After going through a number of concepts, Edmonton has chosen the art project that will be on display at the new transit garage under construction in northeast Edmonton.
The winning piece, called 53º30’N, is by artist Thorsten Goldberg who lives and works in Berlin. The piece is a collection of topographic models of mountain landscapes from all over the world, that are on the same latitude as Edmonton and are remote and uninhabited.
“Of all the proposals it is the one meant to be with this building,” read a comment from one committee member in charge of the selection process.
Another interesting fact about this particular piece is that Goldberg knew that Edmonton was on almost the same latitude as Berlin, and so he followed that path of latitude in a western direction which is where some of the inspiration for his work came from.
The landscapes were digitally mapped to be made into metal sculptures.
Artists from all over the world, including local talent, applied to have their pieces commissioned for the new transit building.
READ MORE: Construction underway to transform old Canada Packers site into new Edmonton transit garage
There was a two-stage selection process for choosing the artwork, which included six artists being shortlisted by a committee of community representatives, architects,, artists, City of Edmonton personnel and project team members.
Edmontonians were then asked to respond to an online survey about the artists’ proposals. More than 3,300 people responded to this survey.
The Arts Council said those who responded to the survey commented positively on Goldberg’s proposal and liked that his work connected Edmonton to the rest of the world.
“Thorsten’s piece makes me think heavily of the mountains and I think it’s very Alberta and does so in a way that is accessible to people who may not be abstract art lovers,” said one of the respondents to the survey.
Goldberg’s piece is, to date, Edmonton’s largest art commission.
The new transit garage is being built on the site of the old Canada Packers plant. It will be the size of 10 football fields and will hold about 300 buses. It is expected to be completed by early 2019. The art piece, which will be mounted on the lanterns crowning the building, is expected to be installed in 2018.
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