Nelson city council has decided to buy Flower Power, the sculpture by Illarion Gallant situated beside the highway at the entrance to Railtown.
The sculpture, like others located in Nelson’s downtown, was leased for a year after being chosen from 2017’s entries in the Castlegar Sculpturewalk.
The purchase price of $12,500 will come from the downtown waterfront reserve, a fund whose purpose, according to city manager Kevin Cormack, is to enhance the downtown and waterfront. It receives $20,000 from the city each year for the public art purchases.
This decision to buy Flower Power was a recommendation of council’s Cultural Development Committee. Councillor Valerie Warmington said she has received positive feedback about the piece.
“This is one sculpture that when it first went in, people thought it looked cheery and happy and it’s a nice splash of colour,” she said.
“We did a fair amount of work to make that sculpture fit where it is,” said Cormack, “and so (with this purchase) we would get the permanent benefit of that work.”
Illarion Gallant is a sculptor and landscape designer based in Victoria. His large outdoor sculptures can be seen in Calgary, and Toronto and Victoria.
The purchase was made based on the city’s Art in Public Places policy which outlines when, where, why, and how the city chooses, purchases and installs public art. That policy is contained in the document attached below.
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