NEW Mural: The Heart of our Community on Downie Street

We’re ecstatic about our NEW (and newest) ART MURAL PROJECT on Downie Street — lovingly called “THE HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY” — in Downtown Stratford. We are the proud recipients of the My Main Street Community Activator Grant and were thrilled to be chosen in order to move forward with this exciting project.

Bareket and her fabulous assistant, artist Liz Emirzian, painted all day and into the night for two entire weeks (fingers crossed to the Weather Overseerers were at play here). It was completed over Thanksgiving Weekend.

We hired the very talented Maaike Rosendal of Brilliant Images Photography & Films, to capture Bareket’s work along the way, as well as capture the rich, captivating public art sprawled throughout our Downtown.

Sutton Realty generously offered us their large, beautiful wall to house this wall mural project, at 151 Downie St., alongside the parking lot.

Our vibrant town should indeed be celebrated as we slowly build our way to plastering all the public spaces in our downtown with a vibrant upgrade. Thanks to the determination of our Beautification Committee and Public Art Working Group, we now have a Public Art Strategy to call upon as we continue our commitment to beautifying our downtown.

Public Art Mural Dedication

Join us as we celebrate the newest art mural project addition to our downtown, and thank our funders My Main Street, FedDev Ontario, and Canadian Urban Institute, Sutton Realty for their wall space, Brilliant Images for filming the process and creating our videos, Jennifer Birmingham for her cozy artist accommodations, Dulux for their paint discount, and of course our artists.

We launched the final product on October 23rd during an Art Wall Mural Dedication and official RIBBON TYING (rather than cutting), and provided a fun “heart centred” activity for those who attended.

My Main Street

We are so excited to announce that our Wall Mural Project was selected for the My Main Street Community Activator stream! 

With this support, we are able to see our vision for this huge blank wall come to fruition, and cannot wait for the community to claim it as its own.

Thank you FedDev Ontario and Canadian Urban Institute for supporting local communities and revitalizing main streets.

• My Main Street is funded by a Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to foster the stabilization and revitalization of main streets across southern Ontario. 
• The My Main Street Community Activator will provide support across southern Ontario for local community placemaking projects, including festivals and events, community enhancements, and streetscape improvements designed to draw visitors and increase local vibrancy.
• Placemaking is an approach that asks people to collectively reimagine and reshape public space to maximize its shared value. Placemaking can take the form of events that draw people into a community, murals that brighten neglected streetscapes and celebrate local artists, seating and temporary patios that allow people to gather safely outdoors, new uses for neglected or empty spaces, and more. 

Instagram Giveaway

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