What’s coming up in public art

Over the next few years, we’re thrilled to be welcoming several new public artworks to Edmonton’s Public Art Collection. Along with previously announced pieces by Sanaz Mazinani for the new downtown greenspace Warehouse Park (in development) and by Michelle Sound for the TELUS Transit stop, Edmonton will soon be home to new works by some fascinating local and national artists, including Jordan Bennett, Sans façon, Shaheer Zazai, Ruth Cuthand, Morgan Melenka, and Michelle Campos Castillo – all in connection with the new Valley Line West LRT expansion. Also in the works is a new public art commission by artist Becca Taylor for the TELUS World of Science – Edmonton.

The artists are all putting the Edmonton Arts Council’s (EAC) new approach to public art into action from start to finish. The re-envisioned approach is guided by the City of Edmonton policy, ​“Public Art to Enhance Edmonton’s Public Realm”, and its principles concerning public visibility and accessibility, diversity and inclusion, public art appreciation, and city-wide impact. The shift began with the EAC’s work on the Indigenous Art Park, ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11 ∞, shares Public Art Director David Turnbull: ​“with it, we changed the way we work, to think beyond contract management and to really question what our responsibility is to the citizens of Edmonton and to the growth and development of the public art collection.”

These new commissions will have strong ties to the communities they occupy. Artists are no longer selected based on their preconceived ideas for a project, Turnbull says, ​“we now ask artists to begin projects by outlining their creative processes and their approach to research and engagement with community stakeholders.” The EAC’s work to build strong relationships in the community is critical, says Turnbull, ​“by the time an artist comes into a project, they should be entering a receptive community that is expecting them.”

The new responsive processes are helping to build a high-quality public art collection that is relevant and representative of Edmonton’s diverse communities. These purposeful steps work to address the collection’s under-representation of Indigenous artists, as well as artists from diverse genders and cultural backgrounds. The new processes will also help to address systemic barriers faced by artists from marginalized, racialized and equity-seeking groups which prevent them from becoming involved in public art.

Read on to learn more about the artists behind several exciting new public art commissions coming to Edmonton.

Jordan Bennett: Valley Line West — West Edmonton Mall Station

Selected artist: Jordan Bennett
Public art project site: Valley Line West-West Edmonton Mall Station, 175 Street & 87 Avenue
Anticipated project install date: 2024

For the Valley Line West LRT — West Edmonton Mall Station, Jordan Bennett will be creating artwork using the mediums of ceramic frit on glass (windows) and painting on a large metal solar screen. The LRT expansion to the city’s west side is the second stage of the Valley Line that will operate between Mill Woods in southeast Edmonton and Lewis Farms in west Edmonton.

Jordan Bennett is a Mi’kmaq visual artist from Stephenville Crossing, Ktaqamkuk, Newfoundland. Jordan’s ongoing practice utilizes painting, sculpture, video, installation, and sound to explore land, language, the act of visiting, familial histories and challenging colonial perceptions of Indigenous histories and presence with a focus on exploring Mi’kmaq and Beothuk visual culture of Ktaqamkuk.

In the past 10 years Bennett has participated in over 90 group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally in venues such as the Smithsonian-National Museum of the American Indian, NYC; MAC-VAL, Paris; The Museum of Art and Design, NYC, NY; Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM; Project Space Gallery, RMIT, Melbourne, AUS; and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

He has been the recipient of several awards and honours, notably, he was shortlisted for the 2018 Sobey Art Award and presented with the 2014 Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Councils Artist of the Year. Bennett holds a BFA from Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, and an MFA from The University of British Columbia, Okanagan.

Sans façon: Valley Line West — Misericordia Station 

Selected artist collective: Sans façon
Public art project site: Valley Line West — Misericordia Station, 169 Street & 87 Avenue
Anticipated project install date: 2024

Sans façon is creating three works for the Valley Line West — Misericordia Station. ​“It is our intention that notions of compassion run, in different and complementary ways, through all of the components of the work”, says Sans façon, ​“the art itself is the conduit for public encounters with the notion of compassion. Three expressions will take form: two will be permanent and tangible and the third expression will lay the social and contextual foundation for the permanent works through storytelling.

Sans façon works internationally on projects ranging from large scale permanent artworks and temporary installations in public spaces to collaborating with design teams on major infrastructure projects or developing and implementing city-wide strategies involving artists in discourse with a city. Much of their work tempts interaction with the surroundings and is developed in close collaboration with communities, corporations, and individuals including city councils, scholars, architects, engineers, and designers.

Over the last two decades, Sans façon has established a model of integrating art and artists as part of a holistic approach for projects of all scales, allowing art to work in concert with the vision of the wider project, engaging people and animating the specific character and quality of each place they work with.

The busy Calgary-based duo has current projects throughout North America and internationally including Art in Parks, a permanent installation with Steve Gurysh in Pittsburgh; Al Masar, five permanent and temporary works, and art planning with el dorado architects in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Monument to Rain, a permanent installation, exploring our relationship to the dynamic environment in Georgetown, Seattle.

Note: On November 24, 2022, as part of the Art Gallery of Alberta’s monthly free night, Sans façon is providing a guided scent tour from 5 — 6 pm.

Michelle Campos Castillo: Valley Line West — 87 Avenue Guideway Ramps at 164 Street 

Selected artist: Michelle Campos Castillo
Public art project site: Valley Line West — 87 Avenue Guideway Ramps at 164 Street
Anticipated project install date: 2024

Local artist Michelle Campos Castillo has been commissioned to create a design for the Valley Line West — 87 Avenue guideway ramps at 164 Street.

