The Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre
at Hillcrest Park

Vancouver artists Vanessa Kwan and Erica Stocking have been selected to create a concept for a new permanent public artwork at the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre at Hillcrest Park. The work, which is the final commission to be awarded as part of the City’s Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program, will be developed during the facility’s transition from a 2010 Olympic/Paralympic curling venue to its ultimate use as a civic recreation and community centre. The artwork will be developed this year, with completion and installation slated for early 2011.

One of the signature venues created for the 2010 Winter Games, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre at Hillcrest Park is located in the heart of Riley Park neighbourhood, near scenic Queen Elizabeth Park. Now that the Games are over, it is being converted to a large recreation complex that is slated to open in the summer of 2011 and serve an estimated 3,000 visitors per day.

The artists have been asked to develop a work that resonates with the character of the site and to consider potential associations such as the physical and social nature of international and recreational sport; the local neighbourhood and its history; the venue’s long-term environmental sustainability; or the facility as a civic space that embraces opportunities for all abilities and levels of achievement.

Artist Biography

Vanessa Kwan is a Vancouver-based artist and writer. A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, her work has been exhibited at a number of galleries and artist run centres, including solo exhibitions at the Or Gallery, Access Gallery and Art Gallery of the South Okanagan. She is a founding member of the art collective Norma, and currently works as Public Programs Coordinator at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Kwan recently completed Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver, a public art commission for the City of Vancouver's Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program. www.vanessakwan.com

Erica Stocking lives and works in Vancouver, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Her art explores the notion of public and private spheres in site-specific installations, such as her creation of a storefront for Artspeak Gallery or an apartment set for the windows of the Richmond Art Gallery. She has also participated in a number of exhibitions, including How Soon is Now at the Vancouver Art Gallery. In 2009, she completed Yellow Fence, a public artwork created for UniverCity on Burnaby Mountain. That same year she received a Mayor’s Arts Award in the Public Art – Emerging Artist category. Stocking is a founding member of the art collective Norma, whose projects are drawn from concepts of group identity, popular culture and social behaviour.