{"id":31451,"date":"2022-06-09T19:01:03","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T23:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=31451"},"modified":"2022-06-09T19:06:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T23:06:41","slug":"carruthers-mural-adds-colourful-splash-to-downtown-promenade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/carruthers-mural-adds-colourful-splash-to-downtown-promenade\/","title":{"rendered":"Carruthers\u2019 mural adds colourful splash to Downtown Promenade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aurora artist Vicki Carruthers has long found inspiration in the wilds of Georgian Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a theme she returns to time and again within her work and, in the unveiling of the first of a series of Yonge Street murals, she\u2019s sharing that inspiration and joy with all passers-by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The striking mural was formally unveiled by Mayor Tom Mrakas and members of Council last Tuesday, May 31, outside of Chartwell Park Place on the southeast corner of Yonge and Reuben Streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the first in a mural program which is planned to \u201ctransform what are otherwise plain retaining walls into colourful showcases for public art,\u201d said Mayor Mrakas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe murals are also intended to create a sense of pride, reduce graffiti and tagging, and allow neighbourhoods to shape their community through beautification,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first mural we are celebrating today was created by Aurora-based artist Vicki Carruthers who generously provided her artwork at no cost in the hope that it will inspire the community. As Vicki says\u2026she wants to share her passion, make a difference and put a smile on your face with her colourful paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVicki\u2019s mural fits perfectly with our vision for downtown. It expresses light, sun, enjoyment, and makes you happy as you walk by. We want our residents to have those kinds of feelings when they see this mural and visit our downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding for the mural was put forward by Enbridge through their Fuelling Futures Fund and representatives from the company were also on hand for the unveiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d said Ms. Carruthers of last week\u2019s unveiling. \u201cThe reaction that I got from hundreds of people \u2013 I have always created work to make people happy and I think it has created something for people to be excited about, happy about. To have artwork accessible for anyone to come and see at any time, it is going to be there as long as it can be \u2013 it kind of blew my mind. I don\u2019t know how to describe how humbled and excited I am by this. It has always been a dream and that it actually happened is kind of remarkable for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past winter, she told The Auroran: \u201cThe painting\u2019s title is \u2018Stay Strong\u2019 so you believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams. That is kind of my life-long inspiration. I have worked hard, I have struggled, and now things are coming to me with just never giving up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Town shared Ms. Carruthers\u2019 excitement in seeing this come to life and is equally eager to see more artistic works like these not only beautify the Aurora Promenade area but bring more people into Aurora\u2019s historic centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope Vicki\u2019s mural is the first of many to adorn these retaining walls,\u201d said Mayor Mrakas. \u201cCollectively, by supporting artists we can shape our community identity, foster a sense of belonging, and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora artist Vicki Carruthers has long found inspiration in the wilds of Georgian Bay. It\u2019s a theme she returns to time and again within her work and, in the unveiling of the first of a series of Yonge Street murals, she\u2019s sharing that inspiration and joy with all passers-by. The striking mural was formally unveiled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/2022-06-09-03.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8bh","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 14:12:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}