July 1, 1867, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia united to create the Canadian Confederation, called the Dominion of Canada.
On July 1, 2017, Canada celebrated its 150th Anniversary marking a significant moment in the History of Canada. As part of this celebrations communities in each province and territory across Canada created sections of the overall mural that connects Canada through art. Every participating city or town created a section of the mural made up of individual tiles that symbolize their community.
Each painting is part of a community mural which then becomes part of the Canada 150 National Mosaic Mural. This results in each community's mural virtually connecting to other community murals creating a massive coast-to-coast-to-coast unified mosaic.
Throughout the Country, this equates to a total of 80,000 tiles that will comprise an overall image of train cars connecting Canadians from far and wide!
Oliver's Community Mosaic was completed in May 2017 and is made up of 864 4"x4" tiles painted by community members of all ages. Each tile represents something special about Oliver or Canada to the individual artist.
The conceptual design showcases many key images representing Oliver. Standing central in the mural is ncaylintn (Ny-lin-tn), aka McIntyre Bluff. This iconic cliff north of town is where the Okanagan Valley is at its narrowest. The bluff is not only a unique sight to see but is also rich in Sylix (Okanagan) First Nation history.
Since the town's inception, agriculture has been a key industry. The irrigation canal, that is still used today, is depicted central in the mural. Its sole task is moving water to the area farms, fruit orchards and vineyards, turning the natural dry desert valley into a lush green landscape.
The final key image of the three wine barrels represents the very prevalent wine industry. Oliver heralds as the Wine Capital of Canada with thousands of acres of vineyards and many small and commercial wineries.
Transcribed from sign
150th Anniversary of Canada Mosaic
"How it Worked
Approximately 5 - 15 Communities per province and territory across Canada will create sections of the overall mural that will connect Canada through art. Oliver will create a section of the mural made up of 400-750 individual tiles that symbolizes our community.
Each of these Community Mural sections will stand alone as a mural for that particular community. Then, each of these sections of the mural will be become one of the many storybook pages within the overall mural to form the ultimate visual time capsule and create a legacy for a proud nation.
As each painting is part of a community mural, each community mural is part of the Canada 150 National Mosaic Mural. Each community mural virtually connects to other community murals resulting in a massive coast to coast unified mosaic.
Throughout the Country, this equates to a total of 80,000 tiles that will comprise an overall image of train cars connecting Canadians from far and wide!"
Source: Oliver