St. Stephen enlists artists, volunteers to collaborate on Canada 150 mosaic

St. Stephen will mark Canada's 150th anniversary with a largemosaic created by local artists and volunteers and installed in the Garcelon Civic Centre.

The southwestern town is the only New Brunswick community taking on the Canada 150 Mosaic project.

Derek O'Brien,St. Stephen's chief administrative officer, said he looked at the initiative and thought it would be a "great idea for the community."

The mayor and council agreed.

An artist from the Canada 150 team will come to St. Stephen for three days in April to help design the mural, which O'Brien said will focus on St. Stephen's railroad history.

The artist will partner with local artists and people from the community to paint approximately 750 10-centimetretiles.

"We're looking for this to include everyone in the community, from the little kids, to senior citizens, to everyone in between," O'Brien said.

Artists and the volunteers will work on painting the tiles via workshops in schools, seniors homes, and other public venues.

Once the tiles are assembled to create the mural, it will be moved to the civic center.

"What better project to put in a civic space than a project the community builds itself?" O'Brien said.

The project is also a chance to celebrate the arts in St Stephen a sector which can often take a back seat in the region.

"St Stephen has not been known as a fine arts community, but we have a lot of talented artists [here]," he said.

"The idea that we should celebrate the arts in Saint Stephen really piqued their interest."

More celebrations planned

The mural mosaic is one of several events St. Stephen has planned to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.

"We are going to build on the traditional festivals that we've done on Canada Day and New Brunswick Day, as well as the month of May, which is always Community Pride Month in St. Stephen," O'Brien said.

A new festival incorporating the St. Croix River is also in the planning stages, with details to be announced in the coming months.