EAC Public Art Monthly :: February 16, 2017

Mission: Mural Rescue - Conserving 50 Years of Public Art!

On a freezing afternoon in February, the Edmonton Arts Council Conservation lab, tucked in the corner of a west-end industrial park, looks like Command HQ for a complex recovery operation. Rubbermaid tubs full of equipment – spray bottles, brushes, knives, tissue paper – are neatly stacked next to plastic sheeting cut in complex shapes, and protective apparel. Public Art Conservator Andrea Bowes is busily diluting odorous bottles of Lee Valley Codfish glue, while Conservation Director David Turnbull scans his workplan for what could be the most complex project ever undertaken by his department.

Mural Section

Their mission is to remove, restore, and reinstall a 50-year-old, 1600 square foot, 10,000lb mural. The untitled artwork, created by Alberta artist Norman Yates in 1967, is painted directly on a semi-loadbearing wall in the Stanley A. Milner Library Circulation Department on the main floor. The location places the artwork directly in the path of the extensive renovations which will reshape and transform the building, so the team is working against the clock to remove the art.

“This is the only known surviving artwork in Edmonton’s Public Art Collection commissioned for Canada’s Centennial, so I feel we’re preserving an important part of Edmonton’s art history,” says David. “Norman Yates was an important artist in the city. He founded the graduate program in the University of Alberta’s Department of Fine Arts, mentored generations of artists, and before he died in 2014, also kept up a thriving art practice.”

The mural under conservation is one of Yates’s “landspaces” a technique he devised for painting sprawling, almost three-dimensional paintings of the Canadian landscape. Students and visitors to the University of Alberta campus are very familiar with one of his largest works, North and West on the north wall of the Education Building on the U of A campus. The Centennial artwork in hues of green and blue, is a smaller hidden treasure.

“A large part of conservation is planning,” remarks David. “This is a hugely complex project. The mural is painted on plaster that was applied directly onto a concrete wall; there is a 2-foot gap between the back of the mural and cinder block wall so there is little room for maneuvering behind the structure; the entire mural must be cut and moved in sections while preserving the inch or so of plaster it’s painted on. In addition, the work is physical, uncomfortable, and hot. So, success is not just about what are we going to do, but how are we going to do it?”

Click here for the rest of the story, pictures, and video on the YEGArts Blog!

RFQ :: Co-located Dispatch & Emergency Operations Centre

The Co-Located Dispatch and Emergency Operations Centre (CD-EOC) public art competition, open to professional artists or artist teams residing in Canada, is held in accordance with the City of Edmonton policy "Percent for Art to Provide and Encourage Art in Public Areas" (C458C).

The Edmonton Arts Council Public Art Program, on behalf of the City of Edmonton, is seeking a professional artist or artist team to work creatively with the CD-EOC building team to explore the building scrim material as an art medium.

Artists will have the opportunity to work with the material across the whole scale of the building.

The successful artist will be engaged through an interview process, and will work alongside the design team to prepare concepts prior to tender documents being completed in June 2017.

The successful artist will explore the possibilities of the scrim material both conceptually and imaginatively.

Pre-exisitng images or straightforward graphic design will not be accepted.

Budget:
$250,000.00 CAD (maximum, all inclusive)

Deadline for Submissions:
4:30 pm on Friday, March 03, 2017

Installation:
Summer 2019

For more information, email Robert Harpin, Public Art Officer, or call (780) 424-2787 ext. 231

Click to download the Call

Calls to Canadian Artists :: Art Glass Transit Shelters Public Art Project

The Art Glass Transit Shelters public art competition(s) is open to professional artists residing in Canada and is held in accordance with the City of Edmonton policy "Percent for Art to Provide and Encourage Art in Public Areas" (C458C).

The Edmonton Arts Council has released four (4) separate Calls to Artists for Neighbourhood Stops along the Valley Line LRT. The stops are located; Downtown Edmonton (102 Street), Strathearn, Holyrood, and Bonnie Doon.

The artist(s) or artist team will undertake community engagement to create an artistic concept that reflects the cultural and historic identity of this area. The art will be translated into permanent art glass that can be integrated into its location.

Artists may apply for one or multiple calls, and should provide a distinct submission package for each call in separate emails. Submit Visual Documentation only once if it is exactly the same for each submission, and indicate so in your email.

Budget (per project):
$97,000.00 CAD (maximum, all inclusive)

Deadline for Submissions (all calls):
4:30 pm on Monday, February 27, 2017

Delivery:
Spring 2019

Installation:
Summer 2019

For more information, contact Chelsea Boida: phone (780)424-2787 ext. 229 or
cboida@edmontonarts.ca

In this issue:

RFQ :: Co-located Dispatch & Emergency Operations Centre

Calls to Canadian Artists :: Art Glass Transit Shelters Public Art Project