One of Collingwood’s public art murals is slated for removal.
The Heading Dockside mural installed on the east side of the Shipyards Medical building has been in place since 2000, and the paint has started to flake off while the wood panels it's painted on are warping and pulling away from the mounting hardware.
According to a staff report presented to the Corporate and Community Services Standing Committee on Monday, the mural is beyond saving.
“The boards are saturated and rotting,” said Dean Collver, director of parks, recreation, and culture.
According to the report, the options presented including restoring the mural, removing the mural, and replicating the mural.
“At the time, the best course of action was determined to be removing the mural, repairing the wall, and painting a replica of the mural onto the brick wall,” states the staff report. “The Heritage Advisory Committee was not in support of this option due to concerns regarding the deterioration of the brick.”
Collver said a request to paint the mural directly onto the brick was denied by the heritage committee.
According to the staff report, the owner of the building requested a new mural be installed. Collver told CollingwoodToday staff were looking at a new mural on aluminium panels in the hopes they would hold up better than wood panels.
The 2019 capital budget includes $30,000 for the removal of the mural, repair of the wall behind it, and commissioning of a new mural on panels.
At an April 8 meeting, council will vote on whether to support the removal of the existing mural and commission a new one.