“As a guest on Treaty 6 territory, I’m most concerned in honouring the land and its inhabitants,” says Campos Castillo. ​“My approach to developing concepts always carries the spirit of migrants and refugees with me, while appreciating the beautiful landscape of Indigenous territory. I challenged myself to think beyond my own Salvadorean culture and embody the journey of all migrants. I thought of the distances we all travelled to land in Amiskwaciwahikan; some of us crossed oceans. At the same time, I think of my favourite place in the city, the river valley, and the way the river runs across the city and the way this body of water unites us locally.”

Michelle Campos Castillo is a Salvadoran visual artist living in Edmonton. She has been the recipient of several public art commissions from the City of Edmonton, including Platanos, a set of three sculptures on permanent display at Belvedere Transit Centre, and Dream, a recently finalized artwork for the Stadium LRT station (along with fellow local artists Tiffany Shaw, Becca Taylor, Shawn Tse and Christina Battle). Her most recent exhibits are a solo show, Terremoto, presented in the summer of 2022 at grunt gallery in Vancouver, BC and as part of Imborrable at the National Gallery in San Salvador, El Salvador. She is currently working on a graphic novel memoir titled Colonia, based on her life in El Salvador during the country’s civil war.

Morgan Melenka: Valley Line West — Aldergrove Park Elevated Guideway Ramp 

Selected artist: Morgan Melenka
Public art project site: 87 Avenue Guideway Ramp at Aldergrove Park and 182 Street
Anticipated project install date: 2024

Morgan Melenka has a close connection with the site that she has been commissioned to design artwork. Melenka’s designs for the Valley Line West guideway ramp at 87 Avenue and 182 Street are informed by the architecture of Aldergrove, the neighborhood she grew up in. The imagery, Melenka says ​“is a collage of building materials and styles from the area, including brick arches, vinyl siding, and mansard roofs. The geometry of this work results in a strong visual pattern, akin to the experience of moving through Aldergrove, and reflects familiar forms and shapes that informed my understanding of space as a child.”

Morgan Melenka is a visual artist based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) who grew up in Treaty 6. She engages with sculpture and printmaking as she reproduces, modifies, and misuses familiar architectural forms and materials to engage with the world of architecture. She holds an MFA from NSCAD University and has exhibited in Canada and the US including New York, Nebraska, and Tennessee. Her recent exhibitions include: Nonsuch at SNAP Gallery; the Scene at the Art Gallery of Alberta; The Works Art & Design Festival, moveObjects On at the Plumb, Toronto; and There are no walls, only shimmering membranes as part of SAAG Art Library Project.

Shaheer Zazai: Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility Public Art Project

Selected artist: Shaheer Zazai
Public art project site: The Gerry Wright Facility is east of 75^th Street adjacent to Whitemud Drive
Anticipated project install date: 2024/25

Shaheer Zazai, an Afghan-Canadian artist based in Toronto, has been selected for the public art project for the Gerry Wright Facility. The maintenance facility, garage, and operations centre for Valley Line is east of 75^th Street, on the north side of Whitemud Drive. Zazai will develop and execute a site-specific artwork that may span two exterior walls on the southeast side of the building. An important part of Zazai’s process will be community engagement. Stay tuned for information about public engagement opportunities in the coming months.

Zazai’s current studio practice is both in painting and digital media. His practice focuses on exploring and attempting to investigate the development of cultural identity in the present geopolitical climate and diaspora. Zazai received a BFA from OCAD University in 2011 and was an artist in residence at OCAD University as part of the Digital Painting Atelier in 2015. He has upcoming exhibitions at the Aga Khan Museum and the Power Plant in Toronto, the Owens Art Gallery in New Brunswick, and a public artwork in progress at Emily Carr University. Recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition of new works, A Call Home at Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, and New Acquisitions Exhibition at Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC.

Ruth Cuthand: Lewis Farms Storage Facility Public Art Project

Selected artist: Ruth Cuthand
Public art project site: Lewis Farms Facility, west of Anthony Henday Drive, adjacent to Lewis Farms Transit Centre
Anticipated project install date: 2024/25

Artist Ruth Cuthand has been commissioned for the Lewis Farms Facility public art project. The facility is west of Anthony Henday Drive, adjacent to the existing Lewis Farms Transit Centre. Cuthand will develop and execute a site-specific artwork that may span ten locations along the west façade of the building.

Ruth Cuthand was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, of Plains Cree, Scottish and Irish ancestry. She grew up in Cardston, Alberta near the Blood Reserve and resides in Saskatoon where she completed her BFA and MFA. An early fascination with disease, First Nations living conditions, and settler/​Native relationships informed by childhood experiences have become key elements in her creative practice. Ruth has exhibited extensively across Canada and the United States since the late 1980s with artworks in major collections, such as the National Gallery of Canada. Her awards and recognition include the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, the University of Saskatchewan Alumni of Influence Award, and the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Arts Award.

Becca Taylor: TELUS World of Science — Edmonton 

Selected artist: Becca Taylor
Public art project site: Entry Plaza, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, 11211 — 142 Street, Edmonton
Anticipated project install date: spring 2023 

Artist Becca Taylor has been commissioned to create a site-specific artwork in the entrance plaza of TELUS World of Science – Edmonton that is part of a modernization project at the facility. The extensive update has involved renovations of existing exhibits and the addition of 20,000 square feet of new gallery space and visitor amenities.

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. Contributing to all stages of this project, she brings her experience in working on collaborative-based projects, research, and public engagement. Taylor also 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 artworks in Winnipeg’s North end, and in 2018 she co-led a land-based residency, Common Opulence, in Northern Alberta. Becca is the Executive Director (currently on a leave of absence) of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre in Amiskwacîwâskahikan.

Learn more about the City of Edmonton Public Art Collection and discover other fantastic public art projects in progress here.