Knight and 33rd Update

The City is building a retaining wall as part of the street change including the left turn bay on Knight Street. The railing at the top of the retaining wall was very recently identified as an opportunity for a unique design. In order to facilitate this, we invited artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas to propose a design. Michael is a Haida artist who works with a mix of Haida iconography and Japanese-style contemporary graphics, so the fence promises to be extraordinary. Work on the retaining wall has already begun. The railing will be installed by spring, at which time there will be a reception to meet the artist. Hope to see you then.

Vision Session July 29, 2010

Hello and thanks to everyone who attended the Vision Session on July 29. The Draft Vision presented is included here. It received general support from those attending and there was excellent input on possibilities. These will be incorporated into the planning.

The Draft Vision will be reviewed at the staff level and then specific opportunities will be pursued to establish feasibility. Your comments on the Draft Vision are welcome.

Clark-Knight Corridor Public Art Plan Vision Session

Goals:

• Within a limited budget, to make Clark/Knight into an art experience - a unique central urban corridor
• Make it interesting and unexpected; encourage anticipation and curiosity
• Provide unique engagements with places and foster civic pride.
• Involve the public in experiencing and thinking about public art
• Facilitate opportunities for artists to contribute their special skills and perspectives
• Aspire to the high standards of public art in Vancouver and internationally

Considerations:

• Respect the efficiency and safety of the flow of vehicles and people
• Be considerate of environmental issues, consider repurposing and reusing materials where possible
• Pursue resources, parnerships to facilitate more with less

Approach:

1) Focus on the Corridor itself as a whole, working thoroughfare

- a gritty urban Corridor dividing east and west and connecting the port at the north and river at the south;

- audience largely mobile

- anti-neighbourhood: speed, movement, flow, aggressive N-S thoroughfare

- utilitarian, 24-hour thoroughfare, (work with industrial quality of the street)

- acts as a barrier, or boundary, between east and west

- topography: accelerated rise, vista, two “dog leg” areas

- llnear: narrative (visual or text), repetition (pattern recognition) (consider language)

- transitional space, to and from work, to and from the city, every day

- multiplicity, accessed by all languages, cultures, lifestyles and income levels

2) Identify unique areas that have more local associations. Even though opportunities can be considered more locally, works still need to be accessible to drivers.

- school intersections, i.e. 49th, Broadway

- parks such as Kensington, Kingcrest, China Creek

- historic areas: portside, DTES, Railroad; riverside industry

Defining Art Opportunities:

Where are the best “prospects” for siting artwork?

- work with perspective/topography; capitalize on high traffic areas , i.e. VanEast cross

- artwork to operate in sync with the traffic and industry, i.e. use existing opportunities, chain-link fences and billboards - take on a commercial, civic, or industrial modes that are available

- consider mobile works

- seek partnerships to extend the budget and for access to surfaces, etc.

A. Hard Surfaces

Opportunities for a program of temporary and changing platforms:

- Signage such as bus shelters, billboards, etc.

- Moving platforms, i.e. plasma screens on trucks or buses, bus covers

- viaducts (at Cordova and at 6^th)

- pavement

- chain link fences

B: Medians and odd lots

Opportunities for consecutive works, narrative (continuous, engaging, thought provoking – using text, graphics and signage; as well as short and long-term sculptural forms

- long planted median being developed between 15th and 21st (and including median at 25th)

- two triangular areas on either side of Clark near 15th, could work together with work in medians to be installed from 16th to 21st/King Edward

- strip of land by garage at alley before 12th, west side

- strip of land at King Edward at edge of Kingcrest Park & community garden

- triangle piece at 56th near Fire Station and medians 54-57th

Stream 1: Focus on narrative, text & 2-D work: Temporary and Changing

- Affordable (limited budget) and suits the nature of the experience

- Language and visual narrative, graphics – artist/writer collaborations, local stories,

consecutive signage, billboards, walls, medians, etc,

A cumulative visual and conceptual effect, – different languages, graphic images, patterns, etc.

- will require partnerships with businesses, access to storefronts, walls, windows, chain link fences

Stream 2: Short-term and/or permanent sculpture sites

- the whole street as a platform

- street furniture such as bicycle stands, lamp posts

- medians and “odd lots” as sculpture platforms for short-term works

- possible former public art site, structural plinth and columns at 6th (privately owned)

Priority local sites for consideration:

Kensington Park & possibly medians @ 33^rd

49^th Street intersection: school, health centre, mini-mall

Possible light work on Knight at north entrance to the City

Questions

Below are four questions to start us thinking, and a few initial thoughts:

1) What themes are pertinent to the corridor?

Intersections: arteries and crossovers for the movement of goods and people through the city

Industrial thoroughfare: daily commute; transport of goods between the port and the river

Environment: noise and pollution of vehicles

Culture: lifestyles and languages of people living along the corridor

History: geography of the area, the river, the port and railroad, etc.

2) What is the character of particular areas along the corridor?

Port to Broadway: industry and advertising

Broadway to 12^th Avenue: concentration of school, park and traffic

13^th Avenue to 15^th Avenue: Diversion, driving

Kingsway: high rise, major crossing

33^rd Avenue to 41^st Avenue: crest and view park

41^st Avenue to 57^th Avenue: residential rise

57^th Avenue to Knight St. Bridge: acceleration

3) Where are the key areas or opportunities where artwork should/could be considered?

4) Is there a material, form, attitude, activity or feature that is important for those who use or live near the corridor (or a particular area) that might inspire an art project? This could be domestic or social or urban or ….

Existing artworks along or directly off the Corridor

NOMAD/ZM, Earth Giveth mural, at Powell

Doug Senft, Gates, 1986, Kensington Park

Tom Burrows, Three Herons, 1998, at 37th. photo B.Cole

Spike Harris & students, Queen Alexandra banners, 2003, at Broadway
Tom Dean, Peacable Kingdom, 2008, at Kingsway Library

Ken Lum, Monument for East Vancouver, 2009, at 6th. photo the artist

David MacWilliam, Kingsway Luminaires, 2009, Kingsway at Knight. photo the artist

Start March 20 2010

Welcome to the blogspot for the Clark-Knight Corridor Public Art Plan.

The City of Vancouver Planning and Engineering Services and the Public Art Program are developing a Public Art Plan for the Clark-Knight Corridor. The Plan will be completed between March and September and will identify relevant themes, describe the character of local areas and define opportunities for artists to work along the Corridor.

As the person responsible for the Art Plan, I will meet with key local area groups and individuals for information exchange and to gather input. An initial visioning session is planned to gather input from architects, artists and local residents to consider the built form, traffic patterns and context along the Corridor and to identify key art opportunities.

Periodic updates will be posted on this website. Your comments are welcome.