The erasure of a decades-old downtown mural this summer generated plenty of online discussion, but city council has made it clear that the decision was out of the city’s hands.
This July, owners of Boh’s Cycle and Sport permitted artist Carly Jaye Smith to paint over the 30-year-old National Light and Power Co. mural that Gus Froese had painted in 1993 on the south-facing wall. The artwork memorialized the changes that electric lighting brought to the city, while the Moose Jaw Asphalt Company had sponsored the project.
“So, they gave me the go-ahead to do what I needed to do in terms of infrastructure repair,” Calibaba said. “They said that it wasn’t protected anymore, so after I knew it was expired, I figured it was ready for an upgrade.
“I called Carly, and we started working together on it, as we already have a couple of times before.”
Smith eventually painted an illustration incorporating outer space, the Northern Lights, Saskatchewan Prairie elements and cycling.
During council’s Oct. 10 regular meeting, Coun. Heather Eby — a representative on the city’s public art committee — discussed the group’s meeting minutes from September, which contained information about the former mural at 821 Main Street North.
“I know there was a lot of discussion about this on social media,” Eby said.
She pointed out that the agreement for Froese’s mural had expired, which meant neither Jaye nor Calibaba had to inform city hall or the committee of the new artwork. Moreover, neither party informed the committee or Eby about the new mural, which prevented the group from attempting to relocate the National Light and Power Co. artwork.
“It had been a part of the City of Moose Jaw’s murals program and a piece of local history,” said Eby.
City administration informed the committee that it would audit all the mural-related agreements the municipality has with businesses that have a city-owned mural on their building, she continued. With agreements up to date and continued communication between the city and property owners, the committee wants to ensure that no more historic murals are lost.
“I know many people in the community were very upset about that. And at least in the beginning, the public art committee took a lot of bad press about that, feeling that they had been the ones to allow it to happen,” Eby added.
“Nobody allowed it to happen, but it was allowed to happen just because of process. And nobody did anything wrong; it was just perhaps (poor communication) between everyone.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Oct. 23.
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