Greater Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in the world. To complement Mother Nature’s contribution of mountains, ocean and greenery, many municipalities have adopted policies that require new home developments to include public art contributions.

In Vancouver in 1990, the Public Art Program was designed to bring artist contributions to the public realm. Today, rezoning policies require developers to either install public art pieces onsite at their new developments or to provide a monetary contribution to the program. As stated by the City, the 5 main goals of the program are:

1. To cultivate a changing and distinctive cityscape and enrich the experience of public places and the built environment;
2. To be challenging, risk-taking, creative and innovative in pursuit of great artworks;
3. To reflect the distinct character and experience of neighbourhoods and diverse communities; 
4. To stimulate civic discourse, re-examine narratives and imagine new futures through creative interventions;
5. To craft exceptional opportunities for artists — local, national and international, emerging and established — to engage with the public realm through typical and atypical media.

Learn more about the Vancouver Public Art Program for Civic and Private Development on the City of Vancouver website.

We encourage you to take a public art tour in your neighbourhood. To guide you, the City of Vancouver provides an online public art registry (in April 2015, Burnaby announced that they would also launch their own registry soon).

Here are our top 5 condominium community favorites:

1. The Persian Wall by Dale Chihuly (2008) – at The Residences on Georgia (downtown)
2. The Birds by Myfanwy MacLeod (2010) –  at The Village on False Creek (Southeast at False Creek)
3. Substation Pavilion by Cedric Bomford (2011) – at Meccanica (Southeast at False Creek)
4. Golden Tree by Douglas Coupland (2015/2016) – to be installed at MC2 (Marine & Cambie)
5. MAC is also very excited for the arrival of Amacon’s contribution at Redbrick in Burnaby. Redbrick’s installation, named \"HOUSE (red fox black cat)\", will feature a piece by award winning artists, Metz & Chew.

​\"HOUSE (red fox black cat)\" pays homage to the history of Edmonds village, recalling the historic gabled houses of the area. On the “porch” sits a black cat — directly across from her is a red fox, as if he just strolled off the greenway path. They gaze at each other with curiosity.  Within the sculpture a tree rises through the open frame, a tree growing through the memory of a house. The artwork marks that threshold between the domestic and the wilds, and is about the places we live in and the journeys that begin there.