Arts Alive is Oak Bay Parks, Recreation & Culture’s annual public art program.
Where sculptures are selected by a peer jury to be displayed for up to a year at outdoor sites in our municipality. The sculptures are on temporary loan by the artists who are sponsored by a local business, individuals or community groups.
Each year, the Municipality of Oak Bay considers purchasing public art from the Arts Alive program to become part of its permanent public art collection. During the exhibition, the public is invited to vote for their favourite artwork. The 3 sculptures that received the most votes are evaluated by the Arts Alive Jury to award the ‘People’s Choice’. . These three sculptures are considered for purchase by the District of Oak Bay.
Arts Alive builds on many successful and engaging summers of temporary public art in Oak Bay, and through this program, Oak Bay has built a legacy of permanent public art in our community. This project was spearheaded between 2014-2020 by the former Oak Bay Arts Laureate Barbara Adams, whose vision and leadership contributed to making Oak Bay a destination for arts and culture.
Participate
Call for Artists
Intake is currently closed
Sponsor
For $1600, an individual or a business can sponsor a sculpture and support our artists. Sponsor names are featured on the sculpture nameplate, in the Arts Alive brochure, and on the Arts Alive web page.
Donate
Help us to continue to increase the livability and artistic richness of our community by donating to the Mayors’ Art Legacy Fund, which seeks to make art accessible in public places, and creates a legacy for future generations. Donations to sustain this program are welcomed. Donations over $25 will receive a tax-deductible receipt.
Purchase
All of the current sculptures are for sale with possession date after the annual exhibition completes.
Current 2024-25 Sculptures on Exhibition
The theme for the 2024/2024 Arts Alive is “Beyond the Surface.”
Nautilus ferratus
By Erick James
Artistic Statement:
‘Beyond the Surface’
We live in the misinformation age.
News is dismissed as “Fake!” by those who don’t want to believe it.
Media pushes their agenda of fear.
Culture wars, zero tolerance, tribalism, and engineered divisiveness.
The nautilus lives within its own protective armor.
Its tentacles are ever curious, probing, and feeling.
Large eyes take in information.
The nautilus bathes within nature’s glimmers.
Triggering feelings of safety and joy.
Love is our way forward,
Be the change,
Embrace curiosity,
Think critically,
Choose kindness.
Materials: a steel sculpture of a chambered nautilus finished with a rust patina and traditional blacksmith wax.
Biography: As a biologist and artist my pieces convey the wonders of the natural world. I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of British Columbia and an Honours Metal Certificate from the Kootenay School of the Arts at Selkirk College. I have worked and studied in labs for more than 20 years and still find wonder there. It is this curiosity and excitement for the natural world that I bring to my art. In larger than life metal microbes, metal origami birds, scanning electron micrographs in gilded frames, and framed fixed specimen slides. The invisible are made visible, the often seen are reexamined.
Location: Oak Bay Avenue at Hampshire
For Sale Cost: $12,000
Sponsor: Marc Owen-Flood Personal Real Estate Corporation | Newport Realty Ltd
Illumination
By Paul Reimer
Artistic Statement: Since the beginning of time fire has meant warmth, light, and life. But if you look beyond the creature comforts it provides, you see a deeper meaning – of community and gathering. This artwork is a symbol of community spirit, of people coming together, bringing their knowledge, creativity and energy to make their community stronger. The image of fire speaks to shining a light on the issues faced by our communities today and that these issues are only truly solved by people connecting with each other in a spirit of openness and inclusiveness.
Materials: Hand-Forged Iron and Natural Stone Base
Biography: Paul began his career as an artist-blacksmith at the age of 15 and over the past 30 years he’s worked on numerous large-scale residential, commercial and public art projects across North America. His sculptures are featured in galleries across Canada and the US and are collected by art enthusiasts in many countries around the world.
Paul lives with his family in Cranbrook, BC in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. He takes inspiration for his art from a variety of sources; architecture and design, culture, history, relationships and nature.
Location: Lokier Park
For Sale Cost: $8,000
Sponsor: REMAX
Megaptera (Humpback Whale)
Artistic Statement: For this year’s Arts Alive concept, the Sunsmith team created “Megaptera”, a humpback whale tale design to appear as if it is diving back down into the earth. Inspired by this year’s theme “Megaptera” invites viewers to go “Beyond the Surface”, to play with concepts of perception and what lies beyond their vision.
“Megaptera” is made entirely of mild steel. This piece has a structural armature made of schedule 40 pipe and solid round bar. The “skin” of the tale is made of a patchwork of 16-gauge steel, giving this piece its unique texture and overall mechanical/industrial aesthetic.
Nathan Smith created and collaborated with his sons, Cyrus age, 17, and Sabian, age 14 to fabricate the Megaptera. Cyrus is currently completing his welding and metal fabrication program at Selkirk college. Sabian has extensive metal experience for a fourteen-year-old and was a major collaborator in creating “Roufus”.
Materials: Mild steel
Biography: Sunsmith Design is an artistic team composed of the Smith family, Nathan and his two sons Cyrus, 17 and Sabian,14.
