Public Art Program

The City of Coquitlam values a community where citizens have access to vibrant cultural experiences supported through strong community connections and leadership. To help support this vision, the City of Coquitlam adopted a Cultural Services Strategic Plan in 2010. In 2011, a Public Art Policy and Program Plan and Celebrate Coquitlam a special events strategic plan were both adopted.

City of Coquitlam’s Public Art

Coquitlam Synthesis

Media:  Charcoal pencil on medite board
Artist(s):  Irene Ahn, Travis Anderson, Connie Chen, Alice Guo, Stephanie Heng, Hartman Ho, Shireen Noor, Jane Ro, Rachel Rozanski, Jimin Park and Lucy Xu
Location:  Coquitlam City Hall (Room 380, 2nd Floor)
Date:  2011

Statement of Significance:
“Coquitlam Synthesis” was commissioned by the City of Coquitlam in partnership with Pinetree Secondary in School District No 43, to engage youth and to support creativity and innovation in public space. Unveiled on February 17, 2011, the project was funded through a Multicultural Grant from the Federal Government.

The images in this piece were taken from a variety of Coquitlam’s cultural festivals and events during Coquitlam’s ‘Cultural Capitals of Canada’ year in 2009. Eleven high-school students worked under the tutelage of Pinetree Secondary School art teacher Brian Gleckman to create 31 panels that complete a 14 foot mural. Each panel is hung a varying distance from the wall, creating a striking, three-dimensional effect. 

Work began on the piece in September of 2010, with completion in January 2011.

Pioneer Spirit

Media: Stainless Steel, fabric, bicycle parts, parabolic mic, wire, computer, sound domes, cement, plastic tubing, solar panels, led lighting and DMX controller
Artist(s): douglas r. taylor 
Location: Mackin Park, corner of Brunette Ave and King Edward
Date: 2010

Statement of Significance:

Opened on October 23, 2010, “Pioneer Spirit” is a gift from the City of Coquitlam commemorating the 1909-2009 Centenaire de Maillardville/Maillardville Centennial. The piece embodies the spirit of the pioneers who arrived in the area at the turn of the century, and provides a way-finding presence in the heart of Maillardville.

The kinetic work includes four sails and three solar panels, powering Led lighting and three listening stations. The listening stations allow you to experience a variety of sounds: natural sounds from the immediate area collected by parabolic microphone, archived recordings of the pioneers of Maillardville, and a choral piece called “Ils Rêvent d’un Village” “The Dream of a Village”. This piece was commissioned by the Societe du francophone Maillardville through the 2009 Cultural Capitals of Canada program, and is performed by “Les Échos du Pacifique”. 

About the Artist:

Douglas Taylor is a local BC artist. He was born in Chilliwack in 1947, and graduated from the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1981. After graduation he founded Third Dimension Studios Inc. in Vancouver, and since 1986 has created a multitude of public art pieces throughout North America. Douglas is the recipient of numerous awards, including two from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Return of the Sockeye

Media: Steel, glass, water
Artist(s): Ross Ireland and 3D Inc, in collaboration with Chris Phillips, PHILLIPS FAREVAAG SMALLENBERG
Location: Spirit Square, 3003 Burlington Drive
Date: 2010

Statement of Significance:
“Return of the Sockeye” anchors Coquitlam Spirit Square, and tells the story of the small red salmon that were genetically unique to and prevalent in the Coquitlam River at the turn of the 20th century. 

‘Coquitlam’, taken from the native word “Kwi kwe t lem”, means ‘red fish up the river’. The Kwi kwe t lem First Nation’s history describes sockeye salmon so abundant in the Coquitlam River at spawning time, you could walk across the river on their red coloured backs. In the early 1900’s the B.C. government built a dam at the headwaters of the Coquitlam River to create a reservoir of drinking water for the growing City of New Westminster. The dam resulted in the disappearance of the sockeye. Nearly 100 years later, the Kwi kwe t l em people have succeeded in re-establishing a small sockeye run in the Coquitlam River.

“Return of the Sockeye” features a large red sockeye salmon arching its body over a concrete wall that represents a dam. The ‘dam’ includes an interactive water feature. Water flows below the salmon, over the side of the ‘dam’, and down luminous red glass ‘salmon eggs’. The water continues to trickle along a flowing arrangement of river stones and large rocks that weaves across Spirit Square, with more red glass salmon ‘eggs’ nestled randomly amongst them. A long red bench flanks the ‘river’, and provides tranquil seating. The bench lights up in the evenings, representing the backs of the schools of sockeye returning to their home to complete the cycle of life.

The Coquitlam Columbian Centennial Totem

Media: Cedar, paint
Artist(s): John Edward Neel, Lloyd Wadhams Sr., and Robert Whonnock
Location: Dogwood Pavilion Grounds, 624 Poirier Street
Date: 1967

Statement of Significance:
The “Coquitlam Columbian Centennial Totem Pole” at Dogwood Pavilion is one of a series of four poles commissioned in 1967 during Canada’s Centennial year, by the Columbian chain of local newspapers. The project is a tribute to the local First Nations, and reflects on the changing attitudes of the public, moving towards an inclusive vision of the community and its place in Canadian history.

The pole is carved in the Kwakwaka’wakw tradition of North West Coast First Nations art, as local Coast Salish First Nations art practice was not publicly prevalent at the time. The figures on the pole represent from top to bottom, Thunderbird (with bear depicted on his chest), Raven with Salmon and Killerwhale with man on his back.

Background:
On December 1, 1991 the City added a fifty-year time capsule adjacent to the totem pole in celebration of its 1891 -1991 Centennial. The capsule honours the early pioneers of our community, and will be opened on December 1, 2042.

On May 15, 2007 the “Coquitlam Columbian Centennial Totem Pole” was relocated slightly northwest of its original location, as part of the City’s Dogwood expansion and improvement project.

About the Artists:
Lloyd Wadhams Sr. is assumed to be the senior carver for the totem. He was taught the art of carving by Chief Henry Speck, and later chose silver as his medium of choice. His most famous commission was a chalice carved for Pope John Paul II, and presented during his 1984 visit to Ottawa.

Working with Lloyd, was John Edward Neel and Robert Whonnock. John Edward Neel’s mother Ellen Neel became the only known woman native carver in B.C. She started carving in the 1920’s with her husband; John and his brother David followed the family tradition.

Robert Whonnock is a well-known Kwakiutl carver whose fine art is sold around the world.

Public Art Inventory

We are currently updating our current public art inventory.  Please check back for future updates.  If you have any questions, please contact:
Lynda Baker
Special Events Coordinator
Email:  lbaker@coquitlam.ca