This Sunday (Aug. 21), New West-based artist Holly Nickerson will begin work on a new mural at New West Farmers Market on Tipperary Park.
Nickerson will be painting “abstract representations of the cultural makeup of New Westminster, sort of like the different genders and socio-economic backgrounds that attend the market and support these local vendors” — besides the fruits and vegetables on offer at the market.
The mural, when done by Thursday (Aug.25), will be a “celebration of us” — of the community that has helped sustain the Farmer’s Market through some challenging times, said Lily Nichol, assistant market manager at the New West Farmers Market.
Nickerson had done a similar mural back in 2020 on a trailer that was a permanent fixture at the market.
“It was very meaningful to us. We really felt like it celebrated the community,” said Nichol. “People used to take pictures with it.”
But that mural doesn’t exist anymore.
“It’s sort of a long story,” said Nichol. “When the market started almost 15 years ago, one of the first purchases of the original board was a trailer. That was something that our board members would tow to and from the market that had all of our supplies (tables, chairs, tents, office supplies, pens and paper, lighting, kids craft supplies, etc.) in it.”
Eventually, the market got permission from the city to park the trailer at the parking lot on Tipperary Park through the entire market season. “For the first time ever, somebody broke into it in the spring of 2021.”
There was a lot of damage done to the trailer — the sheet metal around the outside of the trailer that had Nickerson’s mural was peeled off.
The ICBC declared it a write off, but it wasn’t enough to get it fixed.
A container company lent the market a shipping container to store its supplies, but that was also broken into. About half of the supplies were stolen. “So we have these two break-ins shortly one after the other. And between the two, just the damage we sustained was huge for our very small organization.”
Since the settlement from ICBC wasn’t enough, the market turned to the community for help.
They held a big fundraiser, and a silent auction to raise funds; between that and funding from the Rotary Club of New Westminster, they were able to raise enough money (the goal amount was $10,000; $4,500 came in from ICBC, $5,500 from the Rotary Club and the community members) not just to replace everything in the container, but also to pay for a mural project.
“The donors (about 43 responded to a donor call out) have been invited to add their handprints to the mural as a thank you. And so, it’s like a representation of the community, people involved with the market,” said Nichol.
New West Farmers market is open 3 to 7 p.m. every Thursday at Tipperary Park.
