Program has seen 27 art pieces erected since 2013
In the three years since a 17-metre steel structure ignited heated debate in Calgary, 27 pieces of artwork totalling more than $7 million have been erected under the same program that brought us a giant blue ring.
At the same time, more than 80 utility boxes have been painted under Calgary’s public art policy, which sees one per cent of the first $50 million of infrastructure projects dedicated to beautifying bridges, LRT stations and public spaces through art.
The 27 pieces installed in the last three years include:
Chinook Arc — A $370,000 interactive sculpture that emits a soft glow in the dark and whose shape is inspired by the Chinook arch and the Beltline Streetcar loop. The work, by artist Joe O’Connell and Blessing Hancock, was installed in Barb Scott Park at 12th Avenue and 9th Street S.W. in 2014.
Frozen River — A $266,000 sculpture by artist Stephen Glassman at the Emergency Operations Centre in Crescent Heights. The piece uses local stone and bent pipe and is meant to be a response to “Calgary’s inspiring elemental force and beauty — the rolling prairie, the metallic sky, the Arctic air, the glacial river and the emerging mountains.”
Outflow — A segment of the city’s stormwater system has been transformed into a sculpture in a $1.85-million project in Parkdale Plaza along the Bow River at the end of 34A Street NW. Artist Brian Tolle’s sculpture is an inverted replica of a mountain north of Canmore.
Forest Lawn Lift Station — A $236,000 piece by collective Sans façon, puts the spotlight on a waste station. The artwork is on the southeast station and uses LED lighting and live data to show an exact, to-scale map of the underground pipes connected to the station.
Bow Passage Overlook — A $ 3.12- million project by artist Lorna Jordan at Pearce Estate Park in the southeast. The artwork connects the city, environment, and river.