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Bernard Ave. Revitalization  

New gateway points to downtown

The final piece of the Gateway feature at the east end of Bernard Avenue was completed today (Tuesday) with the installation of banners designed by Westbank First Nation artist Janine Lott.

The theme of the banners is “The Land is Our Culture” and celebrates the Syilx/Okanagan people and their connection to the land. In a traditional First Nations practise Lott also mentored junior artist Jordan Coble through the process of creating the banners.

“Everyone shares the land, the water and the culture of the Okanagan and we need to be considerate of that,” says Lott.

This public art collaboration between the City of Kelowna and Westbank First Nation is a first for the two governments.

The banners continue the placemaking approach used throughout the new Bernard Avenue streetscape.

“The First Nation culture of this area is connected to the natural landscape,” says Patrick McCormick, Urban Design Planner.

“We’ve reflected that connection along the street by using the Syilx language on inlaid polished pavers describing local flora and fauna and on the Gateway poles where these banners are now displayed.”

Public art installations on the new Bernard Avenue streetscape are used to help create a distinctive sense of place and reinforce the design of the other elements along the street.

“Street features were chosen to be in keeping with the natural elements and history of the Okanagan, with benches and pavers made of natural stone, and light poles that, like the downtown library building, draw their inspiration from the heavy timbers used in the Kettle Valley Railway trestles,” says McCormick.

The design theme that emerged from the community consultation process was “landscape inspired” and the execution is contemporary rather than historical in form.

With the dramatic change in street configuration at Bernard Avenue and Richter Street, a gateway treatment offered an opportunity for public art to welcome visitors downtown and mark the transition from the residential to the commercial area.



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