West Nipissing, Ont., council mural conveys municipality’s visions, values

by carly_mchugh | 2 January 2024 4:45 pm

The council chambers in West Nipissing, Ont., received a colourful splash of culture, thanks to a new mural by local artist Howie Longfellow.

The 7.3-m (24-ft) illustration serves as somewhat of a compilation of Longfellow’s previous works, which include community-tailored welcome signs throughout the municipality.

Mayor Thorne Rochon hopes the mural “inspires everyone who steps foot in council chambers to really consider the people and stories of our community—to respect the residents of all ages and backgrounds, as well as the predecessors who worked hard to build West Nipissing.”

With a colourful and energetic feel, the mural illustrates many of the municipality’s historical sites and traditions. It also showcases many aspects of its culture, wildlife, hunting and fishing, farms, food, and landscapes. To conceptualize the piece, Longfellow initiated community consultations. He also documented and found inspiration in residents’ stories and anecdotes, as well as listened to their values and visions.

“The idea was to leverage elements from existing welcome signs, then create new elements to represent communities that have yet to be involved in this project,” says Longfellow. “It was a challenge to tie in all of these elements in a pleasing manner. It’s a feeling of gratitude—of all of the many great artists within our community—to be tasked with this piece.

“I like to think it will act as a reflection point for council present and future, like ‘stopping to smell the roses,’ as they say. We are fortunate to call West Nipissing ‘home,’ we are surrounded by an abundance of natural beauty, generous people, and we need to keep that safe.”

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/west-nipissing-ont-council-mural-conveys-municipalitys-visions-values/

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