“Canada 150”: Decorative Glass Public Art

This year’s Canada Day marks an important milestone, Canada’s 150th birthday. To celebrate, many special events and activities are taking place across the country all year long, with the most elaborate festivities taking place on Canada Day.

Capital Boulevard in downtown Edmonton is host to one such celebration, with the installation of five public art sculptures along the roadway. The five pieces, all designed by local Alberta artists, were created for “Canada 150” to commemorate and celebrate Canadian history.

One of the first pieces to be installed, just in time for Canada Day is titled Transect, a two-meter sphere made of stainless steel and decorative glass.

Transect was designed by award winning glass artists Julia Reimer and Tyler Rock, of Firebrand Glass Studio in Black Diamond, Alberta. Their vision was to combine past and present, depicting Edmonton’s history as a process and celebrating the journey that led Edmonton to where it is today.

The hand-crafted blue decorative glass circles act as “windows”, with some left clear to frame the present moments happening around the sculpture, and others featuring historical images and symbols selected from the Provincial Archives of Alberta to highlight Alberta’s history. T

o bring the images to life on glass, the artists worked closely with the Goldray Glass design team. Firstly, the images were printed onto a high-resolution film, which was then laminated between the colored glass lites.

With this method, Goldray achieved vibrancy, while making the glass durable enough for an exterior application. Once installed, the intricate steel structure supports and connects each window, a nod to the connections and collaboration that exists within the community.

The completed sphere uses a combination of color and imagery to enliven the area and draw visitor’s in for a closer look. Commissioned by The Places, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts and by the Government of Canada, the “Canada 150” sculptures are a now permanent fixture along Capital Boulevard, bringing beauty to the area and creating a lasting reminder of Canada’s 150th birthday.

If you are in the Edmonton area on July 1, 2017, The Places will be hosting a Canada 150 Launch event for the public art project at the Alberta Legislative Assembly Visitor Centre at 1:30pm.