Northeast Calgary residents have their say on future of public art

People in northeast Calgary are being asked what they think the future of public art should look like in their neighbourhoods.

The northeast hasn't seenmuch investment over the years when it comes to different types of artin public spaces.

A large, futuristic metallic sculpture called theWishing Well wasinstalled outside the Genesis Centre, but it had to be removed in 2014 after the sun's reflection melted someone's clothing. The art installation was never replaced.

The city says public art plays an important role in shaping modern, vibrant cities as well as building a sense of community and creating more opportunity for residents to engage with their public spaces and that the northeast needs more examples.

"The initiative is super important because representation matters," said ActionDignity's Badria Abubaker, who worked as a broker between the city and community to gather feedback.

"If people within the northeast communities see art that reflects what they feel like and what they feel would represent them better in the community, that creates a more holistic society and community," she said.

Abubaker spent time reaching out to different groups in the northeast to explain what the initiative is and askwhat they'd like to see, directing them to an online survey.

"People wanted to ask 'why now?' andthey were excited they were going to be a part of what art will look like in the northeast," she said.

"Having art that is connected to them is what they were really excited about."

Theproject will also create more opportunities for artists who live and work in the northeast to take part and have their works considered.

"We're working on bringing several public art opportunities to northeast Calgary," said Ward 5 Coun. George Chahal.

Chahal says the city wanted to hear from the community on what types of art people want, where it would be located and what stories they want the art to tell.

"Compared to other parts of the city, there's a huge gap, and we hope that this helps address some of those inequities," said Chahal.

Residents took part in a survey and online workshops, in a range of different languages, comingto an end on April 19.

Chahal hopes it will lead to some exciting projects in their communities.

The city says the input from the public will now be used to build a plan, timeline and budget.