New Stadium LRT public art offers gathering space for community
October 27, 2022
As the new plaza opens at the Stadium LRT Station, commuters and community members will be able to take a seat and enjoy one of Edmonton’s newest public art installations. Back in 2020, the public art selection committee recommended artists Michelle Campos Castillo, Becca Taylor, Christina Battle, Tiffany Shaw-Collinge, and Shawn Tse for the Stadium LRT Station public art project. For this project, the team identified an interest in uncovering, listening to and exploring well established narratives of the area and its shifting values of public space with regards to transit and the transitory experience of moving from one place to another.
Their artwork, Dream, is comprised of 14 individual structures varying in colour and size, that come together to create a playful gathering space. Read on to learn more about Dream from artist Michelle Campos Castillo as she expands on the work and the experience of collaborating with the other collective members.
Tell us more about the concept behind this artwork.
From the very beginning we all seemed to propose building a piece that would serve as a gathering space, a place of interaction. We really wanted to oppose the idea that Stadium was just a place that people passed through on their way to work or a football game. We settled on a constellation of seating that could accommodate anyone, regardless of age, gender, body type, economic and social groupings. And we especially wanted to give residents something playful and accessible to them at any time. The shapes are meant to flow into each other, inspired by our North Saskatchewan River, constellations and prairie skies.
What drew you and the other artists to apply for this public art opportunity?
It was Tiffany Shaw that brought the group together. We all have different levels of public art experience. Personally, I was really interested in the process of experimenting and creating work together; from the concept stages to creation.
How did you collaborate or engage with the surrounding community during the creation of this project? And how did your engagement shape the final design?
We met with numerous individuals from the community surrounding the Stadium LRT, including residents heavily involved with the Parkdale/Cromdale Community League. They gave us insight into the vibrant community living around the Stadium which validated our approach in creating a space that would welcome all – not just those passing through a couple of times a year to a game or event. We wanted to invite the community to linger and gather. Additionally, the center of the circle is open, as an invitation for those to perform or interact with those utilizing the benches.
We really wanted to give something special to the residents in the area. The station itself is surrounded by parking lots and full of concrete, so adding a bit of colour and playfulness was super important to us.
We hoped that this place would provide a sense of safety when moving around the station, so we constantly thought about ways groups and individual people would navigate around the artwork whether they considered engaging with it or not. Originally, we wanted to add power to two of the objects, but cost was prohibitive for this idea.
How did this group of artists come together to form this collective? What was it like working together on this project? Following this collaboration, does the collective have any plans to work together on future projects?
Tiffany Shaw brought the group together. I think we were generally fans of each other’s work and that’s why we all agreed to join the project. The biggest challenge was trying to schedule meetings between five busy people, but generally we share the same values around accessibility and serving our communities, so things flowed pretty well. It was really fun to share projects and images in the beginning, ones that inspired us to dream big. While the group has no plans of reuniting for future projects, there’s still people from the group collaborating frequently.
How did working as a group shape your work? Were there any surprising outcomes that came from it?
I think working in a group can help you take a concept beyond your own vision and limitations, and that’s really exciting. I think the project would look very different without these five individuals. Everyone offered a unique perspective and asked important questions that pushed the idea further than we would do on our own. I think working collaboratively can be very powerful and effective especially when public art asks to consider literally everyone interacting with the pieces.
About the artists
CHRISTINA BATTLE is an artist, curator, and educator in Edmonton. She brings decades long experience in the form of arts administration with a focus on participatory practice. Christina has completed a number of public artworks, most notably for the Blackwood Gallery (Mississauga, 2018), Nuit Blanche Toronto (2019, 2017, 2006), and the Capture Photography Festival (Vancouver, 2019). Her current research is situated around her recently completed PhD dissertation: Disaster as a Framework for Social Change: Searching for new patterns across plant ecology and online networks (2020).
MICHELLE CAMPOS CASTILLO is a graphic designer and artist born in El Salvador. She has completed various public art projects with the EAC; recent works include, Platanos, a set of three sculptures on permanent display at Belvedere Transit Centre, and artwork for the LRT Valley Line in the west end of the city, currently in the concept development stage.
TIFFANY SHAW is an artist, curator and registered architect. Her public art projects include pehonan (2018) at the Indigenous Art Park, Métis Land Use at Markham Transit Station in Winnipeg (2019) and family pattern at Kinistinâw Park. Tiffany was born in Calgary and raised in Edmonton. She has a BFA from NSCAD University and a M.Arch from SCI-Arc. Tiffany is a core member of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. Her Métis lineage stems from Fort McMurray, Alberta via the Red River.
BECCA TAYLOR is an artist, curator and writer, of Cree and Métis descent. Her practice involves investigations of Indigenous community building, through food sovereignty, gathering, deep listening, conversation and making. She has experience curating and organizing community and site-specific interventions in urban and rural landscapes. Notably, in 2015 she organized a series of youth led public art works in Winnipeg’s North end and in 2018 she co-led land-based residency, Common Opulence, in Northern Alberta.
SHAWN TSE is an artist, heritage practitioner, and educator working in the Boyle McCauley neighbourhood since 2016. Shawn’s ongoing connection to Boyle McCauley are known through community centred projects like Film for the Future Youth Camp (2016−2018), Edmonton Living Rooms (2019), and his love for Chinatown in Figure 一二三六八 (2019). He is a member of aiya哎呀, bringing attention to Chinatown’s cultural erasure and displacement through public participatory art like Harbin Gate Remembrance (2018) and Gentrification Party (2019).
