Check out this new and now the largest mural in Kelowna

The skies are far less smoky, the wildfire danger is over in Kelowna, and it's time to get out and about again.

So how about checking out the lattest project by students in a UBC Okanagan fourth-year visual arts course.

A large sweeping mural, in the parking lot of the Landmark District Market, provides a great deal of value to UBCO’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students, said Visual Arts Instructor David Doody.

He and co-facilitator Jorden Doody supervised and guided the students through the steps of planning, pitching, and painting a public mural.

“I think the most unique thing about this mural is that it's the biggest one we've done in Kelowna,” Jorden told Kelowna10. “So that definitely sets it apart from the others.”

This is the fourth year the course has been offered at the Okanagan campus and David said he can see how much impact and excitement a large painting like this can bring to both his students and the community.

“This experience for students really broadens their skillset and their toolbox as far as what experiences they've had in art school,” David said. “This is a real, in the public, large project where everyone's collaborating and working together. So, it's quite different than a traditional studio class.”

This year’s mural continues the theme of the previous three pieces in Kelowna; sensitive habitats and ecosystems of the Okanagan.

Each site depicts local flora and fauna to help bring awareness to some of the sensitive habitats in the local area.

“For this one, we were using the wild horses of the Okanagan,” David explained. “And then we just kind of took that and ran with it.”

“No pun intended,” Jorden added.

The 18 students enrolled in the course painted the mural throughout July and August.

One of them, Meg Furlot, said the experience was truly transformative.

“As a collaborative team of 18 people with two teachers on board, it’s a lot of different styles and a lot of different artists trying to collaborate on one cohesive image,” Furlot said. “To create it in such a small capacity of time for something of this large scale just feels overwhelmingly amazing.”

UBCO’s Department of Creative Studies partnered with Stober Group for the 2023 mural course, helping to secure a highly visible wall in the growing Landmark District.

“We are thrilled to be able to contribute to a growing body of public art in Kelowna while helping UBC Okanagan visual arts students grow and thrive through this wonderful experience,” said Ken Stober, President of the Stober Foundation. “We congratulate everyone involved in creating another amazing mural for us all to enjoy.”