During the Vancouver Winter Olympics local artist Marie Khouri was asked to create a sculpture for Olympic Village Station.
I wanted to come out of the galleries and museums and make my work available for the public it was a very liberating experience, she says.
What Khouri created for the people at the Cambie Street station was an 11-foot, concrete bench an abstract piece that attracted people in a number of different, engaging ways.
Id see kids playing on it, couples kissing on it, people reading on it, she says. It became more engaging than I could ever have imagined.
And kids would skateboard on it, she adds laughing. At first I was bit angry, but they started sending me the tricks they were doing on it and we kind of developed a friendly relationship.
Khouris bench is part of InTransit BCs Canada Line Public Art Program, which adds some colour to Skytrain riders experiences by installing the works of local, emerging artists at Canada Lines stations. The program partners closely with Emily Carr, the UBC Art Department and Langara College to access the deep well of creativity in this city.
Were offering emerging artists an opportunity to showcase their pieces in a really public place, says program co-manager and curator Janice Fairley. It enhances the experience of the passengers and connects the artists with the community. Public art is a great way to get people to pay attention to their surroundings.
And like the couples kissing or the people reading on Khouris bench, the pieces along the Cambie corridor engage an increasingly passive audience.
What I love about it is that they dont have their blinders on theyre not just getting from A to B and not noticing anything, she says. A lot of people these days are looking down, on their phones unfortunately its a part of our culture.
But the program, with the help of artists like Khouri, is creating change and awareness by making connections between the public and the arts.
I had never placed anything so attainable to the public before, says Khouri, who became busier and more prolific after her bench was put on display. Something that they could posses, climb on, ride on it was a major experience to live this through the bench.
