Chilliwack – Fourteen life-sized, colourful birds have been installed on the Five Corners clock tower at 45972 Wellington Avenue. City Council approved the budget and installation in March 2021, as recommended by the Chilliwack Public Art Advisory Committee as a way to introduce more public art throughout the city.
The piece was designed by Patrick Murphy, British artist, designer, and curator. The birds are all in various poses, and will engage viewers with their bright colours, while representing the struggle to find one’s sense of place. The birds are made out of durable material that can withstand weather and pressure washing, ensuring the pieces’ longevity, and they are displayed in seven different colours.
Patrick Murphy’s work is exhibited internationally and held in public and private collections. As an artist, Murphy’s conceptual approach is grounded in creating a dialogue with our surroundings and each other. Using familiar objects and themes to depict and examine culture, he seeks to alter the original context of his subjects so they appear simultaneously both familiar and unfamiliar to encourage and stimulate a sense of questioning, and search for meaning from the viewer.
This piece of public art in Chilliwack is now part of a larger international network of coloured birds in outdoor spaces. These birds serve as an extension of Murphy’s various exhibits, including exhibits entitled the “Pursuit of Happiness” in Belgium, “Flock” in Soho London, and “Belonging” in Liverpool, UK, dating back to 2012.
“Chilliwack is one of many international communities that has had the privilege to work with Patrick Murphy. His work is known across the globe with a focus on many positive themes, such as belonging, inclusion and happiness,” said Councillor Sue Knott, Chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee. “The inclusive vision of the artist aligns with the recommendations in the Action Plan for the Mayor’s Task Force on Inclusiveness, Diversity and Accessibility. One of the great things about public art is that a piece will mean different things to different people. Each individual comes away with their own interpretation. I hope residents will come away from viewing the coloured birds with their own personal, positive message.”
The Chilliwack Public Art Advisory Committee provides recommendations to Council on public art pieces proposed for civic facilities or properties, as well as visible locations throughout commercial or private developments. To learn more about public art in Chilliwack, visit chilliwack.com/publicart.
Now the Controversy From Amber Price with Rainbow Crosswalk for Chilliwack, Price wrote an Opinion Piece:
I recently watched our December 7th City Council meeting. In this meeting it was confirmed that an art installation called Rainbow Birds would be installed in January at 5 Corners. I have some thoughts to share around this, and I invite you to grab a cup of tea or a coffee, or perhaps a delicious Bricklayer Brewing beer, as this is going to be a lengthy read.For those of you who are unaware, a Rainbow Birds installation was approved by City Council earlier this year (see details here): https://www.theprogress.com/…/rainbow-coloured-birds…/ ). The Rainbow Birds are meant to be a nod to the LGBTQ2+ community as part of the City of Chilliwack’s intention to show inclusion in public art projects. I have no doubt that they had good intentions, but I wanted to speak to some of the problems that come with this particular installation.In the summer of 2019, hundreds of people put in effort to request a Rainbow Crosswalk at Wellington and Mill Street in Downtown Chilliwack. Over 800 signatures were collected on petitions, over 100 personal (and mostly handwritten) letters were submitted, almost 20 letters of support from surrounding businesses, research documents and a carefully put together binder were presented at city hall. Members of the LGBTQ2+ and their allies stepped forward en masse, and the Rainbow Binder that we presented to our mayor continues to bring me to tears every time I look at it (You can learn more about the binder here, or come view it in person at The Book Man upon request): https://www.facebook.com/groups/chilliwackrainbowcrosswalk/posts/1074698426073035/In the devastating meeting that we all remember well, City Council and Mayor chose to vote no to a Rainbow Crosswalk on September 3, 2019. One of the reasons that was cited was that it would not be a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. The estimated cost by staff was $6,000. Unbeknownst to them, we had the entire amount ready to be covered with private donations, so the cost to taxpayers would have been $0.Fast forward to earlier this year, council approved the ‘Rainbow Birds’ installation at a cost of $12,000. They were to be fabricated out of metal, and welded to the body of the clock tower. This is $12,000 more taxpayer dollars earmarked to be spent than the $0 cost of the requested Rainbow Crosswalk.Awkwardly the picture of the project published in the paper, and approved by council was of an existing art installation. The inconvenient truth came out shortly after