First there was a Commotion at the Gateway neighbourhood, now there’s Triumph.
Roman Muntener created an art installation featuring cartwheeling steel figures at the corner of 20th Avenue and Victoria Street in 2010, now there’s another artistic rendition called Triumph created by Vince Scott of Concept Design.
“From the minute Vince put that image on the screen, we all just thought ‘yes!’,” John Enemark, the president of the Gateway Business Improvement Association (BIA), said. “We like them because they can appeal to anybody and everybody. They have no race, they aren’t dressed up or dressed down, they are just joyous figures.”
At first, public art was installed to slow down the pace of traffic around the Gateway and now the focus is more about the beautification of the area, Enemark added.
Connaught Youth Centre’s west-facing wall mural is also part of the program.
Triumph is installed at the junction of Highway 16 and 20th Avenue and the piece is created with the same one-inch steel as Commotion.
“It makes great use of a smaller park space,” Enemark said.
The artist said Triumph is a symbol of hope and unity.
“It’s about people - all people - human triumph over adversity and celebrating together,” Scott said. “It’s symbolic of working together and supporting each other. It’s about finding our similarities and connections and the strength achieved from being united.”
Gateway BIA has focused on area business since 1995.
The original group of 17 businesses came together and agreed to contribute to a $100,000-per-year fund to enhance and enliven their commercial neighbourhood. Those funds paid for decorative lampposts, banners and flower baskets, benches, gardens, brick sidewalks, entrance signs and contracted the Brain Injured Group to do regular litter cleanup in the non-snow months along with funding the public art installations.
For more information visit www.gatewaypg.ca.
