Niagara-on-the-Lake artist and neuroscientist Ron Clavier won his battle against the town’s sign bylaw this past summer. Now, he’s focusing on bringing his large-scale art project, Thanks for the Meal, to life.
Clavier is hosting a talk and fundraiser on Nov. 5 to raise money for the project, a series of murals depicting different perspectives on agriculture in Niagara-on-the-Lake, to be installed roadside in town.
The project’s title comes from a lyric in Murray McLauchlan’s 1972 hit “Farmer’s Song” and refers to the gratitude people feel toward the farmers who feed them.
“They feel appreciated,” Clavier said. “That’s what’s in it for them.”
Thanks for the Meal will see artists create paintings that will be photographed and reproduced as murals, then installed on private properties visible from the road.
The process mirrors how Clavier’s own painting Day’s End — displayed on Niagara Stone Road in Virgil — was produced. This time, however, he is serving as curator rather than artist.
The first three murals are complete. Created by Indigenous artists, they pay tribute to the Three Sisters agricultural system, in which corn, beans and squash are planted together.
Clavier envisions the next phase highlighting United Empire Loyalists, Mennonites, winery pioneers and migrant workers, though he doesn’t yet know how many murals there will be in total.
He hopes the project offers a broader view of agriculture in NOTL through diverse cultural lenses, which he says reflects the essence of art itself.
“Every person is only able to see it from one eye,” said Clavier. “It would be very helpful for you and me to go together … because I know you’re going to see something different … We call that seeing eye-to-eye.”
“That should be true in all the things that we perceive.”
Although not all mural sites have been confirmed, Clavier said he has an agreement with St. Davids Hydroponics to place one on their property.
He estimates the total cost at $19,591, covering insurance, printing, engineering, materials and installation. So far, he has raised $1,000 from St. Davids Hydroponics, and the Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society has “promised” $2,500.
Once funding is secured, Clavier said it will take about six months to install the murals, partly because “the ground becomes hard” in winter.
“We can get it up quite quickly,” he said. “It could be the spring.”
Clavier hopes the project will continue to grow.
“There’s no shortage of land, there’s no shortage of stories,” he said, adding that NOTL would need “thousands” of murals to feel crowded.
Clavier can proceed because council agreed to give him an exemption to the town’s sign law earlier this summer. This regulates how signs can be displayed in NOTL.
Clavier, a founder of the Art Gallery of Niagara-on-the-Lake, which became a not-for-profit in 2018, will host the talk and fundraiser at the NOTL Sailing Club at 7 p.m. Attendance is free, but seating is limited.
daniel@niagaranow.com
