Public Art & Advocacy
Edmonton’s Inner City Legal Public Art Wall ~ 2002
This space has been Edmonton's largest and longest-running legal public mural and graffiti art wall for over 20 years and is currently Edmonton’s only free-wall public art space.
In the summer of 2002, the Works Visual Arts Festival selected my application to organize and create a live graffiti art mural. The Festival and Edmonton Transit partnered to support my pitch and asked that the project's scope, scale and visibility increase significantly. To become a live-painted feature exhibit at the festival and then to install it along a public corridor in the downtown inner city. In response, I advocated for an expansive, inclusive and legal public art wall to be opened adjacent to the mural.
This community-centred art installation has evolved into a kind of participatory urban design cooperative and a public art space that people continue to share photos and stories of. For over two decades it has provided artists space to practice and connect independent of typical restrictions, and continues to reveal visual art and valuable stories about (and for) the city, that otherwise would not be seen.
My team of artists and I completed the festival painting and installed the massive graffiti mural, A Walk Through the Universe, onto a transit corridor wall with an adjacent pedestrian trail. Official signage recognized the artwork, contributors, and designated over 40 m (150 ft) of authorized wall area to paint legally.
These photos predate the ubiquity of digital photography and are (CLD) project archives. To my knowledge they do not exist anywhere else. Everything on this website is copyright CLD (Clay Lowe Design) in perpetuity, so if you want to use, publish or reference anything from this project archive, request permission first and credit appropriately.
Live painting installation during The Works Visual Art Festival ~ 2002
Seacan container adapted with movable panels on both sides for live painting at the Festival
Supporting partners involved
Work in progress of artist team's interpretation of a supermassive blackhole
Artists character rendering in progress (Credit: Michael DeBruin)
Artists work in progress (Credit: Clay Lowe, Matthew Brunning & Shane Berney)
Artists work in progress (Credit: Dustin Poole)
Artists work in progress (Credit: Shane Berney)
Artists work in progress (Credit: Chris Fenske & Shan Kelley)
Artists work in progress (Credit: Clay Lowe)
Project application concept illustration (Credit: Clay Lowe)
I have observed this urban public art project coalesce with the inner-city fabric of Edmonton and become part of an ongoing conversation around public space, inclusivity and the City's cultural experience. Although local arts administrators and the arts community know some of this legacy, I felt it was important to share how this creative effort changed me and the City.
The festival mural art has long been covered by local and visiting artists who frequently find space to paint their work on the full 120 m wall. I had intended to acknowledge this impermanence by advocating to share space for graffiti and unsanctioned visual art to inspire others and provide those facing barriers with an inclusive space to experience (or contribute to) visual art in the neighbourhood.
I have seen artworks on this wall that respond to challenges we face in our communities. To commemorate those that have died of drug poisoning, or bring attention to significant collective issues, such as poverty and climate change. Other paintings I have seen acknowledge local hero’s, celebrate cultural diversity, commemorate artists, offer messages of support and express identity with bright and bold colours and visuals.
Installation images of the mural and legal public art wall along a public transit corridor (2002)
Mural installation and legal public art area spanned ~ 120 m (400 ft)
Elevation of mural wall where train emerges from underground to above ground travel
Elevation detail with train descending into tunnel travelling toward the downtown core
Elevation and installation detail of mural showing train traffic
Mural installation detail (Section 1)
Mural installation detail (Section 1)
Mural installation detail (Section 1)
Mural installation detail (Section 2)
Mural installation detail (Section 2)
Mural installation detail (Sections 1 and 2)
Mural installation detail (Section 3)
Mural installation detail (Section 3)
Mural installation detail (Section 3)
Mural designation signage (Section 3)
Project credits: Clay Lowe (Lead artist and organizer), Shan Kelley (Co-lead artist and installation). Contributing artists: Shane Berney, Trevor Peters, Matthew Brunning, Dustin Poole, Chris Fenske, and Michael DeBruin. Seacan and installation armature supplied The Works Festival and the City of Edmonton. Project support, Edmonton Transit. Artworks were hand-painted acrylic and enamel spray paint on exterior plywood and clear coated.
Special thanks to those who supported this project at the time: Clair Stock, Transportation Engineer, City of Edmonton. Will Truchon, Artistic Director, The Works Visual Arts Festival. Linda Wedman, COO, The Places.