Downtown tunnel spruced up with new art and poetry

Pop Up Parks secretary-treasurer Dina Jubrak says she’s always excited to see the art in the tunnel and this is another way to grow art appreciation in the community

“I enjoy walking through the tunnel and checking out the beautiful pieces in there. Also by removing the offensive stuff and adding some more artistic aspects, it invites the public to go through and enjoy the different art styles that come up,” she says. “Because it used to be only graffiti you know a few years ago. Some years there’s more art that is more like classic by definition. Sometimes it’s more lettering which is more graffiti style but this year we really had a good combination of both ends.”

Tunnel Vision is a collaboration with the City of Medicine Hat which covers some of the costs involved.

Jubrak says the aim of Tunnel Vision is to beautify the underpass, where people sometimes leave art that is offensive and not community-friendly. They want the tunnel to be a safe space and also hope it invites people downtown to participate in the community, rather than feel segregated.

“Some of the folks that we would think that we are trying to ‘scare’ out of the tunnel were actually part of our volunteers,” she says. “There are people in the tunnel and the community does use this space so it’s not one of those hidden spots where criminal activity or derelict activity might happen and you know adding to the foot traffic is huge.”

She adds art appreciation is growing in the community and the tunnel is another way to showcase that.

by Chris Brown

Downtown tunnel spruced up with new art and poetry

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