INNISFAIL – Artist Karen Scarlett is getting a letter of support from Innisfail town council to help her with an ambitious plan in 2025 to create three more murals in the downtown core.
During council’s special meeting on Aug. 19 town council unanimously agreed to her request, but only after considering timelines with the planned new public arts policy the town is currently working on, and whether Scarlett should make a formal presentation to council about her planned mural projects.
Scarlett is planning a community-driven fibre art installation called ‘It Takes A Village’, and murals on the exterior walls of the Salvation Army building at 4912 - 52nd St., 49th Street Emporium at 4944 -49th Street and Pharmasave Jackson’s at 5011 - 49th Street, with the latter two locations having a video production component.
The Innisfail artist, who has successfully spearheaded six community art projects over the past two years, needs close to $80,000 of federal and provincial grant funding to have her plans realized.
"I like the idea of art being accessible to everyone and being able to find funding for projects is an important part of bringing them to fruition,” said Scarlett.
Scarlett is seeking an $18,000 grant from the Alberta Foundation of the Arts and a $60,000 Canada Council grant. Her grant application deadline is Sept. 1.
She is not seeking funding from the Town of Innisfail for her 2025 projects.
"I have had to self-fund each of the crochet projects that have been created so far in Innisfail with Wilma Watson (Innisfail Art Club president) helping out with the poppy project funding,” said Scarlett of a past project at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail. “I love that the community has shown up to participate in them and it shows that people want to be part of something bigger and to feel connected by being involved in these creative projects that we produce together."
Mayor Jean Barclay at first wanted to know whether Scarlett should make a presentation to council to explain the project and its funding application further.
The mayor later said she wanted to know how Scarlett’s planned project fit into the town’s ongoing development of its long-awaited public arts policy but conceded the latter was a “little way away.”
Councillors Jason Heistad and Janice Wing both told council they did not personally have any issues with just endorsing the letter of support at the Aug. 19 meeting, with Wing noting the planned murals are on privately-owned land.
Meghan Jenkins, community services director for the Town of Innisfail, told council her department has recently received a draft public arts policy from the art consultant and it’s being reviewed by administration with a hope a draft version can be presented to council in the latter half of September.
Jenkins also told council the letter of support to Scarlett does not commit council in any way to financially support the art project.
“It's simply providing support to the grant application in terms of general municipal support to this type of work,” said Jenkins. “And currently within the town's regulatory structure we don't regulate mural installation on private property.”
In the meantime, Scarlett is hoping to get an answer to her two grant funding requests by mid-January of 2025.
"I am thrilled to have the mayor, council and town administration's support for this project,” said Scarlett. “I hope everyone keeps their fingers crossed for me, maybe their arms and legs too, that I receive news in the new year about a successful grant."
