Self-Guided Driving Tour of Public Art in Abbotsford

Even in a time of social distancing, there are great opportunities to enjoy art in person, here

in our own community! These easy-to-follow instructions will take you on a self-guided

driving tour to 7 examples of public art in and around Abbotsford, with detailed information

on the artworks and artists to help you appreciate the talent and depth of culture that is all

around us.

This tour does not include every example of public art in the Abbotsford area, just a

selection of work that is easily accessible by vehicle. If you know of other great examples of

public art in our community, please post the information on your social media and be sure

to tag The Reach!

PLEASE NOTE: Do not attempt to read these instructions while operating a vehicle. We

recommend partnering with someone from your household, someone you are already social

distancing with, who can act as “navigator.”

The route outlined below is round-trip, beginning and ending at The Reach.

Total driving time: approximately 30 minutes, plus additional time for stops.

#1: Rainforest (sculpture)

Looks like this:

Location:

Directly outside The Reach, on the east side of the building. When driving south on

Trethewey St., it is visible on the right side of the street, just after the intersection with

Simon Ave/Veterans Way.

Gordon Ferguson, Rainforest, 1986

steel, 120 x 150 x 72 in.

Rainforest was designed in response to a call for public outdoor sculptures for Expo ‘86 in

Vancouver. It was sponsored and presented as a gift from “Pioneers who settled in British

Columbia from Punjab, India.” The sculpture, which is on long-term loan from the City of

Vancouver, was fabricated in Vanier Park during the summer of 1986 where visitors could

watch the construction process and interact with the artist. The piece consists of a group of

blue steel poles on a tilted platform, angled in a way to suggest the sense of driving rain

amongst trees. Interspersed among the pipe components are various objects associated

with forestry: a crosscut saw, a baseball bat, a ladder, an axe, a house. The intention is to

merge the visual sense of driving rain with trees and objects associated with forestry.

About the Artist

Gordon Ferguson was born in High River, Alberta and spent most of his career as head of

the Department of Sculpture at the Alberta College of Art & Design where he is now

Professor Emeritus. Ferguson describes his artworks as “concerned with physics, matter and

motion” and his practice considers the manufacture of consumer objects, constructed

environments, and hierarchies of value in contemporary culture. He is best known for his

large sculptural installations and public works of art.

#2: Two Streams (mural)

Looks like this:

Directions and Location:

Continue south on Trethewey St., then turn left on South Fraser Way and continue to

Historic Downtown Abbotsford. Stay in the left lane and continue through the lights onto

Essendene Ave. Turn left onto Montrose Ave. and then make a right into the first laneway

(beside Spruce Collective). The mural will be immediately visible on the right.

Two Streams, 2019

Tara-Lynn Kozma-Perrin with Madeleine Hildebrandt, Joshua Koole, Alayna Tam and Rio

Zapata

exterior latex paint (wall mural)

This mural is part of The Reach’s CITI/SEEN initiative, which teams an experienced mural

artist with local emerging artists to create public murals around Abbotsford. The program is

part of Emerge, an incubator for creative talent at The Reach. The inaugural CITI/SEEN

mural was created on back exterior wall of the Hemingway’s Books building, in Historic

Downtown Abbotsford. Lead artist Tara-Lynn Kozma-Perrin worked with collaborators

Madeleine Hildebrandt, Joshua Koole, Alayna Tam, and Rio Zapata.

Artists’ Statement

Before colonization, two streams used to converge in the area where the mural is today.

The patterns in the mural resemble fish scales and reed mats which pay homage to the

history of the land and its Indigenous inhabitants. The text is drawn from Alfred Lord

Tennyson’s poem “The Brook.” According to the memoirs of Abbotsford resident Margaret

Dunlop Hutchinson, she and her classmates would recite the poem beside the streams.

About the Artists

Tara-Lynn Kozma-Perrin is a First Nations Artist residing in Abbotsford, BC. She has a

Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Fraser Valley and has been the recipient of a

number of residencies, public art commissions and awards. She is currently the Culture

Coordinator for the City of Abbotsford.

Madeline Hildebrandt was born and raised in Abbotsford, and recently graduated from UFV

with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Madeleine’s practice focuses on painting and drawing,

using meditative processes to explore issues of mental health.

Joshua Koole was born and raised in Langley. His practice to date has been an investigation

of scale and media. His recent projects have involved painting on a variety of architectural

structures. He is currently a student at Emily Carr University.

