In his excellent article today about Oshawa's Downtown Historic Murals Tim Kelly wrote
‘There is a love affair between residents of Oshawa and its murals:’ Oshawa council votes 10-0 to keep every downtown mural from scrap heap."
Yesterday Oshawa Council passed the following motion:
That pursuant to Report ED-24-112 dated October 2, 2024 concerning the mural art evaluation plan:
Here is some more from Tim's Oshawa This Week article:
"Oshawa council went from condemning 14 of Oshawa’s 15 downtown murals to the dustbin of history in committee just three weeks ago to maintaining that history — unanimously — on Monday."
"It was a drastic three-week turnaround, especially for the four economic and development committee members who voted to scrap all but one of the murals Oct. 7 following a staff recommendation to get rid of them over the next four years and replace them at a cost of $433,000."
"In those three weeks, a huge response from residents to councillors via phone calls, emails, and on social media made clear locals did not support getting rid of the murals and it seems the message sunk in with members of council."
""Council voted to have murals assessed on a one-by-one basis to discover cost to restore or repair murals; new murals will also be installed in future as residents make clear they want consultation."
He quoted Oshawa resident Louise Parkes:
“We can have new works of art and at the same time we can also retain and restore the murals. The mural program was very different, they were part of the fabric for the summers. It was pretty heady summers when they were here. The entire downtown community interacted with the artists. The streets were electric from 1995-2001. It’s not just the static images on the murals that evoke such loyalty, it’s the history they tell; we have this memory of that period of time.”
and Oshawa resident Cathy Cummings
“I was gobsmacked (when hearing the murals would come down). I thought about what the murals had meant to me. Camp X, Bobby Orr is our culture, the Victorian Order of Nurses is rich in tradition and heritage. I believe that the murals are on the same historical significance as Camp Samac. Everyone that I have mentioned this to is at first shocked. Then comes the anger, then comes the statement of how much they love these murals. Words like heritage, tradition, timeless legacy is spoken about.”
‘There is a love affair between residents of Oshawa and its murals:’ Oshawa council votes 10-0 to keep every downtown mural from scrap heap."
Yesterday Oshawa Council passed the following motion:
That pursuant to Report ED-24-112 dated October 2, 2024 concerning the mural art evaluation plan:
- That the Mural Art Evaluation Plan by STEPS Mural Art be endorsed with the exception of the recommendations relatead to the existing murals as outlined on pages 51 to 62.
- That City staff be directed to preserve "Ontario Regiment -130 years of Service" as outlined in Sections 4.4.1 and that staff report back with a plan to maintain the remaining existing murals.
- That a QR code be added to each current and future mural such that on a City website would contain the historical context and information about each mural for educational purposes to enable any viewer to understand the history of Oshawa better.
Here is some more from Tim's Oshawa This Week article:
"Oshawa council went from condemning 14 of Oshawa’s 15 downtown murals to the dustbin of history in committee just three weeks ago to maintaining that history — unanimously — on Monday."
"It was a drastic three-week turnaround, especially for the four economic and development committee members who voted to scrap all but one of the murals Oct. 7 following a staff recommendation to get rid of them over the next four years and replace them at a cost of $433,000."
"In those three weeks, a huge response from residents to councillors via phone calls, emails, and on social media made clear locals did not support getting rid of the murals and it seems the message sunk in with members of council."
""Council voted to have murals assessed on a one-by-one basis to discover cost to restore or repair murals; new murals will also be installed in future as residents make clear they want consultation."
He quoted Oshawa resident Louise Parkes:
“We can have new works of art and at the same time we can also retain and restore the murals. The mural program was very different, they were part of the fabric for the summers. It was pretty heady summers when they were here. The entire downtown community interacted with the artists. The streets were electric from 1995-2001. It’s not just the static images on the murals that evoke such loyalty, it’s the history they tell; we have this memory of that period of time.”
and Oshawa resident Cathy Cummings
“I was gobsmacked (when hearing the murals would come down). I thought about what the murals had meant to me. Camp X, Bobby Orr is our culture, the Victorian Order of Nurses is rich in tradition and heritage. I believe that the murals are on the same historical significance as Camp Samac. Everyone that I have mentioned this to is at first shocked. Then comes the anger, then comes the statement of how much they love these murals. Words like heritage, tradition, timeless legacy is spoken about.”