Chalk-artist grocer hits the big time
Fest organizers impressed by illustrations on sandwich board
What: Victoria International Chalk Art Festival Where: Government Street (Fort to Yates) and Bay Centre When: Government Street is closed to traffic Saturday 4 a.m. to Sunday 9 p.m. The Bay Centre display is open during mall hours Admission: Free
Victoria’s Ken Winchester started out chalking advertisements for his James Bay grocery store. Now he’s a participating artist in the Victoria International Chalk Art Festival.
This weekend, Winchester, who’s co-owner of Niagara Grocery and a winemaker, will chalk a giant artwork at the downtown art festival for a third year. His illustrations tend to portray food and farming themes, as will be the case this year.
“I’ve always wanted to do a tractor,” he said. “So there may be a tractor in the scene.”
Like a starlet discovered by Hollywood at a lunch counter, this 63-year-old was cherry-picked by festival organizers impressed by his chalk illustrations at Niagara Grocery. Winchester said his sandwich boards had become so popular, people made a point of driving by to see them.
Six years ago, he began creating simple lettered advertisements. When this got “boring,” he added illustrations of fruit and vegetables, as well as funny slogans.
“It’s a big deal going from a sandwich board to 80 square feet on Government Street,” said Winchester, who has no formal art training.
About 30 artists will gather for the Victoria International Chalk Art Festival, taking place along Government Street and at the Bay Centre. The event’s centrepiece will be a 3-D-style artwork at the Bay Centre lower-level courtyard, to be created by Adry Del Rocio and Carlos Alberto from Guadalajara, Mexico. The professional brother-and-sister team has participated in street painting and mural exhibitions worldwide.
The festival, in its fourth year, is a celebration of British Columbia’s First Nations. The theme this year is Adventure in the Spirit World — a Celebration of Dreams, Mystery and Wonder. The participants include Joel Yau, Jamin Zuroski, Lori Escalera, Scott Gillies, Steve Platt, Paul Bains and Lorelle Miller.
As well as observing working artists, the public will see performances by drummers, singers and dancers. There’s also a “Kids’ Chalk Zone” with free chalk for children.
Festival organizer John Vickers and his team will arrive at Government Street at 4 a.m. Saturday to paint black eight-foot-by10-foot backgrounds on the street for the chalk artists. They must do this early so the tempera paint can dry before 8:30 a.m., when the artists start working.
Government Street will be closed to traffic from Fort to Yates streets from 4 a.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday. This allows the area to become a pedestrian mall, creating a festival atmosphere for the event, Vickers said.
A longtime advocate for reducing downtown traffic in the summer, Vickers is the founder of Citizens for the Government Street Pedestrian Mall. He also oversees the Victoria International Buskers Festival, another event requiring Government Street closures.
The street closures have received a mixed reception from local business operators, some of whom believe it slows customer traffic and sales.
Vickers says business owners inside the Government Street festival zone do support the chalk and busker festivals. However, it has been a struggle to garner support from merchants in other nearby areas.
“It’s a bit frustrating to have a business on another block that’s never even experienced the festival fight against it,” he said.
The non-profit festival operates on a $75,000 budget. Most of that comes from federal and provincial grants. Local funding includes a $2,000 grant from the City of Victoria. Vickers says this is low considering his festival is an established one attracting 15,000-plus people.
“I lament to city council, it doesn’t even cover my chalk,” he said.
In 2013, the chalk art festival attracted a whiff of controversy when Dutch artist Leon Keer created an artwork at the Bay Centre intended to illustrate challenges faced by First Nations people.
Keer had originally submitted sketches for an artwork with pipelines running through it — a pointed reference to the First Nations’ opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline. After discussions with festival organizers and the Bay Centre’s management, Keer reluctantly agreed to tone down his political message.
Vickers said any hubbub over Keer’s artwork was “more of a misinterpretation than anything.” The chalk artists are not directed to avoid overtly political content.
“That’s never been an issue really,” he added.