Chemainus was one of the largest lumber shipping points in North America thanks to its proximity to Horseshoe Bay – the first operating deepwater port on Canada's west coast. Today, Chemainus, or "Muraltown," is famous as a trailblazer of the open-air mural art form that has subsequently been embraced by dozens of towns worldwide.
A Turn to Art
When a serious slump in the early 1980s threatened to close the MacMillan Bloedel Sawmill, a committee of visionary business people (later dubbed "the group of seven") decided cultivating Chemainus' creativity was the smartest way to secure the town's future. Under the direction of consultant Karl Schutz, teams of artists literally began to paint Chemainus red, white, blue, green and every other colour in the west coast spectrum.
Outdoor Art Gallery
Five murals were unveiled in 1982, four clustered around Waterwheel Park in the heart of New Town Chemainus. The first is near the southeast corner of Willow and Legion streets; titled "Steam Donkey At Work," the image by Victoria artists Frank Lewis and Nancy Lagana captures a vintage forestry crew in action. Seven more murals followed the next year, including Paul Ygartua's now-famous image of three First Nations faces (which often turns up on mural souvenirs, prints, and coffee mugs sold in local gift shops.)
Since then new paintings have appeared on a steady basis. Forestry and sawmill activities are a favorite theme. Other pictures capture hockey players on Fuller Lake, the 1908 Chemainus telephone exchange and such local notables as Edward Shige Yoshida (who started the first Japanese-Canadian Boy Scout troop in Canada), Charlie Abbott (fondly known as "the Hermit") and Billy Thomas (the first male of European descent born in Chemainus).
Chemainus Festival of Murals Society
The society is dedicated to expanding the mural program. In the fall of 2008, the first in a series of murals dedicated to iconic Vancouver Island artist Emily Carr was unveiled on the side of the Chemainus Theatre.
Mural Tours
Pick up an official mural map at the Visitor Centre, then follow the yellow shoeprints on a self-guided tour. Or for a minimal fee join Isabel Askew, one of the town's first European settlers, on a walking tour that departs thrice daily from the Visitor Centre (Wed-Sat. during the summer). Actor Michelle Lieffertz expertly and amusingly portrays an elegant, strong-willed woman who raised eight children and revived her husband's failed business fortune after his premature death in 1880.