The first wave of mural artists are stepping up to paint Georgia Straight newspaper boxes as part of a special event to mark its 50th anniversary.

 

Cristian Fowlie, Elyse Dodge, Andre Barnwell, and Simon Roy will be putting paint to the boxes at this weekend's Strathcona Street Party, Saturday (June 24) along East Cordova between Campbell and Hawks streets.

 

The project to liven up the city's streetscape is a partnership between the Straight, Vancouver Mural Festival, and Opus Art Supplies, which is not only sponsoring materials for the job, but paying the artists in kind with supplies from its store. Opus is also marking its own 43rd anniversary in Vancouver.

 

Artists will be on site painting during the event, from noon to 6 p.m. It's a challenging new format for street artists who are more used to giant walls as their canvas. The only stipulation they've been given is to incorporate the Straight logo. Otherwise they have complete creative licence to celebrate 50 years on the street for the Straight.

 

Watch Straight.com for coverage of the event this weekend, and look for the brightly painted boxes to show up at high-profile spots in neighbourhoods around the city.

 

Part 2 of the box-painting event happens during the Vancouver Mural Festival from August 7 to 12 in Mount Pleasant and Strathcona, when eight more street artists will help mark #Straight50.

 

For Saturday's event, East Cordova between Campbell and Hawks Street will be taken over by the work of local artists, live DJs, food trucks, a market, and a craft beer garden, with the unveiling of two new murals.