Back Alley Art Tour

Authors: Sylvia Ndirangu, Collin Peter, Naomi Diaz

Exploring Kamloops Back Alley Art Tour

The Community

Kamloops has a growing and vibrant street art community, which sometimes goes overlooked. Our tour invites both locals and tourists visiting Kamloops to explore downtown’s hidden artworks and alleyways, uncovering the stories behind each mural while celebrating the talent of local artists. This interactive walking tour is designed to attract art enthusiasts, international students, and visitors alike, offering a fresh perspective on Kamloops’ cultural scene. Through this project, we aim to foster connections within the community, support local businesses, and contribute to Kamloops’ thriving tourism economy.

---

The Opportunity

The Back Alley Art Tour will bring attention to Kamloops’ hidden street art gems, allowing guests to build significant relationships within the community while supporting local businesses and promoting small-scale tourism. By creating an entertaining walking tour through downtown Kamloops, we hope to honour the talent of local artists, tell their stories, and turn public places into cultural links.
Our goals are to provide participants with an engaging cultural experience and to establish connections with local businesses such as The Vic Downtown and the Kamloops Art Gallery, as well as positively impacting Kamloops’ tourism industry. Whether you’re an art enthusiast, an international student, or a local looking for new ways to discover your city, this tour provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to discover Kamloops’ strong artistic past while making unforgettable memories.

---

The Experience

Various activities will be included in this guided tour, offering guests a chance to explore Kamloops’ vibrant street art scene and connect with its cultural heritage. The tour is designed to be interactive and engaging, with a limit of 10 guests per tour. The itinerary is as follows:

1:00 PM – 1:15 PM:
Guests will meet at the Kamloops Art Gallery, where they can view free art exhibits while waiting for all participants to arrive. This serves as a welcoming space to introduce the tour and set the tone for the experience. A link to the Kamloops Art Gallery; https://kag.bc.ca/

1:15 PM – 1:30 PM:
An ice-breaker activity will take place at the meeting point. Guests will share their favorite art styles or what they hope to learn during the tour, fostering a sense of community among participants.

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM:
The guided walking tour begins, featuring stops at selected murals such as “Homage to the Leland Hotel,” “The Winking Man,” “Kuan Yin,” and more. At each stop, participants will hear detailed commentary about the artwork’s cultural significance, artist insights, and historical context.

3:00 PM – 3:15 PM:
The group will return to The Vic Downtown for a wrap-up session. Participants can engage in a group discussion about their experience and enjoy refreshments using their $10 gift card provided by the organizers.

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM:
Optional social time at The Vic Downtown allows guests to mingle, share photos from the tour, and reflect on their favorite moments. A link to The Vic; https://vicdowntown.com

To enhance the experience during the tour, every guest will receive a medium-sized flyer upon arrival. This flyer is designed to serve as a handy guide throughout the tour and includes:

• A QR Code for Photo Sharing:
  Guests are encouraged to capture creative photos of their favorite murals during the tour. By scanning the QR code on the flyer, participants can easily upload their photos to a shared gallery, allowing everyone to celebrate and relive the experience together.
• A Short Itinerary for the Day:
  The flyer outlines the key activities and timings for the tour, ensuring that guests can follow along seamlessly and know what to expect at each stage of the event.

This flyer not only keeps participants engaged but also creates an opportunity for them to contribute to a collective memory of Kamloops’ vibrant street art culture.

Featured Artworks & Artist Stories

Bee City

Located on the side of Royal Lepage Kamloops Realty, this mural portrays a man with an expression conveying both wisdom and joy. Zach Abney’s “The Winking Man” invites viewers to reflect on the balance between age-old wisdom and youthful glee. The artwork’s playful yet profound nature adds a touch of whimsy to the streetscape while encouraging contemplation.

Homage to the Leland Hotel

• Artist: Evan Christian
• Year: 2017
• Location: 301 Victoria St

This mural pays tribute to the historic Leland Hotel, which stood proudly in Kamloops from 1905 until its tragic destruction by fire in 1980. Evan Christian’s work captures the spirit of this iconic building, preserving its memory as part of Kamloops’ rich history. Through vivid imagery, the mural connects present-day viewers with a significant piece of the city’s architectural past. For this piece, we were able to get an Artist statement from Evan Christian.

Artist Statement:
“In 2017, I was invited by the City of Kamloops, in partnership with the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association (KCBIA), to contribute to the Back Alley Mural Project. Inspired by archival photographs of the Leland Hotel, I designed a mural that integrates typography and color theory, creating a dynamic collage that reflects both nostalgia and modernity. The mural’s execution was a collaborative effort, involving apprentices who learned large-scale painting techniques over three weeks. This project transformed Kamloops’ back alleys into an open-air gallery, enriching the urban landscape and inviting community engagement.” – Evan Christian

Electric Alley

• Artists: Rachel Lewis, Kelly Wright, Brayden Conley
• Year: 2024
• Location: 540 Victoria St

Electric Alley is part of Kamloops’ alley activation initiative, aiming to revitalize overlooked urban spaces. This collaborative light installation creates a welcoming environment for locals and visitors, encouraging exploration and community engagement. The artwork aligns with the city’s efforts to transform alleys into vibrant, safe spaces that enhance the downtown experience.

Wheel in the Sky

• Artist: Alex Moir-Porteus
• Year: 2016
• Location: 357 Victoria St (behind Carlos O’Bryan’s)

This mural depicts a lively carnival scene with a prominent Ferris wheel at its center, inspired by 1920s Ireland. The artwork reflects the energetic atmosphere of Carlos O’Bryan’s Irish Pub nearby. Moir-Porteus’ vibrant piece transforms the alleyway into a colorful spectacle, adding a touch of whimsy and nostalgia to Kamloops’ urban landscape.

Kuan Yin

• Artist: Alex Moir-Porteus
• Year: 2011
• Location: 319 Victoria St

This mural represents the building owner’s interest in Buddhist culture, depicting Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. Moir-Porteus transformed a previously graffiti-covered wall into a serene artwork symbolizing compassion and peace. The piece not only beautifies the urban space but also introduces elements of Eastern spirituality to Kamloops’ diverse cultural landscape.

Budget

The only expense we will incur is $30 for printing posters, which will be distributed to guests and include the tour itinerary and a QR code for photo submissions. Guests will pay a $10 fee to participate in the tour, which will cover the cost of their $10 gift voucher at The Vic Downtown.

---

The Small Tourism Effect

The Back Alley Art Tour aims to meaningfully affect small tourism in Kamloops by presenting the city’s energetic cultural scene and special artistic heritage. This tour helps Kamloops meet its cultural plan by drawing attention to the downtown core’s frequently ignored murals and street art. The plan stresses cultural presentation, heritage celebration, and economic development with tourism.

Our walking tour corresponds quite well with the growing pattern concerning cultural tourism within small towns. It furnishes visitors with a largely authentic and substantially engaging experience. The experience advances a sense of place and a feeling of community pride. By presenting regional artists and their artwork, we are conserving Kamloops’ cultural heritage and cultivating a novel attraction that could draw tourists from Canada and overseas. This increased foot traffic in the downtown core will benefit local businesses, particularly small enterprises like The Vic Downtown coffee shop, our tour partner.

Furthermore, the Back Alley Art Tour adds greatly to the general aims of sustainable tourism as well as community growth. It encourages ecological stewardship through the promotion of walking as a means for exploration, as well as strengthens community cohesion by utilizing the engagement of locals with visitors through a shared appreciation of public art. Given tourism throughout Kamloops continues to substantially grow, our tour stands to play a vital role in further diversifying the city’s tourism offerings. Additionally, considering more than 1.9 million visitors in 2022 contributed $310 million in direct spending, our tour will support the local economy.