Valley Line Southeast LRT artworks on track to wow commuters

"It's priceless."

Edmonton artist Stephanie Jonsson beams as she looks up at the Muttart stop of the Valley LineSoutheast LRT.

"This is my first public art project,"Jonsson says. "I really love being able to deliver something that people can see everyday."

Jonsson created two brightly coloured aluminum sculptures mounted on the canopy on either side of the platform. She drew inspiration fromthe flora next door at the Muttart Conservatory at 9626 96ASt.

"It's almost got a little bit of an under-the-sea theme to it when you first look at it, a little bit like seaweed," says David Turnbull, director of public art and conservation with the Edmonton Arts Council.

'It's really great to see them up'

3 years ago

Duration 1:59

Learn more about the public art that's part of the Southeast Valley Line LRT in Edmonton, Alta.

You can see more of the artwork at Davies Station and three stops along the Valley LineSoutheast LRTon this week's Our Edmonton on Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at noon and 11 a.m. Monday on CBC TV and CBC Gem.

It's an example ofartists getting in earlyatthe beginning of the design and construction processin this case six years agoand really considering the spaceand relationship to the art, Turnbull says.

Art is already in placeor planned for the 11 stops and one station along the $2-billionValley LineSoutheast LRT,scheduled to be up and running inthe first quarter of 2022.

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The budget for art on the entire Valley LineLRT project is $2.6 million,Turnbull says.

Work by local, regional and Canadian artists arenow on everything frombridges toramps and stops along the 13-kilometre linebetweenMill Woods anddowntown Edmonton.

Turnbull says the only commission that went to an international artist was Shan Shan Sheng for the massive ceramic coloured glass FluidLandscape at the Davies LRT Station southwest ofthe intersection of 75th Streetand Wagner Road.

Sheng travelled from San Franciscoand toured the capital region "and really got a sense of what it was like to be here on the prairies so this is her vision of when she came to Edmonton,"Turnbull says.

Other major projects include more than 400 paintings on the ceiling of the Tawatin pedestrian bridge over the North Saskatchewan River by Mtis artist David Garneau, who is originally from Edmonton but now lives in Regina.

"When you cross that bridge you're actually going to learn some of the stories of the history of the place and what is important to the Indigenous peoples,"Turnbullsays.

The trail systemsat either end of the pedestrian bridgethrough Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Parksare set to be finished by the end of November with the bridge opening to the public in the next few weeks, according to TransEd, the construction company in charge of the LRT project.