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new building projects. In six years, the Program has completed 28 projects with a total project value of $5 million. Eighteen works are in progress with a total value of $10 million. Program staff also consults with civic partners that receive municipal funding for capital projects; currently there are 11 civic partner public art projects in process across Calgary with a value of $1.5 million. Projects are commissioned for plazas, parks, light rail transit (LRT) stations, building lobbies
and skyways, among other sites.
Through a Bonus Density Program, private developers can request additional
building
space if they commission or donate public art for their own or other designated sites.
BESt PraCtiCES The Program employs an open and transparent collaborative process among staff, city government, design and building professionals, the general public and artists. It promotes community involvement and public education opportunities about public art through tours, lectures and events. It believes multiple voices and viewpoints will guarantee longevity and sustainability and thus it promotes diversity in the artist selection process.
The Program
launched an iPhone app in spring 2010 that features photos and audio related to 16 works within the downtown core.
In 2005, Calgary adopted its Triple Bottom Line (TBL) policy that mandates all City divisions to be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable in all functions. The public art policy supports this framework through its commissioning
of artists, budget, public
activities and maintenance responsibilities. In addition, the Program promotes a fourth pillar of culture as another driver of urban sustainability.
notaBlE PuBliC art work
Over the past six years several important works have entered the collection such as Thomas Sayre’s Steward, a collaborative project between the artist and landscape architect, Doug Carlyle of Carlyle and Associates. Four large earth- cast cones, one at the building’s entrance and three in the garden, illustrate the storm water management cycle at the City’s Water Centre. Other impressive works include:
• Beverly Pepper’s Sentinel (2010) at the Ralph Klein Legacy Park. The soaring corten steel sculpture is integrated into a rise of land surrounded by newly constructed wetlands adjacent to the new Environmental Education Centre.
• Adam Kuby’s conceptual Bridge Abridged, (2006), which explores the engineering and materials used in the cantilevered pedestrian highway overpass, for which his project was commissioned. Kuby deftly integrates words and manipulates shapes to make pedestrians aware of the forces at work in creating the bridge.
• The Conversation (1981), a bronze sculpture of two men deep in discussion, by William McElcheran is a beloved piece amongst Calgarians. The work is situated on a busy
ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS Using best practice standards and processes, the Program selects artists/artist’s teams in several ways. An artist can be invited to apply for a public art project or the Program may send out a Request for Qualifications/Proposals. In all cases applications are reviewed by a selection panel (or jury) to determine the best qualified artist for the project. Juries are culturally and professionally diverse, always including artists, design professionals, and community representatives.
Tools for a cultural identity
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