On Sunday, September 17, 2017 local residents gathered at Wiseman Court and Southdown Road in Park Royal for the unveiling of the newly decorated Alectra transformer. The artwork was commissioned by the Mississauga Arts Council and completed by local artist Alison Syer.

“We have thousands of transformers and this is the best looking one,” said Blair Peberdy, Vice President at Alectra.

Mike Douglas, the Executive Director of the Mississauga Arts Council, said that Alison Syer was selected not only because of her talent but also because she resides in Park Royal.
Syer worked with Heritage Mississauga to develop the historical theme. The project received funding from a variety of sponsors and the wrap cost $4,400 to print.

Syer said that she was first approached in April of this year regarding the project. She started exploring a few ideas and began to settle on the history of farming strawberries in the area. “It was once the strawberry capital of Ontario,” she told the crowd that gathered for the unveiling.

As she further researched, she began to focus on paying tribute to the Farmerettes—women who grew and harvested strawberries in the area during the Second World War.

The project picked up steam in the last month as Syer completed the photographic and historical research, drew outlines by hand and then scanned and coloured the artwork digitally.

For those tall enough to view, Syer added a butterfly on the top to note the important role pollinators alongside humans play towards food production.