Uplifting Jarvis

If you’ve driven north on Highway 6 through Jarvis Ontario, then you’ve definitely seen Haldimand’s latest community mural. A collaboration with Nova Mutual and our broker partners, Haldimand Insurance, celebrating the history and community of Jarvis. Here is the entire story of how it came to be!

Nova Mutual teamed up with our Broker Partners Chris and Heather Hibbs at Haldimand Insurance in a #WorkingTogetherMatters project. We wanted to find an obvious location in Jarvis and the wall of Haldimand Insurance was perfect! Chris and Heather were superstars in connecting us with the building manager and local Jarvis Historian. We gave the reins of the design to Nova’s Digital Media Specialist (who, conveniently, happens to also be a muralist) Shane Drever.

Working through the rain and heat, it took Shane a full week to complete the mural from chalking in the sketch to painting it in. Shane worked from a mockup he created in photoshop and would reference it as he painted. The entire process wouldn’t be possible without help from our community partners. Prouse Electrical & Mechanical of Tillsonburg for donating the lift, Len’s Automotive of Jarvis for a complimentary tow, My paint and Décor of Simcoe for the supplies, The Jarvis Food Mart for keeping Shane hydrated, but primarily the community stopping by and showing their gratitude.

Together our goal was to Uplift Jarvis with a stunning community project while working together with local businesses. As you drive down Highway six, you’ll be blown away by a charging steed, and if you look amongst the corn husks, you might find the courageous Lancaster bomber. Shane hopes that tourists find inspiration and the residents of Jarvis feel a sense of pride.

We encourage everyone to grab a picture, tag @novamutual and #JarvisOntario on social media - we can’t wait to see your photos!

A note from the artist: It’s both rewarding and humbling as an artist to have an opportunity to share my art in such a public and permanent way. There’s always a measure of doubt involved when producing the concept. I find wondering if it will be liked or not creates a lot of stress, but that doubt in turn forces me to take extra care to create something that is meaningful to the community itself. As much as I’m the artist, at the end of the day it’s not about me. This piece is about Jarvis, and hopefully that comes through in the mural.
Shane Drever
Digital Media Specialist

Hear Shane Drever’s story on Uplift with Nova Mutual

Uplifting our communities is an integral part of the work that we do at Nova. We have seen time and time again this community come together to help uplift others in need, and we love embracing that positive movement. This is our second mural project; our first mural is found on the face of Spectrum Gymnastics in Simcoe. We recognized that Teagan Fitch is a champion of change, so we Uplifted her business with the help of Art with Heart Studios. Supporting local art and culture has a unique way of bringing people together, helping attract newcomers to the area and promoting civic pride. You can hear more community stories like Teagan’s on our weekly podcast, Uplift with Nova Mutual. We are always looking for our next great partnership and community uplift.