The final mural in downtown Red Deer was revealed as the city kicked off the Meet the Street Festival Friday afternoon.
Bruno Canadien, a visual artist based in Black Diamond, was on hand to unveil his artwork, which features three large square floral paintings.
“A lot of my work lately has been based on Dene floral designs, which is traditionally done in bead work and broidery,” said Canadien, a member of the Deh Gah Got’ı́é Kǫ́ę́ First Nation, a Deh Cho Region member of the Dene Nation.
“That’s work by family has done and does continue to do. I’m just pursuing that Dene artwork via painting. … I hope I’m continuing on that tradition and participating in the Dene art genre.”
Canadien, who holds a Diploma in Fine Arts and Painting Major from Alberta College of Art, responded to the call for artist submissions the city put out earlier this year.
“I had been looking to try my hand in public art and thought this was a great opportunity to do it. Luckily I was accepted,” he said, adding it took 10 days to finish the three paintings.
Bobby-Jo Stannard, City of Red Deer community development superintendent, praised Canadien and the 12 other artists whose murals have helped beautify the downtown.
“The murals are amazing,” said Stannard.
“It’s been such a rich addition to our downtown to have these murals painted.”
The Meet the Street Festival will continue through to Sunday in downtown Red Deer, at the Ross Street Patio, First Red Deer Place parking lot and Gary W. Harris Celebration Plaza. The event features live entertainment, a street art fair, Bizarre Bazaar artisan market, community pop-up activities and more.
“We’re so excited to invite Red Deerians to come back downtown to visit the improvements that have happened during the pandemic. We’re holding this festival to celebrate arts and culture in a safe, socially distanced way,” said Stannard.
The inaugural event officially kicks of the city’s Alberta Culture Days celebration, which runs throughout the month of September.
For more information and a schedule of activities, visit www.reddeer.ca/meetthestreet.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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