By Katie Ryan
Colourful, eclectic and creative, “Buffalo Twins” continues to attract attention.
Hanging outdoors on a wall of Lakeland College adjacent to the entrance of the Vic Juba Theatre, the mosaic mural has garnered much local attention since it was installed in 2005, but most recently from across the pond.
A U.K website ranked the 28-foot mural as the number one “most stunning” mural from around the world, beating out murals from other parts of Canada, the U.S.A., Europe, South America and beyond.
The website said the painting of murals is often contentious –  “one person’s masterpiece is another’s act of vandalism.” According to one of the three Alberta designers who created “Buffalo Twins, the mosaic was a true community project – a “mural of unity.”
“We toured through all the communities throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan when we created that mural and I’ve never been involved in such an emotional project where the artists would all come out to meet us,” said artist/producer Phil Alain, who along with Lewis Lavoie and production manager/co-producer Paul Lavoie enlisted the help of over 270 artists to contribute to the project.
“They did workshops with us and then when we came back a couple of months later to pick up their panels, there was just such a sense of pride with everybody’s individual paintings.”
Prior to finding a home at Lakeland College the artwork toured the two provinces, but as the Alberta-Saskatchewan centennial mural“Buffalo Twins” was officially unveiled by Queen Elizabeth in May 2005 at the Royal Alberta Museum, an experience Alain calls “the highlight of my life.”
Named for the province Buffalo,  that Saskatchewan and Alberta once comprised prior to 1905, “Buffalo Twins” has become more than just an art project not only for the artists, but for how it represents both Saskatchewan and Alberta said Alain.
“It’s a voice of two proud provinces,” he said. “I think anybody that travels to Lloydminster will be able to gain a lot of the history of the province and at the same time really understand the people of the province because there’s everything from the First Nations component to the stories of different regions, to personal stories. There is so much that is told through that one mural. I think it’s something that will never lose interest to people.”
The interest the mural has generated from around the world didn’t come as a surprise to Alain, attributing television spots and website traffic for the exposure.
“It’s very amazing how far the murals have gone, but to see the people ranking the murals we do on a scale of the top in the world – that’s pretty amazing,” he said, speculating “Buffalo Twins” might have taken the top spot because it’s a community project.
“I really think that there are just so many stories within one big picture and there’s no better way to portray that than through the eyes of hundreds of artists.”
The art project was sponsored by CIBC and instead of asking the two provincial governments of the day for funds, Alain and his partners asked for art.
“It really hit home I think, the community spirit, when the premiers (Lorne Calvert and Ralph Klein) even took the time to paint in the mural,” said Alain who visits “Buffalo Twins” when he passes through the Border City.
“It’s like seeing an old friend. The hardest part about outdoor murals is that they don’t have a guaranteed life so we just hope it can be enjoyed for as long as possible.”
For more information about the Top 50 survey of murals visit www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news and to see “Buffalo Twins” in its entirety visit Lakeland College.