This week I participated in an event that made sense – one you would expect to be commonplace in cities across the continent: a true “town hall” where the city public art program administrators had an opportunity to present their new strategic direction and gather feedback from the community on both the program and the future of public art in this city. Yet, the openness and transparency that the City of Calgary Public Art Program exudes is a novel and trailblazing method that’s putting it at the forefront of public art programs in North America.
There was a great turnout of representatives from arts organizations, public art stakeholders, and the civic community at large to hear the new strategic direction for the City of Calgary Public Art Program on April 5th.
Rachael Seupersad (right), Superintendent of the public art program, presents the new strategy
Since launching the new public art policy in 2009, the talented team at the city’s public art program have developed a new strategy with four key goals to work towards (which I`ve paraphrased here in my own words):
Goal 1: For Calgary to become internationally recognized for the quality of its public art. This is an opportunity to maximize the potential of art in this city and help citizens become better connected to the city through art.
A fantastic example of the high potential of public art in this city was last summer`s SOURCES and River of Light by artist Laurent Louyer and Creatmosphere Studio. For a week, the Bow River was a living art installation that drew attention to the interdependencies of our watershed through public art with river-based installations that stretched 7.5km along the Bow River.
The project culminated in a pinnacle evening event where 500 illuminated balloons were floated down the Bow and into the lagoon at Prince`s Island creating a large-scale, dynamic lighting installation that drew crowds along the riverbanks, encouraging citizens to pause and reflect on the Bow.
River of Light, 2010, Laurent Louyer and Creatmosphere Studio
River of Light, 2010, Laurent Louyer and Creatmosphere Studio
Goal 2: For Calgarians to be proud of their public art and for citizens to take ownership of the work. The theory here being: if citizens feel connected to the work, they will take responsibility for stewardship of the collection.
Much of the afternoon’s conversations focused on how to improve connection to public art in this city, although, much has already been done! Did you know Calgary was among the first (if not THE first) city in North America to implement an iPhone app mapping and explaining public art around the core of the city? Check it out HERE.
Goal 3: For people to enjoy and discuss public art in Calgary. The Calgary Public Art Program logo features “The Conversation” by William McElcheran, an iconic piece of Calgary’s public art collection (pictured at the top of this post). Even beyond their logo, it’s clear that open communication is at the heart of the program; a fantastic example of this is its facebook page to connect to the community directly – they regularly update it with public art happenings in the city and hold discussion forums online that anyone can be a part of.
Goal 4: For the City of Calgary to be a leader in the field of public art. And to be honest, the program is almost there. I learned this week that Calgary’s public art administration team has been invited to cities across the country to council on how to develop and grow other public art programs successfully.
After the presentation, it was time for communication on a two way street. The well-organized afternoon featured round-table discussions on connection, collaboration, and impact. It was here that it became apparent how many walks of life all came out to voice their opinions and show support for public art in this city; everyone from artists to business representatives gave their input.
Comments ranged from collaboration opportunities with other groups and companies in the community, to where new public art would have the most impact on life in the city. All the comments were recorded on colourful sticky notes and collected with a promise to review and compare to existing initiatives. New ideas are to be considered for the coming 3-5 year plan for public art in this city.
This public art town hall was a first for the City of Calgary. I thought this was a fantastic initiative and look forward to next year’s. If you were there, please share your thoughts on the day with a comment!
What opportunities do you think such open communication could present for other civic public art programs around the country?
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