BC public art
Vancouver: Aboriginal artists painting what may be Vancouver’s largest mural
Urban aboriginal artists in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are creating what may be the city’s largest mural. The giant 743-square-metre mural is a labour of love for five Aboriginal artists who have been working for a month on the west wall of the Orwell Hotel on Hastings street. The colourful mural is a mix of Aboriginal [...]
Sculpture in Parksville
Parksville city council will install Nuu-chah-nulth artist Connie Watts’ 4.4 metre Circus sculpture at the corner of McMillian Street and Highway 19A. It will be erected as part of the Downtown Business Association’s (PDBA) public art program. Council approved the location and committed $15,000 for the installation of the metal sculpture. That was always the [...]
Victoria: Shaw gift boosts Carr fund $100,000 donation puts campaign near goal for statue of noted artist
A $100,000 donation from Shaw Communications has moved the Our Emily campaign closer to its $400,000 goal of a bronze statue of artist Emily Carr. “I was speechless,” Anne Geddes, president of the Parks and Recreation Foundation of Victoria, said when told about the donation. The foundation, which is spearheading the campaign, first approached the [...]
Public art policy to keep PoCo pretty
Port Coquitlam is setting an artistic path for the city’s future by shaping its first public art policy. “The city and community had already been doing public art on an ad hoc basis for the last 10 years,” said Yvonne Chui, PoCo’s arts and culture co-ordinator. “So we felt it really was time to articulate [...]
Burnaby: Discovery Day at Deer Lake this Sunday, Festival includes opening of new Spirit Square and unveiling of sculpture
Come and discover Burnaby at the city’s largest outdoor festival this weekend. The Discovery Day Festival takes place at Deer Lake Park on Sunday afternoon. It will be the official opening of the newly renovated festival space at Deer Lake. The event includes the official opening of the city’s Spirit Square, in front of the [...]
Group creates buzz about sustainable energy with kinetic sculptures
Giant kinetic sculptures, including one dubbed Mondo Spider, are attracting attention for a non-profit group that’s committed to raising eyebrows as well as awareness about sustainable energy. EatART describes itself as an art lab. Time is divided between researching how energy is consumed and generated and building artistic pieces that are showcased at community events [...]
Vancouver: Artsy bike racks to hit East Van
A series of decorative bike racks featuring local art will provide a green boost to East Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood, the area’s Business Improvement Association said Thursday. The move comes as part of a $20,000 Green Zone Implementation grant recently approved by the city. Joji Kumagai, executive director of the SBIA, said his organization will engage [...]
Nanaimo: Outdoor art gallery offers unique and changing venue for Nanaimo artists
Tourists and residents alike are already leaving the beaten track to check out Nanaimo’s newest outdoor art gallery. Three of nine temporary public art pieces have already caught the attention of passersby in Maffeo-Sutton and McGregor parks. The outdoor gallery project is a collaboration between the City of Nanaimo and the Nanaimo Art Gallery to [...]
Vancouver Biennale Artwork Stolen
Less than a month ago, the Vancouver Biennale flew British artist Sophie Ryder back to Vancouver to replace a part of her sculpture, ”Minotaur and Hare“ after it was vandalized in its exhibition space, VanDusen Gardens. (No, it wasn’t me). Now the hare has gone missing — and whether the work of a determined prankster or someone [...]
Parksville: Art leaders need art policy
At their latest meeting, Parksville city council decided to postpone appointing the Oceanside Community Arts Council as the committee organizer and head of the city’s public art policy … until they have a public art policy. The city has some policies or reports that refer to art relating to downtown revitalization, but have not yet [...]
Revelstoke: Sturgeon sculptures installed on Mackenzie Avenue
People walking up and down Mackenzie Avenue were greeted with a nice surprise Monday as the new sturgeon sculpture was installed throughout the day. “People have been coming up to us all day telling us how much they like it,” said Kevin Kratz, the Nelson-area blacksmith who created the public art piece. The two separate [...]
Cranbrook: Sculpture symbolizes reconciliation
Just one week after signing an historic agreement with the Royal BC Museum on the maintenance of Ktunaxa artifacts, the Ktunaxa Nation celebrated another significant milestone on Monday, June 21. Members of the Nation joined representatives from the City of Cranbrook as well as the artists, residents, dignitaries and business sponsors for the unveiling of [...]
Vancouver: Biennale’s contemporary art throughout the city never sleeps
Over the last little while, you may have noted large, zany, thought-provoking and occasionally controversial pieces of art popping up in the strangest places around town. That bronze squad of laughing 2.1 Chinese giants that looms over the edge of English Bay. A gargantuan bust of Lenin in Richmond, with a tiny Chairman Prize! Mao [...]
What is art and who will pay? Coquitlam looks for answers
Coquitlam city councillors will delve into a question that many creative philosophers have grappled with for centuries: What is art? It is a question the city hopes to answer as it begins developing a public art policy, which will also examine who should pay for outdoor art installations and where they should be located. “Who [...]
Vancouver Biennale Public Art – Atypical or Just Annoying? (opinion)
This post started out as a full-blown curmudgeonly complaint about the Vancouver Biennale public art installations. You know, the laughing guys at English Bay, the behemoth engagement rings, the rickety house on stilts in Coal harbour, those weird pillows… and many more I was convinced I was lucky enough not to have seen. However, after [...]
