A group of Mission artists will be painting the boulders along Alder Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues throughout Culture Days as part of a permanent public art installation.
The 5th Avenue Artists are a multi-talented group of artists – Rosanne Lambert, Charlotte Lightburn and Jacquie Pierce – who live along Fifth Avenue.
They say that the project along Alder Street highlights the importance of social connection and inclusion within the community.
The artists’ paintings will reflect anthropological art-making relationships with the land, while using mandalas as a source of inspiration. An outdoor gallery will also be on display.
Lambert, Lightburn and Pierce formed a friendship when they realized that they live on three corners of Fifth and Alder facing each other.
They soon discovered they had a few things in common: they regularly create art, they live in heritage homes, they are mothers, and they all have intercultural bi-racial families.
“We all happen to be Canadians who are raising intercultural families. I was asking myself what the particular ‘culture’ may be within this collective and I believe that that (itself) is a large part of it,” Lambert said.
These common experiences influence the themes in their art practices.
“Motherhood is not one-dimensional; it can be a source of creative inspiration. Watching my kids grow and express themselves freely, reminds me to enjoy the process and create work that is authentic,” Lightburn said.
As mothers, they are juggling their different roles while making art. Their children are ever present and included in their art making.
They work with a range of media, including paint, clay and digital photography and film. Their work can be found online and in private collections.
BC Culture Days runs from Sept. 23 to Oct. 16.