A decision to remove the painted mural next to the Pender Harbour Aquatic Centre pool is causing a stir amongst its artists and supporters.
The 4.8-metre by 7.3-metre mural's removal has been scheduled by the Pender Harbour Aquatic Society board as part of an overall renovation of the facility. The mural will be replaced by tiles. The board cites problems with mould in the wall, the deterioration of the mural itself and the overall aesthetic of the building as reasons.
But those reasons don't quite hold up for the artists. Emily Gray said "of course" she wants the mural to remain up. "It was only created five years ago. That was a very important moment for me, realizing that I want to be an artist and go to art school," she said.
Since then, Emily has graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design with a degree in fine art. She has recently completed eight other murals in Vancouver.
Emily said she feels the mural is being removed because it does not match the architects' vision for the building, rather than due to issues of mould and deterioration.
Emily's partner and mentor on the project, Ken Walters, said he disagrees with the board's reasoning and that he would want to see the decision made by the public.
"It's the community's mural. Let them decide," he said.
As for the problems with the wall, Walters has said he would volunteer to touch up the mural and coat it with waterproofing solutions not available when the mural was first made.
Since the Oct. 5 decision to remove the mural, Emily and her mother Kathy have spearheaded a campaign to save the mural, starting online and paper petitions and a "Save the Pender Harbour Pool Mural" Facebook group. The petition has over 100 signatures and the group has almost 300 members as of press time.
Kathy has taken to writing letters, gathering public opinion on the mural and communicating with the Aquatic Society Board chair Gilbert Yard.
"I've been talking to people. I have seen the public's response to the online petition and, physically, people are writing on the paper petitions. We have a reaction. We have a public opinion," she said.
Kathy said if the mural must be replaced with tiles for health and safety reasons, she would understand, but she would like to see some documentation that that is the case.
"I haven't seen an engineering study that says this wall has to have this other surface. I don't feel convinced this mural cannot be kept on the wall," she said.
Yard said there is no such document, but the hired architects have said the fact that the wall faces cold temperatures from the exterior and warm, humid conditions on the inside means mould and deterioration will remain problems if the mural stays.
"The issues of water ingress and the deterioration of that end wall made it plain that we really didn't have any choice," he said.
Kathy said she feels the artists were not treated with full respect or consulted in the process.
Yard said he sympathizes with Walters and Emily but there is little chance of the decision being reversed.
"I can understand the concern of the artists. Nobody likes to see something that they've created be destroyed. When you look at all of the issues, retention of the mural is just not an option. It's not in the best interests of the pool. It's not in the best interests of the community," he said.
Deb Cole, manager of the facility, said there is no scheduled date for the mural to come down.