Alayna Tam has travelled extensively since graduating high school in 2018, working on

mural projects and as a photography intern in Tijuana, Mexico and Kathmandu, Nepal. Her

practice includes wheel pottery, photography, embroidery, and watercolour painting.

Rio Zapata is a self-taught illustrator born in Medellín, Colombia. His family came to Canada

as refugees and have become Canadian citizens. Art for Rio is an inquiry of identity and an

outlet for personal struggles.

#3: Reasons (mural)

Looks like this:

Directions and Location:

Continue east to the end of the laneway, then turn right onto West Railway. From the left

lane, keep left to stay on West Railway Ave. The mural is on the building of the Royal

Canadian Legion Abbotsford Branch #15 (2513 W Railway St.). Turn right into the parking lot

just after the Legion to see the mural.

Ericka Walker, Reasons, 2017

exterior latex paint (wall mural)

During the summer of 2017, The Reach presented an exhibition of prints by Ericka Walker

entitled The Great Experiment. During this time, Walker also worked closely with the

members of Royal Canadian Legion Abbotsford Branch #15 to create a sixty-foot mural on

the south side of the building. The project was supported by funding from Arts Nova Scotia.

Artist Statement

There are many reasons people choose to enlist. There are many reasons that veterans seek

out the company of other veterans, just as there are many reasons to join the Royal

Canadian Legion. There are many reasons we feel driven to publicly commemorate and

remember those who have fought in our wars, and commemoration can take as many

forms: books and stories, monuments, cenotaphs, ceremonies, holidays. Sometimes

commemoration brings a country to a deeper understanding of a difficult history, and

sometimes it simply offers people permission to avoid having to think about it for another

year. There are many reasons Canada has gone to war, and as many reasons to be critical of

those wars.

There are three WWII-era aircraft depicted in this mural. The first, in the foreground on the

left-hand side, is the Fairchild Cornell, the primary trainer aircraft used under the British

Commonwealth Air Training Plan. These aircraft were used at the No. 24 Elementary Flying

Training School at the Abbotsford Airfield. Behind the Cornell is the Hawker Hurricane.

Thousands of these single-seat fighters were produced in Canada during the war. Their

production was led by BC-born Chief Aeronautical Engineer Elsie MacGill. MacGill was the

first female graduate of electrical engineering, the first woman to earn a Master’s degree in

aeronautical engineering, and the first practicing female engineer in Canada. The third

aircraft, depicted on the far-right side of the mural, is the B-24 Liberator Bomber. The

Liberator was used to train flight crews as part of the #5 Operational Training Unit at the

Abbotsford Airfield. Many men lost their lives in training missions in this region.

About the Artist

Ericka Walker was born in Hartford, Wisconsin, USA. She received a Master of Fine Arts

from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Her work has been included in numerous

domestic and international exhibitions and biennials, as well as public, teaching, and private

collections in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. She currently teaches studio

coursework in printmaking as an assistant professor in the Fine Arts Division at the Nova

Scotia College of Art and Design.

#4: Heron Sunrise (mural)

Looks like this:

Directions and Location:

Continue south along W. Railway, and turn left onto Riverside Road (just across from Field

House Brewing). Continue south to 1640 Riverside Road, which will be on the left side. The

mural is visible as you approach.

Carrielynn Victor, Heron Sunrise, 2019

vinyl wrap on aluminum panels

This mural by local artist Carrielynn Victor decorates the north side of a new modular

housing building developed collaboratively by Lookout Society, the City of Abbotsford, and

the Province of British Columbia. The building contains 44 units of low-barrier housing for

men and women, allowing them to live more independently but with access to additional

services and support.

Artist Statement

The theme in ‘Heron Sunrise’ features the Great Blue Heron. Once a seasonal resident of

Sumas Lake, the heron plays a key role in many shxwowxwiya:m (stories from Stó:lō culture)

that direct humans to what is considered “right behavior” in Coast Salish custom. In

particular the heron stories tell us about patience, timing, gathering food, and migration.

Other consistent themes in the concept are the use of symbols that are true to Coast Salish

woven patterns, appearing in various visual planes. Coast Salish design elements play an

integral role in the depiction of the herons, as I always include these designs in my art to

reflect my heritage and the language of this land.

The Heron perched on the log with the sunrise in the background is an exploration of

sunrise colors and the blues we see in the Coastal mountains.

