Hardware Gallery Organizes Mural Project in Kentville
By Genevieve Allen Hearn
Kentville will get a little more colorful this summer. Board members of Hardware Gallery, the new art gallery located in the Town of Kentville, are making a community effort to get new, contemporary murals in the town. The Kentville Business Community has recently amended their façade program to include murals, which means businesses can apply for 50 per cent of the mural creation cost.
Dave Reid from D.M. Reid’s Jewellers is the first business to jump on board. Reid, who sits on the Kentville Business Community board, says, “The joint Kentville Business Community and Hardware Gallery mural program will enhance the downtown core with more of our interesting and beautiful local artwork. We already have a number of murals and would like to keep adding to that. Not only do they beautify, but they promote our local artists and become another great reason to visit and enjoy our town. Many of these have a historical context of Kentville, which is wonderful to celebrate. We hope Miyoshi’s mural is the first of many more to grace the walls of our buildings!â€
Local artist Miyoshi Kondo will be painting an 8’ x 8’ mural on the side of Reid’s building, facing Centre Square. The location will bring a vibrancy to an area used for farmers’ markets, Apple Blossom, Harvest Festival, the Multicultural Fair, and other annual events. Kondo comments, “The general concept for the mural is the history and development of a town, in this case Kentville, represented by the changing architecture. It will be a whimsical nod to the past, present and future.â€
Kondo’s brush hits the wall in the beginning of August. Hardware Gallery hopes that other businesses surrounding Centre Square will take advantage of the opportunity to work with local artists and brighten up the public space. If interested in submitting an application, or for more information about the mural project, contact community@hardwaregallery.ca.
