A black curtain was draped over a wall in a stairwell at the Gallagher Centre. Dozens of people flocked to the upper and lower levels to get a good view of the wall. Representatives from City Hall and the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery were positioned behind a podium.听
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After several speeches were made thanking artists and volunteers for their months of hard work, four people grabbed the edges of the curtain. With one strong tug, they yanked the curtain down to reveal the newest art piece in Yorkton: The Canada 150 mural.
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The painting depicts Yorkton鈥檚 farming past (a horse) and future (a tractor). The Yorkton Film Festival鈥檚 Golden Sheaf sits between them. A railroad runs along the bottom of the mural.
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The painting is composed of over one thousand individual tiles. Artists, volunteers, and students ethched their personal images on the tiles, creating mini-stories in the huge tableau.
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Jeann Spilak, who was in attendance when the mural was unveiled, brought blank tiles to schools across Yorkton. She provided paints and brushes so the students could contribute their creative flair to the mural.
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鈥淭hey loved doing it and we loved doing it with them,鈥� she said.
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Spilak appreciated how the mural illustrates Yorkton鈥檚 agricultural and communal history.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e come a long way,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful.鈥�
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Donald Stein, Executive Director for the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, was one of the people who tore down the curtain at the unveiling. He was pleased with how the mural turned out.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 just fantastic to see it in place,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was such a great project and so much fun.
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鈥淓very tile means something to somebody.鈥�
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Stein said the original plan was to put the mural outside the Land Titles Building, but they wanted to protect it from the buildings, so they chose the Gallagher Centre as its home.
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鈥淭his [is] the ideal place because of the amount of traffic here,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e guaranteed thousands of people seeing it.鈥�
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Stein was gratified to see all the hard work that went into the mural and the excitement it generated in the community.
鈥淭here was just so much enthusiasm and over-the-top participation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we鈥檙e extremely proud of.鈥�
