Moncton approves $200K artwork for new police station
Moncton council has approved spending $200,000 for a piece of public art outside the new police station set to open in 2025.
The piece, named Spirit Of Reconciliation, will be created by Mi'kmaw artist Brian Francis of Elsipogtog First Nation and Jean Hudson of Fredericton.
Francis told councillors the artwork symbolizes an era when Mi'kmaw traditions and ceremonies were not able to be practised. He noted the irony of it being in front of a police station, a symbol of colonial authority.
"We saw this as an opportunity, as an olive branch, for us to begin a dialogue, to begin talking, to try to understand one another, to try to repair some of those wrongs that we've suffered on both sides," Francis said.
Brian Francis, shown here in front of an exhibit of his work last year, will create the piece with Fredericton-area artist Jean Hudson. (Raechel Huizinga/CBC)
The piece will feature a red canoe, made of powder-coated steel and iron, atop two pillars.
A description of the piece says the pillars are meant to represent how the law and colonialism forbid access to knowledge and wisdom. By lifting the birchbark canoe off the earth, it symbolizes the divide of Indigenous people and their culture.
Councillors unanimously approved the spending.
"Thank you very much," Mayor Dawn Arnold said after the vote. "Can't wait to see it."
The police station will house the Codiac Regional RCMP once it's complete in 2025. (Shane Magee/CBC)
Moncton sought submissions last year under its public art policy that's been in place for almost two decades.
The policy requires spending one per cent of the city's money for new buildings or major renovations for artwork, up to a maximum of $200,000.
The new police station, approved by council in 2022, is expected to cost $57.1 million. The funding for the artwork was already included in the building cost.
When approved by council, the building was expected to be complete in early 2024, but the timeline has since been pushed to 2025.
A rendering showing the location of the artwork, on the lower left, near the entrance to the new police building. (City of Moncton)
The 6,680-square-metre facility is designed for up to 376 civilian staff and sworn officers. A police dispatch centre at a fire hall in Dieppe will be moved to the new building.
The artwork will be installed in front of the Albert Street building near its public entrance, a location where it can be seen from a public space inside the building.
It will include lights inside the canoe to create a lantern effect.
The red colour, information given to council says, signifies strength and power and represents missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
