Artist to have say on roundabout plantings

NEWS — As surely as Daylight Savings Time arrives this weekend and spring is on the way, City gardeners will soon be planting flowers and bushes on boulevards and in parks to put some colour and life into streets and public places after a dreary winter of snow and cold.

They’ll have to put extra thought into what to plant in the roundabout in front of Interior Savings Centre. For the time being, the roundabout is without vegetation of any kind. What was there was removed for the recent installation of the new public art sculpture purchased by the City for $130,000.

It’s called Rivers. According to artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanass, it represents two swimmers, two rivers, “two solitudes.”

Asked Thursday about plans for landscaping the roundabout on which Rivers stands, parks, recreation and culture director Byron McCorkell said it hasn’t been decided yet because the City has agreed to give Yahgulanass input.

“The artist does have some opinion on what should be planted at the bottom and we’re going to be doing some work with him on that,” McCorkell said.

“He wanted to have some discussion around it. It’s a significant piece of art and we want to be sure he’s as happy with it as we are.”

McCorkell said lighting will also be improved at the roundabout to show it off better.

He said there’s no danger of plantings affecting the stability of the artwork. “There’s a lot of concrete in the ground” underneath it, he said.