approval: the proposed project was the stolen intellectual property of Patrick Murphy, a UK artist who created the concept in his installation entitled “Belonging”. Patrick Murphy responded to this news, which was passed along to me: “Having looked at the publicly available minutes and recording, I reached out to the city team to advise that it was an infringement of my intellectual property and they have responded wanting to talk further.” Presumably (as city staff have confirmed that he is now in favour of the project), he has been compensated for this awkward oversight, adding further to the cost of the project.Furthermore, Patrick Murphy sells his hand painted polymer pigeons on his site for $220 Canadian each. Council had originally approved a budget of $800 per bird. This leaves almost $7,000 difference between the cost of the stolen/to-be-manufactured birds and those that can be legitimately sourced from the artist who owns this intellectual property and produces them himself. That difference in cost leaves enough to cover the cost of the installation of a Rainbow Crosswalk, and still have $1,000 leftover.I believe that it is imperative to at least consult with marginalized community members if you are ever working on a project that represents them. Ideally, the opportunity to lead, advise and guide the direction of the project should be given to the represented group. As such, I inquired with The Mayor’s Task Force on Inclusiveness, Diversity and Accessibility to see if they had been consulted about this project. They had not. I inquired with Chilliwack PRIDE to see if they had been consulted about this project…. they also had not. All decisions surrounding these Rainbow Pigeons were made without consulting the very people that they are meant to be representing.We have two policies in place that block both decorative flags (Policy J-10) and decorative crosswalks (Policy J-11). Members of the LGBTQ2+ community have asked for these policies to be removed, and Pride flags and a Rainbow crosswalk to be installed FIVE times. FIVE times.~50 Municipalities have Rainbow Crosswalks. We now have over two dozen Rainbow Crosswalks on private, Indigenous and school board land. I am moved to tears by the schools and individuals in our community who have stood up and proudly installed Rainbow Crosswalks. Our Youth are growing up in a community that shows them that they are LOVED and accepted just as they are. These recognizable symbols of inclusion saves lives. Chilliwack Pride 2021 was attended by over 4500 people, and will only continue to grow; Chilliwack HAS changed. My work on the Rainbow Crosswalk has been challenging. I have put in hundreds of volunteer hours into working on it, and I have not faltered in this vision. I remain committed to the goal of a recognizable symbol of inclusion and acceptance in the form of a Rainbow Crosswalk at Wellington and Mill Street. I am not afraid to be disliked by those that find my tenacious nature frustrating, nor am I afraid to be thought of as difficult. I am acting in accordance with my heart and I am not afraid to use my voice.It’s difficult to celebrate the installation of these ‘Rainbow Birds’ when there is a glaring lack of inclusion in existing policies, and the continued and ongoing denial of the installation of a Rainbow Crosswalk on civic property. I believe that these Rainbow Pigeons are a misrepresentation of inclusion. They have been prescribed to a group of community members who did not have input, or ask to be represented in this way. They were also approved in the form of stolen intellectual property.I am both an ally, and a member of the LGBTQ2+ community. I am committed to increasing acceptance, understanding, inclusion and celebration in our community. It’s imperative that we talk about these things at a community level!To view Patrick Murphy’s original, and brilliant installation and artist statement, please visit his website. I believe that a truly inclusive project would have sought out the original artist, and asked for his direct involvement. I try to imagine what could have been possible if proper consultation had happened. I try to imagine what a truly inclusive project might have looked like. Imagine if a round table discussion had happened with Chilliwack Pride, CPAAC and MTFIDA. Imagine if Patrick Murphy had been flown here to oversee this project’s installation (with that leftover $1k from purchasing the birds directly from the artist/installing a Rainbow Crosswalk) and speak to our community at its unveiling. Imagine if the installation was called, ‘Belonging in Chilliwack’ to pay homage to this artist’s incredible vision and idea, and create a bridge between our community and this amazing individual. Imagine if a Rainbow Crosswalk was installed at the same time as these birds, and Shayla Hall, Teri Westerby, Louis De JaegerRon Kero and Kevin Klassen all got to walk across it with our city’s leaders and amazing MLAs, celebrating forward movement and inclusion in Chilliwack.There IS a better way of moving forward, and I will continue to work towards that future, alongside so many incredible people. We are better together.
