A mural unveiling six years in the making finally came to be in Penticton on Saturday afternoon, March 25.
And for Syilx artist Dr. Michelle Jack, the wait was well worth it.
Jack designed “healing energy for all living things,” an Indigenous mural unveiled during the second annual Ignite the Arts Festival in the 300-block of Main Street by Mike’s Pawnbrokers.
Jack, along with artists Joseph M. Sanchez, Andre Sutherland Begin, Riley Cleveland, BreAnne Hubick and Csetkwe Megan Fortier, completed work on the piece in five days.
“Syilx artists haven’t really a lot of opportunities to show things in the (Penticton) downtown space,” Jack said. “The last mural, which was actually put up in the 1960s, was only up for a little while and there has not been a mural from our Penticton Indian Band until we made this one in 2017.
“So, it’s very important that many different people got the chance to work on this.”