terrain.

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“One of the challenges I set for myself as an artist is how to create a piece that feels like it’s evolving or in motion even though I’m using a static material,” she adds. “This piece emulates the rolling terrain features nestled within the Kootenays, so there’s a lot of circuitous movement and organic shapes. I want that playfulness and the ebb and flow of line to show things moving. I also take how we read things with our eyes into account; a curved line is going to have you move across the piece a lot differently than angulated lines.”

The community centre houses many programs that benefit Salmo residents and annually sees over 15,000 people pass through its doors. Its latest mural represents the environment and has become a point of pride for the youth and residents who frequent the community centre.