COMPLETION OF THE CENTENNIAL MURAL IS UNDERWAY

Preparation will begin today at the Legislative Building to complete the Saskatchewan Centennial Mural, Northern Tradition and Transition, painted by Roger Jerome.

The seams of the mural panels will be completed and the entire mural will be varnished in order to protect it. Scaffolding will be set up this afternoon and the work, to be done by conservators Sara Spafford-Ricci, Tara Fraser and Christine Foster, will begin tomorrow and be completed over the weekend.

"I am very pleased that these professional conservators have returned to complete this highly specialized work," Provincial Secretary Wayne Elhard said. "Jerome's mural has truly captured the spirit of northern Saskatchewan and is now an important piece of our history. This is the final step to ensure that the integrity of this piece remains intact for the enjoyment of future generations."

Spafford-Ricci and Fraser assisted in the installation of the Centennial Mural in 2005. They also restored the Leman Mural, Before the White Man Came, in 2005 and were each awarded the Centennial Medal in recognition of their work.

"Tara [Fraser] and I are both from Saskatchewan, and we remember coming to the Legislative Building as children on a school trip," Spafford-Ricci said. "It has been a thrill for us to be involved in both the Leman and the Jerome mural projects."

The Saskatchewan Centennial Mural was unveiled by The Queen in 2005. Jerome, a Métis artist from Air Ronge, received a Centennial Medal for his work which depicts a First Nations couple canoeing on a river in the forest of northern Saskatchewan. It is located across from the Leman Mural in the Rotunda of the Legislature. The Leman Mural was painted in 1933, by the Department of Public Works employee John D. Leman.

Both murals are open for public viewing during regular visitor hours, seven days a week from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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For more information, contact:

Nicole Fellinger
Provincial Secretary
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1370
Email: nfellinger@gr.gov.sk.ca