Homelessness Memorial

The Edmonton Homelessness Memorial honours Edmontonians who lack adequate housing. In a doorway, a homeless person sits slumped, head bent in sleep or despair; tiles around the door depict aspects of homelessness and why having a home is important. 

Keith Turnbull and Ritchie Velthius were commissioned by the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH), from Velthius’s overall design. Turnbull and Velthius modelled the figure. They were assisted by steel fabricator Mike Turnbull and 22 tile artists. The work was installed November 2011 in the park between 99 and 100 Streets north of 103A Avenue.

“ECOHH recruited 22 potential artists, mainly from the inner city,” said Turnbull, ​“and Ritchie and I taught them to make tiles. The city gave us work space in the main foyer of City Hall. We paid for every tile, and ended up with more than we needed. We made sure every artist was represented with at least one of the 48 tiles on the finished sculpture, and the remainder were chosen based on artistic merit. It was a powerful experience to work with the artists and hear their stories and passions as they created their tiles. My best memories are of working with these artists. 

Ritchie and I were standing by the sculpture after it was installed, and a homeless man stopped by, sat down, thanked us for giving him this sculpture, and told us that we got the posture right. This meant a lot to us, as it contradicted the naysayers who thought the money would be better spent on scarves and mitts.” 

Velthius said, ​“Every tile artist was paid an honorarium, very important as validation of the artwork they created. As a working artist, I am constantly reminded that we are all just a few unfortunate circumstances away from homelessness. We are all just people trying to find our place in the world, and the strength of our community can be measured by the support that we give our most vulnerable populations.” 

Since several years before the commission, ECOHH has had an annual memorial (now held at the sculpture) for people who die or suffer from causes connected to homelessness or inadequate housing. ​“The sculpture will now mean that Edmontonians can be reminded all year round of the terrible cost of homelessness,” said Colin Simpson of ECOHH at dedication time. ​“Decent affordable housing is essential for everyone… we can and must work together to achieve this.”

The sculpture’s $40,000 cost came from ECOHH, an Edmonton Arts Council Community Public Art program grant, and donations of work, materials and work space from other supporters. ECOHH subsequently gifted the sculpture to the City; The remaining, unused tiles were kept for repairs and for ECOHH to use at award ceremonies.