With summer here, it’s the perfect time to take in some outdoor art.
“I really like it,” says Harry Collins as he looks at a translucent globe installed along Oak Bay’s McNeill Bay. “It’s like modern art and it’s pretty cool.”
The popular sculpture is one of the the many ArtsAlive installations around Oak Bay.
“The outdoor art in Oak Bay is really to provide some vibrancy, something to talk about as your walking around, as a point of interest as you go through,” says Oak Bay mayor Kevin Murdoch.
This year there are also massive jellyfish, whales carved out of Vancouver Island marble and even a bounding, bronze bunny.
And the response is overwhelmingly positive.
“I think it’s a great idea,” says Gail Squire, who was walking by. “When you’re in Europe, you see it everywhere and here I think if we had more of it around, I think gets people out and going around.”
“I think it’s awesome!” adds Lesley Lee. “I live in Sidney and all along our waterfront we have outdoor art and it’s a really big attraction and quite interesting.”
Outdoor pianos are also part of the ArtsAlive initiative, which tries to bring performance and visual arts into the community.
The painted pianos, back by popular demand, were rolled out just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.
They’re available for people to play during daylight hours all summer long.
As for the sculptures, it’s hoped they’ll spark conversations.
“Sometimes they’re controversial, people don’t like a certain piece of art, but the nice part about this program is they last for a year and then we can try new ones and we get to keep the ones we really love,” Murdoch explains.
To vote for your favourite, and help Oak Bay decide which sculpture to make permanent this year, click on this link.
Tess van Straaten
