A petition that aims to save the mural of a local historical icon on Vernon's 32nd Avenue will be presented to council at an upcoming meeting.

Local advocates Dawn Tucker and Judy Rose created the in the summer of 2024, when news broke that the downtown mural of Sveva Caetani will be taken down to make way for an as yet unknown development. 

Not only do the advocates want to save the Sveva mural; they also want better safeguards for other murals around town. 

The advocates say council will be presented with the petition at its Feb. 24 meeting at 1:30 p.m.

"We invite members of the public to join us in council chambers to show their support for our murals," they urge. 

They say the proposed removal of the mural raises concerns about the city's lack of a public arts policy, as well as the rights of artists and "economic fairness."

Michelle Loughery, the artist who created the mural, previously told The Morning Star that when she started a connected mural trail in Vernon in 2002, "there was a promise of a public art policy that never happened." She added she was frustrated at having no say in the process of removing the mural as its creator, and that a decomissioning process is needed. 

A city spokesperson confirmed at the time that the city does not have a visual art policy. It did until 2009 when the Public Art Advisory Committee was disbanded. Creation of a new policy would require council to bring that committee back, which the advocates are calling for. 

The advocates claim Vernon's murals have brought millions of dollars to the local economy over the years.

"Public art is not only nice to look at 香蕉视频直播� it is a proven driver of economic revitalization, tourism, and community engagement," they said. 

They added there was an original vision surrounding the murals for local businesses to benefit economically from the murals through licensing and merchandise, but that vision never materialized.

"Our city currently lacks an Arts and Culture Policy, and it does not appear that best practices have been used to maintain the murals. This has invoked the public香蕉视频直播檚 concern regarding our community香蕉视频直播檚 cultural assets," the advocates said. 

"It香蕉视频直播檚 in the public interest to establish practices and policies as part of broader cultural asset management practices to benefit all residents."

The advocates hope the murals can be restored and expanded. 

"Our community deserves this economic driver. Especially the Sveva mural, whose namesake was locked away for so long, deserves to not be locked away from the global draw that she is."

The fight to preserve the Sveva Caetani mural is to some degree a fight to preserve community stories.

香蕉视频直播淭he murals brought our community together in their creation and they can bring us together in their restoration and expansion,香蕉视频直播� said Tucker.

The Sveva mural is located near Apple Park and the downtown bus loop on 32nd Avenue, on the wall of a building home to Culos and Co. Law Corporation. 

Lawyer Robert Culos owned the building with his wife starting in 2005, but told The Morning Star they recently sold the building to a "numbered company" and transferred the title in mid-January. Culos could not say who now owns the building. A title search conducted on Feb. 5 still lists Culos and his wife as the owners. 

Culos said the Sveva mural is dear to him. He has long been a supporter of the local arts scene, volunteering with the Vernon Arts Centre and sitting on Gallery Vertigo's board of directors. 

"I very much support the arts and I know for a fact that art makes this world a more beautiful place," he said. 

According to Culos, Loughery approached him about creating the Sveva mural on the east wall his building circa 2008. He agreed to it, pitched in some funds and the mural was created in 2010. 

"I've been very proud to display this mural, which tells a very important local story," Culos said. 

The lawyer said he cooperated with the new owners in getting a deal for the building done. As for the proposed development that will force the removal of the mural, about which nothing is known, he only said the new owners "have their own plans, they don't tell me everything, so I cannot speak on their behalf."

He said he felt he ought to contribute to his community and displaying the mural was "my very small contribution."

"But it's out of my hands now, I don't own the bricks and mortar."

Downtown Vernon Association (DVA) executive director Keelan Murtagh previously told The Morning Star that the DVA doesn't have the authority to stand in away of a development just because a privately owned building has a mural on it. 

But Tucker said are contracts for the murals in town and it is the DVA's responsibility to maintain those contracts. 

On Thursday Murtagh confirmed that the DVA has contracts for murals with the building owners and project managers, but reiterated that when a private building owner wants to sell to a developer, the DVA is not in a position to intervene. He said that would have a detrimental effect on development, as well as the potential for future murals downtown.

"We want ot encourage people to put up future murals, but if we hinder the sale of a building over a mural, I think that would give a lot of developers pause and they might reconsider developing in downtown Vernon," Murtagh said.

Nonetheless, Tucker argues that artists' rights need to be considered where murals are concerned.

"The building is owned by the person who owns the building, but the art is owned by the artist, and the artist should be included in the conversations with any decommissioning process," she said.