Edmonton Airports Select Artwork
An Alberta artist has been selected to create the first public art piece for Edmonton International Airport’s soon-to-be-completed Southeast Terminal Expansion.
The selected artist is 40 year old David Janzen. The Calgary resident is a 1983 graduate of the Alberta College of Art with a Major in Painting. Janzen is also a 1982 recipient of the Louise McKinney Scholarship and a Canada Council Arts grant recipient in 1991. The Royal Bank of Canada, Suncor Inc. Resources Group and various private citizens are collectors of Mr. Janzen’s life work. The Edmonton Art Gallery and Glenbow Museum and Archives also have some of Janzen’s art on exhibit.
The selection of David Janzen was made recently by an Art Commission Peer Jury established by Edmonton Airports and it’s Board of Directors. The unanimous decision followed an exhaustive process that began last January with a two-stage competition resulting in a total of 98 Alberta artists submitting 150 proposals.
Edmonton Airports Art Commission Jury consists of:
1. Catherine Crowston – Senior Curator, Edmonton Art Gallery
2. Darci Mallon – Fine Arts Program, Grant MacEwan Community College & Edmonton artist
3. Jetske Sybesma – Chair, Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta
4. Peter von Tiesenhausen – Alberta artist
Margaret Bateman, Chair of the Art Committee and a member of Edmonton Airports Board of Directors says, “the committee is very pleased with the strong response from the Alberta art community. The overwhelming response made the process of arriving at a shortlist of nine art proposals very difficult. The committee, as evidenced in its unanimous decision, is pleased with the selection of the concept submitted by Mr. Janzen”.
The mission statement of Edmonton Airports Air Terminal Redevelopment Project reads…
“Celebrate the life-flow of the North Saskatchewan River and the drama of the prairie sky and light, while remembering the cultural history of Edmonton and looking forward to the future.”
With the Mission Statement in mind, artists were asked to incorporate the following design objectives into their submissions:
sensitivity to the scale of the surrounding environment,
relationship to the overall design of the new terminal,
public safety, maintenance and exposure to vandalism,
architectural specifics of the site and technical considerations such as lighting and traffic,
David Janzen is currently preparing the piece for unveiling November 18, 2000 at a VIP opening of the Southeast Terminal Expansion at Edmonton International Airport. The commission for this artwork is $40,000.00.
In the coming weeks, Edmonton Airports Art Commission will issue a second Request for Proposal to the Alberta design community for an overall design concept for the Central Hall. The conceptual focus being to provide an environmental experience based on Edmonton Airports Mission Statement (refer to bottom of previous page) for the Air Terminal Redevelopment Project. For more information on the Request for Proposal please contact Edmonton Airports Art Competition Coordinator, Elizabeth Scotton at 780-890-8991 or escotton@flyeia.com.
AIR TERMINAL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Two and a half years ago, Edmonton Airports and our Capital Region stakeholders began the Air Terminal Redevelopment Project that will result in the terminal and aircraft apron areas almost doubling in size. The vision of this $265.5 million expansion is to improve our facilities for both current demands and future growth.
Construction began in March 1998 on an 1800 stall parkade that opened in December the same year. Building of the Southeast Terminal Expansion started in June of 1999 and will be completed this November. It will be the center for international, transborder and domestic scheduled and charter flights as well as Canada and United States Customs and Immigration services. Connecting the terminals will be the Central Hall, featuring an enhanced retail presence and interior, public, airfield observation deck. Central Hall construction is scheduled to begin this November and be completed by the summer of 2002.
Edmonton International Airport, 2002