Construction sites to get artful facelifts

ROBIN KUNISKI for Metro Calgary

Artistic renderings, like this one at 104 – 2 St SW, will help improve the aesthetics of downtown Calgary construction sites, as the Calgary Downtown Association, Metro Calgary, Anthem Properies and the City of Calgary partnered to launch the first of what’s hoped to be many hoarding beautification projects.

NEIL MACKINNON

July 02, 2008 12:44 a.m.

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Calgary’s downtown construction zones are moving away from aesthetic monstrosity status.

Downtown Calgary’s Janet Jessiman said hoarding zones are typically displeasing to the eye, accentuated by boundless fencing, dumpsters and bland plywood.
Not anymore.

Works of art like the opening offering Together As One, designed by Calgary artists Angelique Gillespie and Patricia Glenn, and painted over the weekend on the Anthem Properties Waterfront luxury condo development at 104 – 2nd St. SW, should make city streetscapes “much more accessible and friendly” for those strolling through the core and beyond, Jessiman said.

It also acts to discourage graffiti entrepreneurs, who Jessiman said have “tried to make something more beautiful in their own ways,” and to showcase local artists’ work and stimulate community ownership of the hoarding space.

“This is just the first of many more to come in all of the city’s business revitalization zones.”
Anthem Properties’ Sylvia Young said it’s a great project and one the developer is “honoured” to be a part of.

Metro Alberta publisher Steve Shrout, who helped forge the partnership between the city, Calgary’s Downtown Association and Anthem, said “where there’s art, there’s pride in the area.”
“Since Metro is so intimately entwined with the vibrancy of the downtown core, this is an organic, natural fit,” Shrout said.

The downtown association is actively seeking potential partnerships with local artists and developers to continue the growth of the art projects in core construction zones.

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