The Bear at Jim Stuart Park is one of Kelowna's public art installations.
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
March 14, 2017 - 1:33 PM
KELOWNA - A temporary public art program in Kelowna is looking to become permanent.
City staff have recommended council turn the Temporary Art in Public Spaces project into an ongoing initiative.
“What we’re proposing is extending the public art program. This is based off of positive feedback we’ve received from the community,” planning specialist Pat McCormick says.
City staff presented a workshop on Kelowna's public art to city council on Monday, March 13. The application to turn the temporary public art program into a permanent one will come before council in a few weeks, McCormick says.
The City's public art program emphasizes the sentiment that art comes in many forms, according to McCormick's report to council. The City wants to integrate art into everyday life, such as crosswalks and manhole covers.
“Public engagement in conjunction with these public art initiatives would furthermore highlight sustainability-related themes such as water conservation on manhole covers and walkability and pedestrian safety at crosswalks,” McCormick says.
The City also recognizes the centre of roundabouts can be a focal point for public art.
Staff have already identified the recently completed roundabout at Valley Road and Cross Road in Glenmore for a 2018 project. The preliminary budget for the project is $125,000. Competitions would be held for the public to submit designs for these projects, and the public would have a chance to vote online.
Another project in the works is a three-dimensional piece with an electronic component in Boyce-Gyro Park on Lakeshore Road in the Lower Mission, the report says. The artwork would incorporate interactive elements in order to promote an active lifestyle. The proposed budget is $150,000.
The City also plans to spend $150,000 on a three-dimensional, free standing piece of art to welcome those coming and going from the new RCMP detachment. However what that art will look like has yet to be determined, as no submissions have met the evaluation criteria yet.
“The goal of the artwork will be to celebrate the tradition of the RCMP as a Canadian institution and to commemorate its role in providing order and security to Canadian communities,” the report says.
Every year the city allocates $100,000 from their capital budget to go towards public art. According to McCormick, that amount hasn’t changed since 1997.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Hickman or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017