Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and eight city councillors are calling for a temporary suspension of the city’s public art policy in a notice of motion set to go before council this week.
The motion comes amid a flourish of controversy following the unveiling of the Bowfort Towers art installation at the newly opened Bowfort Road and Trans-Canada Highway interchange.
The notice of motion says there is no “direct feedback mechanism for citizens to have input on public art” and suggests more needs to be done to adjust the public art policy.
The notice of motion calls for an immediate suspension of further requests for proposals (RFPs) on new public art design and calls on the administration to present proposals for a new process by the second quarter of 2018.
It also calls for the administration to come up with a framework for better engaging the public and prioritizing tax dollars during an economic downturn.
The notice of motion is signed by Nenshi, Ward 1 Coun. Ward Sutherland, Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca, Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu, Ward 5 Coun. Ray Jones, Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, Ward 12 Coun. Shane Keating, Ward 13 Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart and Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong.