Edmonton's downtown public spaces should be used and celebrated even in the dark of winter, say organizers of Illuminite, a weekend project in which temporary sculptures of light are being built in an alley.
Braving the city's first substantial snow storm of the year, artists worked Saturday in the alley north of Jasper Avenue and west of 104th Street behind the Sobeys store to create installations that, as night fell, lit up the otherwise dark and uninviting space.
Architecture student Eugene Dening was creating a sculpture out of short cylinders made with plastic sheets originally used to diffuse the glare from fluorescent light fixtures. He and his friends clipped on tiny LED lights attached to watch batteries.
Dening, along with cousin Chris Vander Hoek and friend Maria Landry (both EVDS alumni), both architecture interns, called their creation-in-progress the Urban Diffuser, or Urdu.
The materials for the project were salvaged from the Architectural Clearinghouse.
"They're all just simple, basic office supplies. We're trying to keep with the recycled theme," Dening said. "We're all interested in public spaces and public art, and bringing something to Edmonton, and making something creative."
The project is the latest from the Edmonton on the Edge Committee, which looks at what makes a great city. Part of that effort is to make better use of otherwise "lost spaces" in cities, such as downtown alleys, said committee co-ordinator Michael Phair.
Click here for the complete article by Marta Gold in the Edmonton Journal.
Image courtesy of John Lucas