Check out this 'weather-activated' art installation in downtown Calgary
Calgary has developed a 'Winter City Strategy' to celebrate the winter season. Connor O'Donovan explores the different ways that the city has encouraged people to get out and embrace the cold.
A section of the Eau Claire Promenade is shining bright this winter—in a space that might otherwise be dark and empty.
1000 FACES is a kinetic sculpture created by Montreal-based artist +AMOR (Alejandro Figueroa).
Suspended high above the pathway just north of 6 ST SW, it features nearly 1800 plexiglass mirrors arranged into a 3.5 metre-wide sphere, illuminated by a bespoke light show designed by Toronto-based Chris Malkowski.
Each piece of plexiglass is allowed to move freely with the wind. The sculpture was made entirely with recycled materials. (Connor O’Donovan/The Weather Network)
And, when the wind begins to blow, the sculpture springs to life in mid-air, not unlike a shimmering school of fish or flock of birds in the air.
“The piece is very much weather-activated," Figueroa told The Weather Network while in Calgary for the city’s Chinook Blast winter festival. "It reflects the sunlight and the moonlight, and it is activated by the wind. The piece is very much alive and dances and moves with the weather.”
“It also transitions from daytime to nighttime and captures your imagination differently. And it’s also a very different piece on a quiet day compared to a windy day. It has a component that loves the weather.”
The individual mirrors are meant to create a sense of gathering and community by bringing together the reflections of those standing below. (Connor O’Donovan/The Weather Network)
The artwork is one of the winners of the City of Calgary’s 2024 “Winter City Design Competition.”
The annual contest was created as part of the city’s “Winter City Strategy,” which was published in 2022 and established goals to make Calgary a more livable, thriving place during its longest season.
“It’s an invitation to the design community to explore outdoor spaces in the winter and imagine new ways for people to come outside and enjoy the season and engage with the season and with each other,” said the City of Calgary’s Natalie Marchut, who is a manager with the city’s downtown strategy team.
“We were looking for innovation and uniqueness. We tried to select a variety across the winners as well and put them in different locations in the downtown to spread the love that way.”
(P)arc: a Warm and Welcoming Experience featured a custom built, interactive tunnel stretching over an Olympic Plaza pathway. (Connor O’Donovan/The Weather Network)
Other winners of this year’s design competition, which is in its third year, include “(p)arc: A Warm and Welcoming Experience," which was located in Olympic Plaza during Chinook Blast, and “Fancy Meeting You Here: Engaging Place for People to Gather,” which featured an interactive lighting display in Calgary’s Historic Fire Hall #1 Courtyard.
“In winter, people have a tendency to be indoors, and pieces like this encourage people to go out, and I think that’s what the city wants—to encourage people to go out and be active,” Figueroa added.
“So this brings a bit of wonder to your path on the way home or the way to work. And it was created with the sense of creating a sense of community and belonging. You can see yourself when you’re underneath, but you can also see anyone else around you when you look up.”
Figueora says inspiration for 1000 FACES came during the pandemic, and was designed to reflect the idea of bringing people together while they were forced to be apart. (Connor O’Donovan/The Weather Network)
The viewing experience is made further immersive with a soundscape composed by Calgary’s own King Aurorus. It features a five-minute loop played out on speakers built into the array.
Figueora also collaborated with artist James Monkman to create an augmented reality experience to offer viewers even more engagement. It projects mythological creatures and elements of Indigenous culture into the scene.
