Get Connected to Public Art
Welcome to the Public Art Connection, a virtual participation centre for artists and art lovers throughout the region. This virtual space is designed to connect you to participation opportunities and resources related to public art in Wood Buffalo.
Public art inspires artists and communities to rethink the use of public space, allowing for free and creative expression in ways that reflect a community’s sense of place and identity. Subscribe to this page to stay up to date on participation opportunities related to public art projects and initiatives.
Local artists Jessica V. Powder and Emma Voyageur are looking for inspiration as they create design options for a public art bench installation in the Fort Chipewyan community. From June 5 to July 22, residents are encouraged to share ideas that best describe the northern hamlet and capture the community's spirit. Later in the fall, design concepts will be presented for a community vote to select the preferred design.
Once a design is chosen, the bench will be built and installed at the Lakefront Viewing Deck at Anderson Street and Lucas Avenue in Fort Chipewyan. A "sister" bench will then be copied and installed in Fort McMurray similar to the previous installations in Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates with their "sister" benches added to kiyām Community Park. This work advances the goal of the Public Art Bench Program — to strengthen the visual connection between Wood Buffalo's rural communities and its Fort McMurray urban core.
Jessica is a Fort Chipewyan resident who has lived among Cree, Dene and Métis hunters and trappers. Hearing impaired from birth, she is a self-taught artist expressing her visual art through many different mediums, from acrylic, pen and ink, to coloured pencils and graphite. She and her work were recently showcased in YMM Magazine and her 7' Mikisew mural hangs in the Nursing station in Fort Chipewyan, Promoting Wellness Through Art.
Born and raised in Fort Chipewyan, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Emma embraced her artistic talent at a young age. At 15, she painted a mural for her school and later her work was part of the K’ai Tailé Market. Her art was also awarded as the jersey design for the Fort McMurray Keyano College Huskies. She is chasing her dreams and continues to pursue her career as an artist.
Public Art Wood Buffalo is digging into the pilot project: Public Art Bench Program. This project will see local artists create public art benches that are custom-designed based on the character of rural communities across the region. Artists are invited to apply to take part in the project and the successful candidates will design benches; one to be installed in a rural community, and a second to be installed at an urban location.
In the first phase, the selected rural communities are Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates. Kiyām Community Park in downtown Fort McMurray is the urban location. We engaged with residents of Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates from February 16 - March 9, 2022, to learn about the characters and qualities that make each community special.
Your feedback inspired two local artists to create a series of unique park bench designs for Anzac and Saprae Creek. From April 19 - May 2, 2022, we asked residents to chose their preferred designs.
The artists created tailor-made public art benches to express the character of each community. The duplicated benches are in the Kiyām Community Park location, creating two “sister” benches for a total of four park benches.
The program is anticipated to be repeated in each community over the next five years. Fort Chipewyan will see the next bench created by local Fort Chipewyan artists Jessica V. Powder and Emma Voyageur. It's aimed at strengthening the visual connection between Wood Buffalo’s rural communities and its urban core of Fort McMurray.
The Public Art Bench Program directly aligns with the strategies set out in the Wood Buffalo Public Art Plan, and the priorities set out in the Wood Buffalo Culture Plan.
Thank you for your participation. From February 16 - May 2, 2022, you helped identify unique qualities and characteristics of Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates. You also helped to identify the preferred options for public art bench designs that will be created and installed in Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates.
See the "Selected Designs for Anzac and Saprae Creek Estates." Read the "What We Heard Report" to learn more details about the engagement and how your feedback inspired the artists to create designs based on the character of each of these communities.
The Community Services team carefully reviewed your feedback and has begun working with the artists to build and install the public art benches for Anzac, Saprae Creek Estates and Kiyām Community Park.
The project team is targeting late summer 2022 to have the new benches installed. These timelines are subject to change based on the availability of construction supplies and site conditions.
To stay informed about the project, or to receive project updates, subscribe to this page or contact us at participate@rmwb.ca.
CLOSED: Thank you for participating. This survey has concluded.
Share the first three words, images or phrases that come to mind when describing the character of your community.
Thank you to those who participated in this engagement. You can learn more about this project below, or subscribe to Participate Wood Buffalo to stay connected (or get involved) with future engagement projects impacting our region.
CLOSED: Thank you for participating. This survey has concluded.
For all my design options, I (Kritsana Naowkahun) wanted to show that Anzac is a multicultural community where the roots of Indigenous culture run deep. I was inspired by the land and the journeys of the people who make Anzac their home.
The Raven is a guardian and represents the ancestors of the people who made the journey to Anzac. It’s at the top of the design because it flies above the people protecting them. The feathers are a traditional symbol for Indigenous cultures, and I wanted to show the feathers as the raven spreads its wings.
The red tree has branches that bend to the side as the wind blows through and guides people on their journey. The silver rings at the top represent the sun shining good fortune on those who travel to Anzac.
The colours I used are influenced by Indigenous art. I used strong, primary colours with high contrast. The colours also represent water, earth and sun, which give humans the energy to live. I am also influenced by Canadian nature. I'm from Thailand, and Canadian nature is not something I saw before moving here. I know that nature is important to Canadians and the Anzac community.
Thank you to those who participated in this engagement. You can learn more about this project below, or subscribe to Participate Wood Buffalo to stay connected (or get involved) with future engagement projects impacting our region.
CLOSED: Thank you for participating. This survey has concluded.
During the public engagement event we received a lot of fantastic feedback from Saprae Creek community members. I personally (Amy Keller-Rempp) felt a level of importance for each moment, achievement, and story told. In my mind a story was sparked and grew with each suggestion, a story of a community that wants to be shared. So how do I portray that story in a public bench? Several visions came to my imagination:
Thank you to those who participated in this engagement. You can learn more about this project below, or subscribe to Participate Wood Buffalo to stay connected (or get involved) with future engagement projects impacting our region.
We humbly acknowledge that the land on which we live, learn, work and play is Treaty 8 Territory, the traditional lands of the Cree, Dene, and the unceded territory of the Métis.
Have questions or want to learn more about a project, contact us below:
| Phone | 780-743-7000 |
|---|---|
| Website | www.rmwb.ca |
| In writing | Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo |
