Kelowna's Public Art Program

Public art, like other art forms, has evolved. No longer confined to monumental sculptures in prominent locations, contemporary public art inspires new perspectives of, and interactions with, public places. Artists provide unique interpretations of sites and play a key role in engaging the public imagination. Audiences and communities, too, are becoming active participants in the public art process by voicing a diversity of local concerns and stories and occasionally lending many hands to the creation of the work itself.

Public art is about more than beautification. Public art stimulates, entertains, instructs and, occasionally, provokes its audience. Endlessly diverse and adaptable, public art can engage us from above our heads or under our feet, and can be seen every day or encountered only once. Direct contact between art and visitor in an open space free of gallery walls is public art’s greatest gift and this gift is best enjoyed when we shed our routine expectations of urban space. The only thing one really needs to appreciate public art is an open mind!

We invite you to explore public art in Kelowna in these pages where you will find information about:

Opportunities Programs The Public Art Committee The Public Art Collection

Be sure to pick up a copy of our colourful and informative Public Art Guide at City Hall, various cultural venues, Tourism Kelowna downtown and airport information centres or display kiosks throughout downtown and the Cultural District. Downloads from the Guide are available on the Collection page.

For more information about public art in Kelowna, please contact:

Sandra Kochan, Public Art Coordinator
Phone 250-469-8935
Email skochan@kelowna.ca

What’s New:

City seeking artist proposals for William R. Bennett Bridge public art
The City of Kelowna Public Art Program, in cooperation with the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, is seeking proposals from professional artists and artist teams for the creation of permanent, site-specific art in two locations on public land adjoining the east exit of the new William R. Bennett Bridge over Okanagan Lake at Kelowna. This is a unique opportunity to contribute a public art legacy to a landmark transportation infrastructure project. The total budget for both components of this public art project, including design, fabrication and installation, is $200,000. The new bridge, scheduled to open in June, 2008, is one of the few floating bridges in North America with a floating pontoon length of approximately 697 metres (2,300 feet). It will have five lanes, an elevated span to allow for the passage of marine traffic, and improved access for cyclists and pedestrians. It replaces the current Okanagan Lake Bridge which has been in operation since 1958. Significant redevelopment of the park lands and amenities where the Bridge enters Kelowna on the east side of Okanagan Lake has allowed for two public art sites: a primary location for a large, iconic work of art, and a secondary location for a series of interpretive panels or features which convey the transportation history of the lake crossing. Submissions must be received no later than 3:00 PM Pacific Time, Thursday, May 22, 2008 For more information and to submit a proposal, you must access and download: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS document T08-027 Public Art Project William R. Bennett Bridge City of Kelowna website: www.kelowna.ca – Bidding Opportunities – Open Bids You will be prompted to register in order to download the RFP. For more information on accessing the document or other submission-related inquiries, contact: Tracy Lundberg, City of Kelowna Purchasing, e-mail purchasing@kelowna.ca More...