About the Artist

Carrielynn Victor is an artist and traditional plant practitioner of mixed European and Coast

Salish ancestry. Her work fuses ancestral knowledge and a deep connection to her culture

with contemporary techniques and styles. Her practice considers gender and sexuality,

community, interconnectedness, land, and sustainability. Her work has been featured in the

Vancouver Mural Festival, on street banners decorating the Mt. Pleasant area, and in

exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

in Vancouver, The Reach Gallery Museum, Ranger Station Gallery in Harrison Hot Springs,

Plaskett Gallery in New Westminster, and the ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge. In addition to

maintaining her art practice, Victor also operates and manages an environmental

consultancy that provides reviews and reports of projects and initiatives with a blended

focus, pairing Stó:lō cultural and heritage understanding with ecological knowledge.

#5: The Hop Across (Salton Bridge Art Project)

Looks like this:

Directions/Location:

Turn around to drive back north on Riverside Rd. Turn right onto Marshall Rd., then right

again onto Highway 11/Sumas Way. Keep in the right lane and follow signs for Highway 1

West to Vancouver. Merge onto the highway. Soon you will pass under the pedestrian/

cyclist Salton Bridge.

Brent Bukowski, The Hop Across, 2019

recycled aluminum bicycle wheels

The Salton Road pedestrian and cyclist bridge extends over Highway 1, connecting Marshall

Road to Abbotsford’s U-District. Since the grand opening celebration held in January 2019,

the bridge has greatly improved mobility and safety for pedestrians and cyclists traveling to

and from the University of the Fraser Valley.

Salton Bridge is enhanced by a public art component from Brent Bukowski, a Canadian artist

who works with reclaimed materials, primarily metal and glass. Bukowski’s artwork was

inspired by the imagery of a bicycle jump sequence, made using reclaimed aluminum bicycle

rims assembled in a playful arrangement that hops, skips, and jumps across the busy

highway below.

About the Artist

Brent Bukowski is an artist that works with reclaimed materials. He reanimates discards into

compositions that explore environmental and historical themes. Born and raised in Regina,

Saskatchewan (1968), he has lived on an acreage in the mountains of British Columbia since

1992, where he and his partner, artist/curator Arin Fay, have designed and constructed

their house and gardens and have raised two amazing children.

#6: Life Cycle of a Salmon (sculpture)

Looks like this:

Directions/Location:

Continue west on Highway 1. Take the #90 McCallum Exit. At the first roundabout, take the

3rd exit towards McCallum south. The sculpture is located in the center of the southern

roundabout. Do a complete loop (or two!) around the southern roundabout to view the

sculpture, then exit the way you came in, towards McCallum north. When you re-enter the

first roundabout, take the 3rd exit, following signs for Highway 1 West to Vancouver.

Raphael Silver, Life Cycle of a Salmon, 2011

aluminum and steel

This sculpture was the first piece of public art commissioned by the City of Abbotsford. It

represents the life cycle of the salmon. The round shape represents the first stage of life as

an egg. The two salmon inside the egg represent the continuous cycle, the salmon’s travel

to the ocean and its return to the river. It is a symbol of the Stó:lō peoples’ reverence for

the salmon, and an homage to mother nature to show thanks and appreciation for such a

generous gift.

About the Artist

Raphael Silver is a member of the Sumas First Nation and a lifelong resident of Abbotsford.

He was taught to carve by his father, master carver Ray Silver, and has been a professional

artist for more than twenty years. He has taken the traditional techniques learned from his

father and through the utilization of modern artistic methods as well as the use of various

mediums has derived a style unique to himself. Following in the footsteps of his father,

Silver has taught art classes at most schools in the Abbotsford district, and also takes on

apprentices to teach young people First Nations art.

#7: The Raspberry (sculpture)

Looks like this:

Directions/Location:

Continue west on Highway 1. Take the # 87 Clearbrook exit. Keep right and merge right onto

Clearbrook Rd., heading south. The sculpture is located in the center of the roundabout. Do

a complete loop (or two!) around the roundabout to view the sculpture, then exit the way

you came in, heading north on Clearbrook Rd.

Manjit Sandhu, The Raspberry, 2011 aluminum and steel This sculpture was commissioned by the City of Abbotsford to pay homage to Abbotsford's agricultural history as a raspberry producer and Abbotsford's title as the 'Raspberry Capital of Canada'. The modern aesthetic paired with the traditional subject matter and oversized scale fosters a sense of child-like joy. The raspberry vine makes even the largest trucks driving the roundabout look like toys.

Final Directions:

To return to The Reach, continue north on Clearbrook Road. Turn right onto South Fraser

Way, then left onto Trethewey Street. The Reach will be on your left side, just before the

intersection with Simon Ave/Veterans Way.