Bears and whales and trees, oh my: Here are Gibsons' public art selections

Five pieces of art have been selected for installation along Gibsons’ new Public Art Path.

The path which is to be completed in phases will run from the entrance to the local government area at Gibsons Creek (near the Chek’welp Squamish Lands), through Lower Gibsons, along the Inglis trail to Gibsons’s commercial strip on the Sunshine Coast Highway.

The chosen artwork pieces revealed in a June 1 press release:

• ‘Yoga Bear’ by Karin Taylor – a hand-sculpted, wood cellulose-bronze enamel statue of a bear in yoga pose;
• ‘Wooden Mural’ by Cambria Logan – a hand-crafted wood mural of a Coast scene constructed from multiple cedar and fir layers;
• Macro Forest Images’ by Alan Sirulnikoff – Eight close-up photographs of natural fauna presented as a gallery in the trees;
• ‘Viewfinder’ by Janine Dunn – an interactive sculpture of reclaimed weathered logs, paired with welded, marine-grade aluminum;
•  ‘Breaching Whale’ by David Evanson – an abstract form, carved from a single 200-year-old yellow cedar log, with a natural, clear finish.

The Town’s Public Arts Advisory Committee made the selections based on criteria including overall creativity, suitability for time and place, and capacity to endure outdoor conditions.

Ta na wa Ns7éyx̱nitm ta Snew̓íyelh, the Squamish Nation Department of Language and Affairs, will be working with the committee to direct an inclusion of Indigenous art and cultural knowledge for the path.

“We received 19 excellent artist’s proposals in response to our call for submissions and narrowing them down to just five was incredibly difficult,” said Mayor Bill Beamish. “We offer congratulations to the successful artists and greatly look forward to unveiling the chosen pieces as they are created and installed.

Gibsons’ Public Art Path project is fully funded by a grant received through the THRIVE Small Capital Program of the Island Coastal Economic Trust. The program supports new, innovative and concept-driven small capital initiatives that drive new vitality to downtown areas or business districts of BC’s coastal communities. More details about the Public Art Path can be found at gibsons.ca/public-art-path.