A collaboration between the BC Farm Museum and local artists has caught the eye of the province.
The farm museum recently received an award from Heritage BC. The award was presented during Heritage Education and Awareness Week.
The murals were unveiled in 2017 and depict the community’s past, intended to complement the artifacts housed in the farm museum.
“The murals have been very well received,” said Syd Pickerell, the mural committee chair. “Many visitors come just to see them up close. They tie in so well with the story we are trying to tell about early pioneer life.”
The 32 panels were done by seven artists.
“Springing out of the community value of heritage preservation and exhibition, one mural proudly depicts the relationship among the Kwantlen Nation, the salmon, and the Fort located on the banks of the Fraser River in Fort Langley; another illustrates the contribution of pioneering women of all ages while others show the many aspects of agriculture,” he added. “With murals inside and outside the BC Farm Museum to complement their 5,000 artifacts, British Columbia’s heritage is on proud and full display for all to see.”
Pickerell offered praise for the work of the seven artists – Toni Williams and Judy Jordison, working as a team, Janice Robertson and Alan Wylie teaming up, Vivian Harder, Darlene Mehrer MacDonald, and Phyllis Atkins.
“Sadly, artist Judy Jordison passed away two months after the unveiling of the finished murals,” Pickerell noted.
Also involved was the museum mural committee which included Grace Muller, Hilary Ruffini, John Bekkers, Todd Davidson and Pickerell.
Muller oversaw fundraising for the project which was supported by matched funding from the Canada 150 Infrastructure Program as well as support from the province, the Township, the Langley Heritage Society, the Allan and Gwendoline Pyatt Foundation, and Farm & Ranch Realty.
Herb Neufeld and Clarence Haasjes did the work of hanging the massive pieces of art inside and outside the museum.
• Learn more about Western Canada’s largest collection of pioneer and agricultural artifacts.