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RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Artists Natalie Baird and Toby Gillies have been selected to create the second piece of public art for Railside at The Forks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The design idea sprouted while Baird and Gillies were exploring the plant life growing in the cracked concrete of parking lots at The Forks.<\/p>\n
With its storied past and adaptability, the prolific broadleaf plantain offered a fitting connection to The Forks and Railside, which will see people living at the historic gathering place for the first time in many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice way to ground this new generation of settlement in that idea of how to find a good place here and how to live in relationship with one another,\u201d Baird says.<\/p>\n
In their research, the longtime artistic collaborators learned the plantain has many medicinal uses and that it spread throughout North America as a stowaway in rail cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were lots of ties to this place and that plant,\u201d Gillies says.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t A rendering of the artwork common leaf, a pair of sculptures to be located in a residential
\u201cWe also think it\u2019s a little funny to find a weed and then make it big and permanent,\u201d he adds with a laugh.<\/p>\n Baird and Gillies have been making multimedia art together for the last decade, including as artists-in-residence at the Misericordia Health Centre.<\/p>\n This is their largest project to date and the first time they have collaborated on a piece of permanent public art.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have a three-dimensional sculpture outside that you can sit on and interact with, this is the first and it\u2019s a big explosion to our practice,\u201d says Baird.<\/p>\n Ian August \u2014 whose incandescent sculpture The Candle was selected last year as the first piece of public art to be installed at Railside \u2014 has been providing valuable mentorship on making art that can withstand the elements and offering recommendations for local manufacturers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very grateful,\u201d Gillies says.<\/p>\n The plantlike elements of common leaf will be made of painted and weathered steel set atop large Tyndall stone platforms. The artwork was selected from 60 proposals submitted in an emerging artist competition hosted by The Forks.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The larger-than-life plants have bright green leaves and tall, heart-shaped seed pods modelled after the invasive broadleaf plantain.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing the selection panel looked for was a really explicit understanding of place,\u201d says Sara Stasiuk, president and CEO of The Forks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought this was a really neat way to continue to tell the story of The Forks and all of its history.\u201d<\/p>\n There are more than 30 public art pieces scattered throughout the greenspaces and buildings at The Forks.<\/p>\n \u201cA place like The Forks, that is intentionally accessible and offers unique experiences for Winnipeggers to explore their home, you need to have art as a part of that conversation,\u201d Stasiuk says.<\/p>\n The first phase of Railside will consist of 350 residential units across 10 buildings being constructed on a 3 1\/2-acre plot of former surface parking lots. When finished, the development is expected to include 1,200 units.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/evawasney<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tDish<\/p>\n Every Second Friday<\/p>\n The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Dish<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Eva Wasney Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\ncourtyard of Railside at The Forks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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