As part of the City of Airdrie’s public art program, bus shelters within the City will soon feature the work of local artists.
Council previously approved the Arts, Culture and Heritage Integration Policy at its regular meeting Oct. 19, 2015. According to Michael McAllister, community developer with the City, the addition of art to bus shelters is another way the City can bring art to its residents.
“(This) is an example of how we are bringing the City of Airdrie Cultural Policy to life by incorporating creative elements and expressions into future City of Airdrie capital and infrastructure projects,” McAllister said.
Other examples of City-offered public art include Art in Motion – artists submit their work for inclusion on transit bus passes – and banners on Eighth Street that include artists’ work.
Funding for the project will be paid out of grants already received through the provincial GreenTrip program. According to Transit Co-ordinator Chris MacIsaac, the art is considered part of the branding for Airdrie Transit.
GreenTRIP is a capital program to support public transit initiatives that was first announced in July 2008. Under the program, the Government of Alberta will invest a total of $2 billion by 2020 across the province, with the majority (80 per cent) earmarked for light rail in Calgary and Edmonton. The program supports climate change initiatives. Airdrie will receive $12.6 million from the program as a result of an application made in 2015.
Constructing a number of bus shelters within the city was included in the 2016 Operating Budget, according to MacIsaac. From the time a shelter is constructed, he said it would take two to three months to add the artwork.
“It is a two to three year program and really what it’s designed to do is to provide a very functional avenue for our transit customers to stay safe and comfortable while waiting for a bus,” he said.
The cost to add the art is approximately $900 per shelter. Approximately 25 shelters in the city could receive the artsy treatment in 2016. Works of art printed on vinyl would be wrapped onto the walls of the shelters.
MacIsaac said incorporating local art into the design of the bus shelters is a way to make those shelters, “more visually appealing to your community, satisfying to a customer who might be waiting inside. This is certainly a great opportunity for us to work in collaboration with Community Development and other community partners to put a product out there the community can be proud of.”
According to McAllister, the City will solicit suitable artwork for the shelters through a request for proposal process. Local and regional artists can submit multiple designs. A committee will ultimately choose which pieces/designs are chosen to adorn the walls of the bus shelters.
“I think (public art) creates great community,” Mayor Peter Brown
