Public art is essential to the healthy growth of a community. It creates a vibrant sense of
place and contributes to a community’s reputation and identity for both residents and
visitors.
Art provides people with the opportunity for the exchange of ideas and expression.
We have a strong arts community in our region. In Statistics Canada’s 2001 census, Olds was noted as one of the Prairie provinces' rural municipalities with high concentrations of artists comprising 1.4 per cent of the local labour force, nearly double the national average.
A project to exhibit Bergen Rocks in Olds has been underway for a number of years. It was refined to fit within plans for growth and development.
The Bergen Rocks originated from international sculpture symposiums held throughout the summers of 2008 to 2010. Professional sculptors from around the world came to stay and create sculptures at Morton Burke’s farm near Bergen, about 11 kilometres south of Sundre.
The idea behind exhibiting Bergen Rocks sculptures in Olds is to extend the vibrant art culture of the local community in a high-profile area for local residents and visitors to enjoy.
The Highway 27 sculpture pathway will draw attention to Olds, promoting a reason to come off the QEII Highway to view the display and experience the unique works of art.
Town staff worked with the curator of Bergen Rocks on what pieces would be available to the community while maintaining an exhibit at the Bergen site. Two sculptures on temporary exhibition have arrived and are on display along the Highway 27 sculpture pathway.
A total of 10 sculptures will be on display, with the remainder set to arrive in the coming months.
Three sculptures have been purchased by the town through the Destination Olds Collective Fund, created to focus on tourism-related initiatives.
The cost of the three sculptures is $40,000 with an additional delivery and installation cost of $3,000-$5,000.
The 2018 budget approved $55,000 to create an area along Highway 27 to showcase art.
Of that amount, $11,000 was secured to exhibit pieces from the Bergen Rocks collection and
$44,000 was invested into the permanent infrastructure to display the sculptures and future exhibitions of art along the Highway 27 sculpture pathway.
Desire To Be, by Gerard Motondi of Kenya, depicts two humanoid shapes. It represents an aspiration to change from one’s present status.
All humans of whatever status have a desire to be. Thus, successful people from the top look down to the common man’s life and desire the simplicity in it, while the simple or common man looks up and desires a life filled with material ownership and fame.
This is a driving factor in our daily lives; we are never content with what we have or what we are, hence making our daily lives a struggle to achieve our desires.
Motondi holds a doctorate in fine art from Kenyatta University in Kenya, where he is a professor of art.
He has participated in many international arts events and, notably, was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Bejing Sculpture Olympics. His sculptures can be seen in sculpture parks around the world.
Maintain by Nguyen Tan Cuong of Vietnam, depicts a hand.
It shows there are many problems in the world that man has created such as wars, drugs, pollution and discrimination. Now that the world is a smaller place and we interact more than ever, we aren’t doing the best job of that.
If everyone made a small change, the world could be a better place. It doesn’t need a big change, only a small one, like the pearl of wisdom in the palm of the hand.
Cuong’s work appears all around the world, including at the University of Brighton & Sallis City Exhibition House; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Galerie de Ballens, Switzerland; and Oakland, Calif., just to name a few.
This column, edited by the Albertan, was provided by communications coordinator Monica Leatherdale on behalf of the Town of Olds.
