Two teachers from Aldergrove Community Secondary School (ACSS) have undertaken an ambitious mural project that will seek dozens of contributed photos of people鈥檚 favourite scenes of the Aldergrove area.
Stephanie Martyniuk and Brooke Leary plan to take all of these images and combine them in such a way that from a distance the smaller images would combine to create larger images of the community in four side-by-side panels.
The four panels would be installed on the front outer wall of the school, which at present is a blank canvas for the art project.
Martyniuk, who teaches the photography program at ACSS, says she will be asking her students next semester to take photos on digital cameras as well as iPhones and iPads.
Leary, an ACSS history teacher, adds that parents and other members of the community will also be invited to contribute their favorite images of the community.
鈥淭he concept is our beautiful community, what people love best about Aldergrove,鈥� says Leary. 鈥淚t also celebrates the school鈥檚 60th anniversary and each panel will be dedicated to the four decades of the school in the community.鈥�
鈥淲e want photos that say a story about connections to this place, that speak to the culture of the school,鈥� says Martyniuk. 鈥淎t the same time we want to make it as open-ended as possible, not just photos of the school.鈥�
Th project was kick-started by a $3,000 grant from the school鈥檚 Parents Advisory Council, and another $7,000 grant has been requested from the provincial Art Start program.
This funding will pay for the reproduction of the images on a durable weather-resistant vinyl or plexiglas that would be installed on the four panels of the school鈥檚 front facade.
Martyniuk will be processing and assembling the images using the Photoshop program, with assistance from a local artist who has expressed interest in participating over next summer.
鈥淭he smaller images will be in the school鈥檚 colours, blue and white, and the larger images will be superimposed to create the effect that can be seen from a distance,鈥� says Martyniuk.
鈥淲e hope to hear about the grant from Art Start by May and then work on it over summer so it can be installed in time for the 2019 school year,鈥� says Leary.
