Chilliwack Mural Festival - Muralists Confirmed

Chilliwack Mural Festival has confirmed nine muralists to paint from August 1 to 17 in Downtown Chilliwack. Muralists include Fio Silva, Guillem Font, Juanjo Surace, NEAN, Ovila Mailhot, Sophie Mess, Leon Keer, and Terry & Jordyn Horne. The muralists are selected by festival curators Carrielynn Victor, Amber Price, and Lise Oakley and include local artists from Chilliwack, Seabird Island, and Yeqwyeqwí:ws, as well as international artists from Argentina, Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

“I am excited for this year’s muralists to bring their artistic visions to the walls of Downtown Chilliwack,” says Lise Oakley, Executive Director of the Chilliwack Arts Council. “The muralists painting will be the perfect lead-up to the Chilliwack Mural Festival on August 15-17. This is when the downtown comes alive with vibrant live music performances, interactive art activities, food trucks, and an art market.”

International muralists include Fio Silva, a big-scale Argentine muralist born in Buenos Aires. The combination of animals and organic elements shapes the movement of her figures. Her works refer to nature, time, and strength. Guillem Font resides between Barcelona and Mexico City, where he actively develops and produces his artistic projects across various disciplines, such as drawing, illustration, engraving, scenography, animation, and mural painting. Born in 1977 in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Juanjo Suracebegan his artistic journey as a self-taught artist and later worked as a 3D animator and illustrator in Barcelona, Spain. His work is often described as strange, eerie, and bizarre. It showcases high creativity and imagination. NEAN is the pseudonym of a Belgian street artist with a fascinating style who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. Entirely self-taught, NEAN started creating on paper before turning to aerosol spray paint and a passion for portraits. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Sophie Mess creates vibrant botanical-inspired artworks that radiate with energy and life, resonating with a deep connection with nature, capturing its essence through bold colours, intricate details, and imaginative perspectives. Leon Keer is from the Netherlands, and is one of the world’s leading artists in anamorphic street art, and often presents his art by adding new technologies, such as augmented reality and video mapping. 

Local muralists include Ovila Mailhot, a Coast Salish graphic artist and designer. Originally from Seabird Island in British Columbia, he lived in Chilliwack for several years and now lives in Lafayette, Indiana. His roots are both in Stó:lō and the Nlaka’pamux Nation. Ovila notes that he feels compelled to create new work and revitalize the techniques and approaches to Indigenous art. Chief Terry Horne is a member of the Yakweakwioose Band of the Coast Salish First Nation. He was born in Chilliwack and carries the ancestral name of the Siyemches, passed down to him by his grandfather, Frank Malloway. His preferred artistic medium is wood, mainly red cedar, from which he carved house posts, totem poles, and masks. He will be painting his first mural with his daughter, Jordyn Horne.

The muralists will paint in Downtown Chilliwack in the weeks before the Chilliwack Mural Festival, which will be held in District 1881, Mill Street, and Central Community Park from August 15 to 17, 2024. 

For more information on the muralists, visit chilliwackmuralfestival.com/muralists