North Okanagan students transform school lockers into works of art

ARMSTRONG – Generic orange lockers are getting a major facelift at a high school in the North Okanagan.

One panel of lockers has been transformed into a colourful underwater scene while another shows a cluster of cacti rising out of a desert.

No, it’s not unwanted graffiti and yes, the students had permission to paint on school property — it’s all part of an art project at Pleasant Valley Secondary School in Armstrong.

According to a news release from School District 83, teacher Tina Lepine gave students the option of taking on the challenge as part of their coursework for Art 11-12.

Lepine says so far the feedback on the students’ work has been very positive.

“For a lot of kids putting their art out there is a huge risk,“ she says in the release. “They are leaving a legacy in the school.”

Tessa, who tackled 10 lockers with a seascape, says the project has taken her two months, on and off.

“It’s a much larger scale than I’m used to,” she says.

So far, the students have come up with many colourful concepts including the northern lights, flamingos, trees and giraffes. Lepine jokes that her goal is to have a painting on all of the school’s old lockers before she retires.

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