Listening to the recent debate on the requirement for public
art along the West LRT reminds me of the famous tress on 8th Avenue Mall. In the case of the West LRT public art, the
Calgary Arts Community better prepare to be royally disappointed. Mayor Nenshi is going to screw you over; the
precedent in Calgary has been set. Art
along the West LRT will be lost in a Purple Haze!
The trees on 8th Avenue were also supposed to be public art,
reflected as a percentage of the cost of Banker's Hall. However, if memory serves me, the funding was
taken by the City from the arts community and placed in the hands of the
architectural firm, Cohos, Evamy, the designers of Banker's Hall, slight-of-
hand more often than not displayed by our City Council &
Administration.
The "Stephen Avenue Trees" (the big white metal
structures between Bankers Hall and TD Square) were supposedly built to reduce
the flow of wind as it moved past the neighbouring buildings down the
avenue. Their unusual shapes have
resulted in a love/hate dialogue by both the arts community and the public at
large.
Watch the bait and switch as this Mayor, who rode to victory
on the backs of a number of communities, including the arts community, blames
Administration or "costs over runs" for the loss of public art.
Remembering that Nenshi promised us all he
would get to the bottom of the cost overages on both the West LRT and the
infamous Peace Bridge.
To quote the
Dixie Chicks, "I'm still waiting".
