Leon Avenue Banners
The Work
A series of 10 double-sided metal banners painted by local artists are mounted on steel poles along a Downtown street.
The Project
The banners are the result of 2 initiatives. The first, in 2009, was led by the Communities in Bloom Committee to beautify Leon Avenue. Four double-sided banners, each side of each banner painted by a local artist, were installed on the 400 block and 2 on the 300 block. The floral theme ties into the vegetation that was planted in conjunction with the beautification of the street. The .5m wide x 1.2m tall banners are made of powder-coated aluminum. The earlier project included a mural entitled Okanagan Blessing located on the east wall of the building at 420 Leon Avenue. The project also included a series of doors that were painted by local First Nation children and hung in the entrance courtyard to the Ki-Lo-Na Friendship Centre (since removed). Materials for the project were contributed by local businesses. In the second initiative, completed in 2011, 4 double-sided banners were installed along the 200 block. The images for the banners in this phase of the project were generated through a series of workshops with clients and staff of the Gospel Mission, a non-profit organization providing services to vulnerable members of the community. Local businesses in the area also contributed. The aim of the project was to enhance the appearance of Leon Avenue and to enrich the lives of the less fortunate through participation in the creation of publicly-accessible art. During a full-day workshop, Gospel Mission clients worked alongside artists who volunteered their time to help the clients experience the creative possibilities of paint and brush. As described by Suzanne Anderton, coordinator for the project: “Most of the clients worked until their piece was completed…and all were obviously very satisfied with their work – leaving the workshop with a sense of tremendous accomplishment and in some cases, of feeling as though they had been able to revisit a part of their lives that was once very vital to them.”
The Artist
200 Block Leon Avenue
Blue Bike – Debra Martin
Lone Coyote – Jane Everett
Like Two Peas in a Pod – Alissa Woodside
Madonna How Do You Make Ends Meet? – Carrie Harper
The Road to Purgatory – Leslie Dyck
On a Tuesday Morning – Wanda Lock
Just Fly Away – Angela Bonten
China Wind – Dongmin and Sherry Lai
300 Block Leon Avenue
Even the Smallest Seed – Julie Elliot
Mother Earth – Julia Trops
Okanagan Blessings – Sandra Chapman
400 Block Leon Avenue
We Made It – Liz Earl
In No Hurry - Alex Fong
Ripples of Manna – Mike Brodie
Okanagan Vista – Gloria Pada
Rainbow’s Spirit – Lee Claremont
The Monarch’s Return – Lynden Beesley
In the Eye of a Daisy – Kenna Graf
