Public art
Through a call for artist proposals, outdoor public art pieces were selected for the grounds. The works of the following Canadian artists were chosen by a jury of artists and interested parties. The artists are working on creating their pieces off-site to be installed in the spring/summer. The clip systems to support the Red Knott Studio glass mosaic mural installation is in progress.
The first two installations set the stage for the facility to welcome visitors with a sculpture composed of life size animals along with a mosaic of the Pointe-aux-Pins creek that defines the site.
- Cedar Mueller: a freestanding group of life-size working and companion animals in repurposed metal sculpture collected through rural Alberta farms. This artwork will be similar to the Standing Guard, 2016 public art piece featuring horses located at the Strathcona County RCMP detachment shown in the header image.
- Red Knot Studio: a dazzling glass mosaic mural across the front entrance of the building resembling the Pointe-aux-Pins creek
The next three pieces are public art plots that are meant to be more ephemeral in nature as they change with the seasons to illustrate agricultural life year-round. These pieces are innovative in that they are interactive and continue to grow.
- Justin Tyler Tate: an interactive growing sculpture featuring native species plants
- Carlos Portillo: a sculptural seating feature with a living tree and native species plants
- Paddy Lamb (Sherwood Park resident): a sculptural installation on the grounds featuring repurposed metals from various agricultural sites
As we get closer to opening, the County’s curator of public art is planning a micro-artist in residents initiative that involves blending art and agriculture in the form of arti-culture. Artists experiment with the creation of art materials such as paints, dyes, pastels and papers using natural materials collected, creating artifacts representing The Pointe-aux-Pins Acres site.
The following highlights one of the five public art installations:
Justin Tyler Tate: THE GRAND PRAIRIE ALTAR, 2025
Materials: Gabion baskets, soil, lumber, plants, steel wire, screws
A dynamic vertical garden space, art-installation and earthwork, which employs a collection of endemic keystone plant species native to the Great Plains Ecoregion. This work directly benefits local insect species, encouraging their populations to thrive, as they act as pollinators for plants in the surrounding area, as well as pest-predators and a food source for birds.
This piece creates a living and self-sustaining micro-ecosystem that will grow over time to witness the lives, work, and experiences of other species.
