February 16, 2010 What is Public Art and, More Importantly, Why is it Important

The City of Vancouver is collaborating with the Vancouver Art Gallery and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad on spectacular public art project throughout the winter games.  What is public art? And, more importantly, why is it important?

Public art uses art and artistry to create or define a sense of place by incorporating original works of art by visual artists into public spaces. It involves the public from artist selection to dedication and is often integrated into the work of other design professionals, such as architects or landscape architects.

Why is public art important?

At its very core, it enhances the city's quality of life by:

•  Making the places where we live, work and play more welcoming and beautiful.
• Creating a deeper interaction between the community and its environment.
• Adding dimension to civic spaces.
• Increasing the community's assets by creating images that help define a space.
• Allowing the community to express its identity and values.
• Demonstrating pride in corporate citizenship.
• Affirming the educational environment.
• Enhancing roadsides, pedestrian corridors and community gateways.
• Beautifying the transportation systems.
• Helping Green Spaces Thrive

Vancouver’s Public Art Program seeks to incorporate contemporary art practices into city planning and development. The program supports art-making of many kinds - emerging and established artists, in new and traditional media from stand-alone commissions to artist collaborations.

Public Art and the 2010 Olympics:

As Host City for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Vancouver has initiated an ambitious Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program that features art that reveal, challenge, surprise and celebrate the 2010 Olympics and helps to express the spirit, values, visions, and poetry of place that collectively define the uniqueness of Vancouver. Best of all, it’s all free. So, grab a coffee, bundle up and put on a great pair of walking shoes and explore some of the finest contemporary art installations that Vancouver has ever had to offer. As an added feature you can use your cellphone to hear the artists state in their own words the meaning and inspiration behind their work.

One of my favourites would have to be a permanent light installation outside the Vancouver Public Art Gallery. Aptly named \"the words don't fit the picture\" and using a typeface that is at once recognizable, the piece is a reference to Vancouver's mostly lost neon sign past where at its peak in the 1950's there were more than 18,000 glowing signs adorning the buildings and streets of Vancouver. By the 1960's neon was viewed as urban decay and soon after by laws were passed prohibiting these lively signs - now seen as a hideous spectacle. Today there are only small remenants of our bright and colourful past, one can be found atop the glowing W of Woodwards and the other on the old Bowmac sign on Broadway.

Take advantage of the map or printable brochure that allows you to do a walking tour of all of the sites. As an added feature all of the sites allow you to hear the artist speak in their own words about their vision and inspiration for each project. Don’t forget your cellphone!

Kim Robertson