mr.x
Sep 18, 2008, 12:38 AM
Olympic public art to light up Vancouver
Kevin Griffin, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The biggest public artwork initiative in the city's history is poised to transform several high- profile spots around Vancouver as part of the Olympic public art program.
By late 2009, you can expect to see major public art works at the entrance to Stanley Park on West Georgia, the plaza on the north side of Library Square and in the new Olympic Village Plaza on the south shore of False Creek.
As well, smaller but significant public art will be placed elsewhere around the city.
There will be startling new light art under the Cambie Street Bridge by the new Canada Line subway stop and 2nd Avenue. Artists are being invited to design massive light projections for the sides of public buildings, including city hall. Pole-mounted artworks will be installed on the Kingsway medians one block east and west of Knight Street.
Several city streets used as pedestrian corridors during the Olympics will receive upgraded lighting. Light art of the kind seen over the streets in Turin, Italy, at the 2006 Winter Games could be coming to some streets, including Hamilton and Mainland in Yaletown.
Artists are also being invited to submit proposals for site-specific works at locations of their choosing.
Altogether, more than 15 public art works are expected to be going up around the city during the next 15 months. Total price tag works out to about $5.8 million. The works are all permanent and meant to be legacies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Controversy over public art isn't new to the city. Device to Root Out Evil, an aluminum sculpture that resembled an upside-down church, was installed in a patch of grass off West Cordova in Coal Harbour during the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale. Always intended to be temporary, it generated both support and opposition before it was relocated to Calgary earlier this year.
But Richard Newirth, the city official in charge of the public art program, said he doesn't mind if the new public art generates healthy controversy. In fact, he welcomes it.
"That's what public art is meant to do - provoke controversy," he said in an interview.
"Some people say that public art is not successful if everyone loves it because then it's not inspiring any debate or reaction. It's just bland. If you water it down to the lowest common denominator, you'll lose everything.
"Hopefully, some people will love some things and hate some things, but love that the city is doing it."
Newirth said he wants the public art selected to be contemporary and reflect the unique situation the city finds itself in as it hosts the Winter Games.
"It's really about capturing what Vancouver means, how it's changing, how it's reacting, how the Olympics is impacting on it and what the city will look like afterwards."
The program is funded by the city of Vancouver not Vanoc, the organization responsible for the 2010 Olympics.
Two of the highest profile sites will be the West Georgia plaza outside the downtown public library and the entrance to Stanley Park. At $800,000 and $900,000 respectively for each one, they're the largest individual public art projects in the city's history. They're both open to international competition, as are the light-related artworks.
Although a public art process usually follows a much more sedate pace, the accelerated timeline means artists and civic officials have to move at light speed to get all the art works designed, approved and installed by January 2010, the month before the Winter Games begin.
Before running the city's public art program, Newirth was the director of cultural affairs at the arts commission in San Francisco for 12 years. He said San Francisco had some public art projects that were big, but were often composed of multiple commissions. For the international terminal at San Francisco Airport, for example, $10 million for public art was broken down into 16 commissions.
"This is pretty new for Vancouver to have really signature works," he said.
Finalists for all the various programs will be selected by a panel of art and design professionals and civic officials. Additional money for the program is subject to city council's approval Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Here are the various elements of Vancouver's Olympic and Paralympic public art program:
- $600,000 for projections and light-based public art. This includes large-scale artist projections on city hall and other public exterior sites, street lighting on Hamilton and Mainland between Larwill Park and David Lam Park and other city streets, and art lighting under the Cambie Bridge.
The deadline to submit applications for projections is 4 p.m. this Friday.
- $800,000 for mapping and marking for artist-initiated public art, including sites outside the downtown core. Some locations the city has suggested include the LED screen on the building at the northeast corner of Robson and Granville, bus and transit shelters, murals on the blocks from Abbott to Jackson and Pender to Water and west and east of Granville from Helmcken to Smithe, and pole art on Kingsway. The city expects to commission a minimum of eight projects.
The deadline for mapping and marking is 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16.
- $600,000 for the Olympic Village Plaza of southeast False Creek. The high-profile site is in the 1,500-square-metre main village square; the wooden heritage Salt Building at 85 West 1st is located to its south.
An announcement on the winning artwork is expected by early October.
- An artist's call is expected to go out this month for the art for the entrance to Stanley Park with the deadline for submissions later in October. No timeline has been set for Library Square.
- $300,000 for Intersections 2010, a program of media and light art during the Olympic Games for the Downtown Eastside focussing on the Carrall Street Greenway at Hastings.
Deadline for applications is 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8.
- $250,000 for an artist in residence during the Olympics at the Hillcrest Curling Centre at Riley Park. The idea is that the artist will incorporate the experience into creating art that will be related to the building's atrium. It will be installed when the building is turned into a multi-purpose community recreation centre with curling sheets, an ice rink and pool after 2010.
- $500,000 for projects in collaboration with Vanoc and the Vancouver Art Gallery during the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
Kevin Griffin, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The biggest public artwork initiative in the city's history is poised to transform several high- profile spots around Vancouver as part of the Olympic public art program.
By late 2009, you can expect to see major public art works at the entrance to Stanley Park on West Georgia, the plaza on the north side of Library Square and in the new Olympic Village Plaza on the south shore of False Creek.
As well, smaller but significant public art will be placed elsewhere around the city.
There will be startling new light art under the Cambie Street Bridge by the new Canada Line subway stop and 2nd Avenue. Artists are being invited to design massive light projections for the sides of public buildings, including city hall. Pole-mounted artworks will be installed on the Kingsway medians one block east and west of Knight Street.
Several city streets used as pedestrian corridors during the Olympics will receive upgraded lighting. Light art of the kind seen over the streets in Turin, Italy, at the 2006 Winter Games could be coming to some streets, including Hamilton and Mainland in Yaletown.
Artists are also being invited to submit proposals for site-specific works at locations of their choosing.
Altogether, more than 15 public art works are expected to be going up around the city during the next 15 months. Total price tag works out to about $5.8 million. The works are all permanent and meant to be legacies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Controversy over public art isn't new to the city. Device to Root Out Evil, an aluminum sculpture that resembled an upside-down church, was installed in a patch of grass off West Cordova in Coal Harbour during the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale. Always intended to be temporary, it generated both support and opposition before it was relocated to Calgary earlier this year.
But Richard Newirth, the city official in charge of the public art program, said he doesn't mind if the new public art generates healthy controversy. In fact, he welcomes it.
"That's what public art is meant to do - provoke controversy," he said in an interview.
"Some people say that public art is not successful if everyone loves it because then it's not inspiring any debate or reaction. It's just bland. If you water it down to the lowest common denominator, you'll lose everything.
"Hopefully, some people will love some things and hate some things, but love that the city is doing it."
Newirth said he wants the public art selected to be contemporary and reflect the unique situation the city finds itself in as it hosts the Winter Games.
"It's really about capturing what Vancouver means, how it's changing, how it's reacting, how the Olympics is impacting on it and what the city will look like afterwards."
The program is funded by the city of Vancouver not Vanoc, the organization responsible for the 2010 Olympics.
Two of the highest profile sites will be the West Georgia plaza outside the downtown public library and the entrance to Stanley Park. At $800,000 and $900,000 respectively for each one, they're the largest individual public art projects in the city's history. They're both open to international competition, as are the light-related artworks.
Although a public art process usually follows a much more sedate pace, the accelerated timeline means artists and civic officials have to move at light speed to get all the art works designed, approved and installed by January 2010, the month before the Winter Games begin.
Before running the city's public art program, Newirth was the director of cultural affairs at the arts commission in San Francisco for 12 years. He said San Francisco had some public art projects that were big, but were often composed of multiple commissions. For the international terminal at San Francisco Airport, for example, $10 million for public art was broken down into 16 commissions.
"This is pretty new for Vancouver to have really signature works," he said.
Finalists for all the various programs will be selected by a panel of art and design professionals and civic officials. Additional money for the program is subject to city council's approval Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Here are the various elements of Vancouver's Olympic and Paralympic public art program:
- $600,000 for projections and light-based public art. This includes large-scale artist projections on city hall and other public exterior sites, street lighting on Hamilton and Mainland between Larwill Park and David Lam Park and other city streets, and art lighting under the Cambie Bridge.
The deadline to submit applications for projections is 4 p.m. this Friday.
- $800,000 for mapping and marking for artist-initiated public art, including sites outside the downtown core. Some locations the city has suggested include the LED screen on the building at the northeast corner of Robson and Granville, bus and transit shelters, murals on the blocks from Abbott to Jackson and Pender to Water and west and east of Granville from Helmcken to Smithe, and pole art on Kingsway. The city expects to commission a minimum of eight projects.
The deadline for mapping and marking is 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16.
- $600,000 for the Olympic Village Plaza of southeast False Creek. The high-profile site is in the 1,500-square-metre main village square; the wooden heritage Salt Building at 85 West 1st is located to its south.
An announcement on the winning artwork is expected by early October.
- An artist's call is expected to go out this month for the art for the entrance to Stanley Park with the deadline for submissions later in October. No timeline has been set for Library Square.
- $300,000 for Intersections 2010, a program of media and light art during the Olympic Games for the Downtown Eastside focussing on the Carrall Street Greenway at Hastings.
Deadline for applications is 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8.
- $250,000 for an artist in residence during the Olympics at the Hillcrest Curling Centre at Riley Park. The idea is that the artist will incorporate the experience into creating art that will be related to the building's atrium. It will be installed when the building is turned into a multi-purpose community recreation centre with curling sheets, an ice rink and pool after 2010.
- $500,000 for projects in collaboration with Vanoc and the Vancouver Art Gallery during the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.