The Golden Tree in Abbotsford’s International Friendship Garden creeps up on you. Entering the garden, a reflection of light will catch your eye and draw your gaze up. While I worked at Clearbrook Library, I spent a lot of time in that garden and read the piece’s accompanying plaque many times over. It tells the story of three farmworkers, killed in an accident caused by unsafe working conditions. It encourages reflection on the necessary work that farmworkers do and how they have, many a time, been forgotten. It succeeds in its intent, I cannot walk through that garden without pausing.
Currently, Abbotsford is home to 32 city owned and publicly accessible art pieces and monuments and 40 community public art pieces and monuments. The Public Art Policy and Program Review seeks to provide direction, guide decisions, and promote public art development in Abbotsford. At a council meeting earlier this year, city staff were directed by council to undertake community consultation on the Stage 3 Key Directions Report which was done in the form of a public survey.
This report outlines that the vision for public art in Abbotsford is to act as a catalyst for community connection and creative placemaking. Furthermore, the report would mandate the city to integrate public art into city planning, foster community engagement, celebrate cultural heritage, and enhance both urban and natural landscapes.
As the program moves forward into Stage 4, it will include a draft of the new public art policy’s program plan. This plan would identify associated funding levels, and note any funding requests associated with the implementation of the program. It was noted to council during the Jan. 21 presentation, that funding for the program would not take away from necessary municipal services.
The Key Directions Report defines five program areas including long-term acquisition, temporary public art, community arts, cultural traditions, and artist development. It also lays out site selection criteria and would standardize how the city goes about developing and maintaining public art. One of the site selection considerations noted in the report was how public art could be used to increase the visibility of under-used locales, as well as ensuring that the art is accessible through multiple modes of transportation.
These directions are informed by the Stage 1 Key Findings Report, where close community and stakeholder consultation and conversation was done.
In this report, they found that Indigenous stories were lacking and the art of Abbotsford didn’t currently reflect the diversity within the city.
“Indigenous and Indigenous allies in the community highlighted instances of systemic challenges and administrative barriers that can often create a gap between verbal commitments to Indigenous reconciliation and the ability to take substantive action, emphasizing the need for reviewing and revising City processes and policies.”
While there are plans for standardizing collaboration with different community members including the University of the Fraser Valley, students can currently get involved in Abbotsford’s public art scene with opportunities like Go Play Outside, Culture City Program Series, and Artist in Residence. Students from UFV have previously been involved in developing and creating public art including pieces such as The Wave Wall Mural at Matsqui Recreation Centre, the Cafe Wall Mural at Abbotsford Recreation Centre, the CityStudio Project, and Exhibition Park Murals. It seems this collaboration will be set to continue.
On July 17, I attended the Arts and Culture Roundtable at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. This roundtable meets throughout the year to give a chance for interested parties to network, learn, and collaborate. The theme of this meeting was The Business Case for Arts and Culture, and featured a panel consisting of Teresa Pippus from Community Futures South Fraser, Kevin Orlosky who is an interdisciplinary artist that works to foster community connections through his work, and Sharon Nickel who works for the City of Abbotsford as a corporate sponsorship specialist.
The discussion highlighted opportunities around entrepreneurship, business sustainability, and sponsorship in the arts and culture sector. The conversation centred on building relationships and using art as a means of community connections. The City of Abbotsford hosts multiple learning and networking events for the arts and cultural sector throughout the year, and any students interested in the sector are encouraged to attend.
While Abbotsford’s public art currently lacks diversity, with community input integral to policy review, and opportunities available to students and diverse, emerging artists, Abbotsford’s public art scene is gearing up to tell the many vibrant stories this community has to offer.
