From a secret garden to dozens of art installations, labours of love bring artistic energy to Estevan

CBC's virtual road trip series Land of Living Stories explores the hidden gems across Saskatchewan. Reporter Janani Whitfield hit the road to Estevan in search of inspiring stories of community spirit. 

When driving into Estevan, Sask., visitors are greeted with a sign proclaiming it "the Energy City," with coal mining, energy production and oil and gas well known as major drivers of industry in the southeastern Saskatchewan city.

But take a stroll through Estevan and its downtown, and you'll come to realize another meaning to the slogan, with artistic energy on display in more than 45 murals and art installations dotted throughout the city of nearly 11,000.

To hear long-time resident Gale Tytlandsvik tell it, the city has come in leaps and bounds from the first impressions she had when she used to visit back in the early 1990s.

"[It was an] oil-filled town, not too pretty, kind of depressing," she said.

Tytlandsvik had been living and working in a small town in North Dakota when she met a man who lived in Estevan. She married him in 1994, at which point she moved permanently to the city, located around 200 kilometres southeast of Regina.

At that time, she recalled thinking to herself, "Man, this town is in need of some sprucing up."

Tytlandsvik and a group of like-minded volunteers first pulled together to make a garden that she calls a secret oasis in the downtown — a bit of beauty sandwiched between two buildings that is full of plants, art, wall murals and herbs that passersby are invited to pick.

"I try to keep it tropical," she notes of the plants she includes.

"I'm from Florida originally, so why not have some fun? Plus we have a huge Filipino population in Estevan, who really appreciates that they have a little tropical reprieve in here."

During the holiday season, Christmas trees transform the space into a festive little locale.  

After that experience, she was bit with a bug to help improve the city she calls home, she said.

"You can complain about the way things look, just sit and complain, or you can go start doing something about it."

An ode to his muse

Like Tytlandsvik, artist BJ Zieger moved to Estevan for love. Zieger was working in a tattoo shop in Regina when his now-wife walked in looking for a tattoo. 

"She just finished her makeup school and wanted a little lipstick tattoo, and now we own a tattoo and makeup shop [in Estevan]." 

Even before coming to Estevan, he'd gotten into painting murals, with his wife becoming a muse for one mural painted on Victoria Avenue in Regina.

When he came to Estevan, he connected with Tytlandsvik and the arts council to create more murals, which he points out not only beautify the city, but have helped him with his own well-being.

"I myself have battled with depression and everything, and so I wanted to do something to help people," he said.

"The more I started doing positive things with art and everything, I realized that I'm channelling this negativity through a positive outlet."

His creations in Estevan include a four-storey mural of his wife, done after the owner of a local restaurant allowed him to use an open wall at the intersection of two major streets. Zieger estimates he spent at least $10,000 of his own money to create the mural, with an agreement that he would put the same time and money into making a mural of the owner's choosing afterwards. 

He was pleased with the final result — as was the owner. That joy that people seem to get out of the art is enough for him.

"If it can put a smile on someone's face … or if they can look at something and think about something or feel a certain way, then that's good enough for me." 

Tytlandsvik believes all those efforts from the city and its volunteers feed others' desire to do more. 

"I think people go, 'Oh, this is beautiful, this is nice. Maybe I will spruce up my house or maybe I will clean up my parking lot,'" she said.

"I think it just kind of all helps. And Estevan, I think honestly in the last maybe five or six years, has made huge leaps and bounds." 

Read about some of the other change-makers who call Estevan home: