Chilliwack mural defaced on Red Dress Day will be restored, festival says

The Chilliwack Mural Festival shared this photo of the vandalism on its Facebook page. (facebook.com/ChilliwackMuralFestival)

A prominent mural in Chilliwack was defaced Tuesday, but plans to restore it are already underway.

“Use Your Voice” was created by Montreal-based artist Kevin Ledo for the first Chilliwack Mural Festival in 2020. Located across from Central Community Park on Victoria Avenue, it depicts Stó:lō woman and beloved community member Inez Louis.

The festival shared a photo of the vandalism on social media Tuesday, noting that it occurred on the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which is also marked as Red Dress Day.

“This mural is more than a portrait or mural to look at,” the post reads. “It is a representation of Stó:lō and Indigenous women in our community. The act of vandalizing it was not just damage to paint on a wall, it is a hurtful statement directed at Indigenous women. We do not take that lightly, and we don’t want it to pass without being named.”

The image of the vandalized mural shows dark paint splashed over Louis’ face, with the letters MMIP written below it.

The mural festival noted that the “full story” behind the damage is unknown.

“Sometimes it comes from anger, sometimes from a desire to be heard, to make a political statement,” the post reads. “We hold space for that, even as we grieve what was lost.”

The post links to an online fundraiser that aims to bring Ledo back to Chilliwack to restore the artwork.

As of midday Wednesday, it had already surpassed its $8,000 goal.

The fundraising page says money raised will be used to pay for Ledo’s airfare, “accommodations, paint, supplies, insurance, his artist commission and incidentals,” with any surplus amounts raised donated to a charity of Louis’ choosing.