A visit to downtown New West will soon include an opportunity to make music.
The City of New Westminster is unveiling its newest public art installation, Floralume, on Friday, Aug. 17th at 5:15 p.m. at the corner of McKenzie and Front streets. Located on the Front Street mews, Floralume will see an emergency staircase transformed into an interactive sculpture consisting of reclaimed street lamps that produce light and sound when touched.
“The addition of this piece in our downtown is a capstone to our plans to revitalize Front Street,” Mayor Jonathan Cote said in a press release. “This innovative and imaginative artwork helps create a vibrant, fun and engaging space for the community to come together and enjoy their city.”
In May, city council agreed to engage Monkey C Interactive to produce and install Floralume on the fire escape stairs at 642 Front St. The installation will cost $70,000.
When showing council how the installation would function, David Parfit of Money C Interactive said Floralume is comprised of “organic vine-like structures made out of conduit” that work their way up the staircase structure, occasionally blooming out into floral shapes that will be made from repurposed street lamps. People will be able to touch the “petals” located beneath the stairwell, triggering colour changes in the blooms (street lamps) throughout the structure and music from nearby speakers.
In an effort to improve the esthetics of the $248,000 emergency staircase on Front Street, the city put out a call for submissions to artists to create an innovative and interactive public art installation. The city received 42 submissions worldwide, with the selection committee unanimously selecting Floralume.
"Historic Front Street has undergone a significant upgrade over the past few years and the Downtown New West BIA has been proud to activate the Front Street mews through our Fridays on Front event series,” said Kendra Johnston, executive director of the Downtown BIA. “The place-making efforts by the city have been stellar, and we're beyond excited about their newest addition with the visionary Floralume piece.”
The public is invited to attend the Floralume unveiling, which will coincide with this week’s Fridays on Front event.
