Calgarians to celebrate art and community at Tuscany LRT public art opening

Calgary’s newest public art piece roger that by Bill Pechet, will be celebrated at the Tuscany LRT Station on September 18 from 7 to 9 p.m.

On the Rocky Ridge/Royal Oak side of Crowchild Trail N.W., the event will feature remarks from Ward 1 Councillor Ward Sutherland, comments from The City of Calgary Transportation General Manager Mac Logan, and an artist talk by roger that artist Bill Pechet.

Comprised of two, 12 metre-high sculptures, roger that is situated on both sides of Crowchild Trail. Like neighbours talking over a fence, the piece connects the communities of Tuscany on one side and Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak on the other.

Calgarians will also be delighted by live music from local musician Hello Moth, light refreshments and fun, interactive art activities lead by two mentee artists who were inspired by Bill Pechet’s creation. GO collaborative, the Community Cultural Development artists for the Tuscany LRT project, will also be present conducting community engagement for their upcoming project.

“The celebration takes place in the evening when the art can be most appreciated, and visitors are encouraged to experience the piece from both sides of the station,” says Sarah Iley, manager of Culture for The City of Calgary. “We hope Calgarians will see the piece, take a moment to pause from the hustle of their daily commute, and be moved to see things from another point of view.”

Inspired by physicist/philosopher Roger Penrose, roger that adopts Penrose’s brilliant tile geometry to create repeating and random cycles of shapes. Visitors to the artwork might first experience it as irregular and arbitrary but with a slight shift of position the artwork slowly reveals itself as a pair of radiant constellations.

Bill Pechet, originally from Calgary and currently based in Vancouver, worked with Calgary based companies Highline Electrical Constructors Ltd., Aurian surveying, RJC Structural Engineering, TetraTech EBA Geotechnical Engineers, KI International Concrete and Dobbyn Electric Lighting Protection for fabrication and installation of roger that.

Public art for the Tuscany LRT station included a total of five projects; the roger that piece by Bill Pechet, a 3-sided mural by Roman L’Abbee titled Flotsam on the automated public toilet, two mentee artist projects to be presented at the event by artists Vincent Brière and Sarah Storteboom and a Community Cultural Development project by GO collaborative that is expected to be released later in the year.

For more information, visit the Tuscany LRT Public Art Project page or call 311.