Local artist Natasha Bartlett has been named the winner of the 2025 Community Banner Program with two designs.
Bartlett’s artworks, titled “By the Sea” and “Along the Trail", were selected by the town of Ladysmith’s selection committee and earned her a $1,000 honorarium.
“I am honoured to be a part of the banner program,” said Bartlett. “As an artist and a resident of Ladysmith, it is the perfect combination of me being able to express my art and my pride for the town that I live in.”
The theme for this year’s banner program was Coastal Living: Growing Our Future Together, highlighting the natural beauty of Ladysmith’s seaside setting and its role in nurturing both people and the environment.
“The 2025 Community Banner Program brought out a myriad of interpretations from several talented artists, making the decision difficult for everyone involved,” said Don Stewart, the town’s arts, culture & events coordinator. “After much debate, the selection committee determined that Natasha Bartlett’s designs best reflect Ladysmith and encapsulate this year’s theme.”
Bartlett said her inspiration came from the elements that define life in Ladysmith.
“My mind immediately went to the two most iconic parts, I think, of Ladysmith which are the coast and the forest and trails,” she said. “The tides of change, the moving ocean and the newest of the coast, along with the tradition and the roots and the forest and the trails, it just seemed like the perfect combination.”
The banners are now hung along First Avenue, brightening the streets and celebrating the town’s creative heart.
