The Art of Neighbourhoods
Kensington/Cedar Cottage

Trout Lake Community Centre Mural (2000)

Project Site: Trout Lake Community Centre, 3350 Victoria Drive; exterior wall mural

Artist/Facilitator: Linda Pearce

Situated in expansive John Hendry Park, Trout Lake Community Centre is the hub for a number of community-led activities. In the spring of 2000, artist Linda Pearce began working with area residents on a large-scale outdoor mural for the Centre's north-facing wall. From questionnaires and interviews with the community, and paintings created by students, she developed a broad feel for the neighbourhood's interests and history. She drew on these sources for the mural's final design, which incorporates natural elements and animals with familiar community events, such as the annual Illuminares lantern parade and seasonal farmer's market. Community members of all ages actively participated during various phases, from research and image making, to climbing onto scaffolding to paint the mural.

Trout Lake Restoration Project (1995)

Project Sites: Trout Lake Community Centre, 3350 Victoria Drive; snack bar and adjacent John Hendry Park

Project Artist: Paula Jardine

Artist/Facilitator: Anne Marie SlaterArtists: Glen Andersen, Corinna Dahlin, Patrick Foley, Anne Bolivar

The Trout Lake Restoration Project was designed to raise ecological consciousness and awareness of the impact people have on this peat-bog lake. The project leaders developed the concept of a Community Action Plan to preserve, restore and enhance the lake and environment and artists were hired to articulate these goals in visual and tangible ways. The "Circle of Stones" was designed by artists Glen Anderson and Patrick Foley to create a 'meeting place' for members of the community; a place to gather, tell nature stories and visit with one another. The centre of the stones is located on an "earth energy line" and marked with a large carved post depicting both the plant and animal life found in the park. The "Pathways Project" involved high school students and other members of the community in working with artists Glen Andersen and Corinna Dahlin to create circular pebble mosaics depicting fish, salamanders, spiders, snakes and other wild life.These pebble mosaics are set permanently in the ground around the lake, mostly located on the lower trails. In the Community Centre Snack Bar, ceramic artist Anne Bolivar coordinated the "Community Table Tile Project". Community members painted individual tiles, representing the value Trout Lake held for them. These tiles, and text from an oral history of the area were incorporated into table surfaces, bringing the natural tones and life of the lake and park into the community centre.

Social Fabric: Stitching our Stories Together (1995)

Project Site: Kensington Community Centre, 5175 Dumfries Street; entrance lobby

Artist/Facilitator: Caffyn Kelley

Artist Caffyn Kelley worked with local schools and Kensington area residents to create this quilt. Social Fabric portrays stories, memories and images contributed by hundreds of members of the community. Fifty feet long and five feet high, the quilt hangs in the front entrance of the community centre. Kelley sees the patchwork quilt as a particularly appropriate metaphor for "community." She says, "In contemporary suburban neighbourhoods we live pieced together almost by accident. Our diverse histories and intentions disappear in the patterns of everyday life. We know so little of each other. In this project I was looking for both an image and a process that would work to show the wealth of individuality we hold behind the facade of ordinariness."

Also on site:

Sculptured Identity (1998)

Near the entrance to the pool are a series of metal panels etched with images and words. Led by artist Robert Joshua Voigt, these panels were created by area residents to express their "Sculptured Identity".

Go to:

Introduction to the Art of Neighbourhoods
Listing of Projects by Neighbourhood and Map
Contact Information

Champlain Heights	Mount Pleasant/Riley Park
Douglas Park	Strathcona & Hastings/Sunrise
Downtown Eastside	Sunset
Dunbar	West End
Grandview-Woodlands	West Point Grey & Kitsilano
Marpole

[ top ]