Vancouver Mural Festival. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Hubert Kang
With over 400 pieces of public art across the city, you’re sure to find one that speaks to you. Don’t miss these iconic artworks in Vancouver. Which one is your favourite?
Monument for East Vancouver
Better known as the East Van cross, Monument for East Vancouver is an illuminated sculpture by artist Ken Lum. It was inspired by a graffiti symbol that dates back to the 1940s. The 57-foot-tall (17.4 m) piece celebrates the culture and history of East Vancouver, a neighbourhood historically associated with immigrants.
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Where: Northwest corner of Clark Drive at East 6th Avenue
Photo: Daniel Abadia/Unsplash
Giants
The six huge silos at Ocean Concrete on Granville Island make up this huge mural, called Giants. Created by twin brothers Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo, known collectively as OSGEMEOS, the artwork is part of a series, also called Giants, with installations in Greece, Poland, Portugal, and other locations. They worked with the curved surface to transform a normal two-dimensional mural into a three-dimensional work.
Where: Ocean Concrete, 1415 Johnston Street, Vancouver
Photo: Destination Vancouver/Nelson Mouellic
Girl in a Wetsuit
The life-size bronze sculpture of Girl in a Wetsuit sits atop a boulder on the north side of the Stanely Park Seawall. The work by artist Elek Imredy is an homage to the famous sculpture of a mermaid in Copenhagen. Each day, the tide laps up around the sculpture’s legs.
Where: North side of the Stanley Park Seawall near Brockton Oval, Vancouver
Photo: lairdcamster/Pixabay
Vancouver Mural Festival
Since 2016 the Vancouver Mural Festival has transformed Vancouver’s landscape with paint at each year’s festival. To date, they have helped artists create over 300 murals around the city. Use the maps on their website or their app to find the murals.
Where: Locations across Vancouver. See the Vancouver Mural Festival website for details.
Photo: Destination Vancouver/Hubert Kang
Digital Orca
Installed in 2010, Digital Orca takes the orca (killer whale), a familiar symbol in Vancouver, and re-imagines it in a pixelated form. The artist, Douglas Coupland, is a lifelong Vancouver resident who has created several other large public artworks in the city and written acclaimed books including the novel Generation X and City of Glass, a book of essays and photographs about Vancouver.
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre West Building, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
Photo: Masaru Suzuki/Unsplash
Voxel Bridge
In 2021, artist Jessica Angel transformed the underside of the Cambie Street Bridge into a 19,000-square-foot (1,765-square-metre) art installation called Voxel Bridge. The artwork on the bottom of the bridge and its pillars is two-dimensional. But if you view it through the Vancouver Biennale app, it becomes an immersive augmented reality experience.
Where: Underside of the south side of the Cambie Street Bridge, Vancouver
Photo: Cameron Hudson/Unsplash
A-maze-ing Laughter
Installed in 2009, A-maze-ing Laughter is one of Vancouver’s most famous sculptures, visited by thousands each day at its location near English Bay. The work consists of 14 large cast bronze sculptures that each depict the artist, Yue Minjun, laughing.
Where: Morton Park (corner of Davie Street and Denman Street) Vancouver
Photo: Debbie Konrad/Unplash
The Drop
Thousands of people see The Drop each year, thanks to its location at the cruise ship terminal at Canada Place. The 65-foot (20 m) tall sculpture by Inges Idee is meant to invoke a huge raindrop captured at the moment of contact, fitting for Vancouver’s reputation as a rainy city.
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre Bon Voyage Plaza, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
Photo: Jasper Garratt/Unsplash
Inukshuk
This stack of granite blocks was originally erected as part of the North-West Territories Pavillion at the 1986 Expo, then moved to English Bay after the fair. Designed by Inuit artist Alvin Kanak, Inukshuk is inspired by the much smaller stacks of rocks often used as signposts or distance markers in the north.
Where: On the False Creek Seawall near the intersection of Beach Avenue and Bidwell Street, Vancouver
Photo: Larry Nalzaro/Unsplash
More Vancouver Art
Vancouver is home to dozens of pieces of public art – more than we can fit in this short article. You’re bound to stumble across them around the city. Or follow one of Vancouver Biennale’s biking or walking self-guided art tours. If you want to find more art, check out the City of Vancouver Public Art Registry, which includes over 400 works and a handy interactive map.
By Taryn Eyton
Source Inside Vancouver
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