Artist Nathan Smith started working with metal in 2003, and in 2006, launched his own business Sunsmith Design. His works are diverse ranging from custom commissions (gates, railings, furniture) in the Kootenay region, to large-scale public art installations throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Known for his sculptural sundials, he was commissioned by the Calgary Zoo and the City of Summerland to create one of a kind armillary style sundials. Featured six times in Castlegar Sculpture Walk, “Roufus” won People’s Choice in 2023, “V Formation” took first place for Artistic Merit and second place for The People’s Choice in 2015.
Participating in “Arts Alive”, Smith would be creating and collaborating with his sons, Cyrus age, 17, and Sabian, age 14. Cyrus is currently completing his welding and metal fabrication program at Selkirk college. Sabian has extensive metal experience for a fourteen-year-old and was a major collaborator in creating “Roufus”.
Location: Haynes Park
For Sale Cost: $18,000
Sponsor: Oak Bay Marine Group
Fine
By Lisa Huth
Artistic Statement: As an Artist Blacksmith I am inspired from nature. My sculptures celebrate our environment, acknowledge our past and look toward the future and how we can preserve its natural beauty. I work primarily with mild steel, using traditional skills of a blacksmith to hammer out texture and shape. My sculptures are often my artistic interpretation of animals and plants; I have enjoyed adding color and curves to a once rigid material. Through my work I hope to evoke a sense of wonder and awe. I invite viewers to consider the beauty and complexity around us.
My sculpture “Fine” represents the answer so many of us give, to the question “How are you?” However that seldom is the truth, and by looking “Beyond the Surface” we can hopefully find the real answer. “Fine” will be forged and fabricated from recycled mild steel, the silhouette of an eye, but inside the pupil heavy wave’s crash against each other. My hope is that “Fine” can open up communication and help anyone going through a difficult time.
Materials: Forged and Fabricated Mild Steel
Biography: Lisa was born and raised in the Okanagan, where she discovered a love for metal work. She studied Welding at Okanagan University in Kelowna B.C. She also took instruction under Master Blacksmith Joe Delisimunovic in Vernon to learn “The Lost Art of Blacksmithing”. Then in 2003 Lisa started her own business. Lisa also collaborated with Ted Howell on a few projects and learned a great deal from him. Lisa was asked to start up an Introduction Blacksmithing Program at Okanagan University and greatly appreciated her time there.
Later in 2015 after starting a family, Lisa and her husband had a strong desire to raise their children in a smaller town, which led them to the Kootenays. They now live on a small acreage on the outskirts of Castlegar B.C. Canada.
Lisa finds inspiration from nature, the beautiful curves in plants and the unique details of animals. She loves the challenge that metal provides and the huge satisfaction of bending and forming it to her desired shape.
Location: McNeill Bay
For Sale Cost: $17,000
Sponsors: Prestige Picture Framing Etcetera (1/2 sponsorship) | Barclay’s Fine Jewellers (1/2 sponsorship)
Adage
Artistic Statement: As an Artist Blacksmith I am inspired from nature. My sculptures celebrate our environment, acknowledge our past and look toward the future and how we can preserve its natural beauty. I work primarily with mild steel, using traditional skills of a blacksmith to hammer out texture and shape. My sculptures are often my artistic interpretation of animals and plants; I have enjoyed adding color and curves to a once rigid material. Through my work I hope to evoke a sense of wonder and awe. I invite viewers to consider the beauty and compl
Artistic Statement: Evaluating wood is a way to navigate the world, its influence behaves as a measure and representative of the landscape. There’s an emotive connection to its spirit which informs how we engage with the world.
Adage represents the qualities of wood to illustrate its effects. The contours of a house embody the utility of timber while its earthly legacy is alluded to through the tropes of green and put to focus with its presentation of growth rings. In a habitat shaped by the effects of Climate Change, Agage engenders consideration for its surroundings and as it ages will reflect life in Oak Bay through an account of the environment.
Expressing the theme ‘Beyond the Surface’ Adage makes connections with the axioms of home using the nature of wood, fostering a holistic assessment of its materiality within the literal and emblematic frameworks of our lives.
Materials: Cedar and powder coated aluminum
Biography: David Martinello uses print, sculpture, painting, film, poetry, installation and performance alongside traditional woodworking to explore the embedded gestures of wood. Working with the natural attributes of the material Martinello contemplates wood’s legacy to develop a holistic account of its influence on the environment.
Martinello’s practice is informed by a BFA from Queen’s University and years of building furniture with his company Alternative Woodworks. He has curated several shows, and owned a gallery and his art has been seen across Canada with public works of art commissioned by municipalities throughout BC and in Alberta.
Location: Oak Bay Avenue at Hampshire
For Sale Cost: $5,200
Sponsor: Mike & Rebecca Miller
exity around us.
My sculpture “Fine” represents the answer so many of us give, to the question “How are you?” However that seldom is the truth, and by looking “Beyond the Surface” we can hopefully find the real answer. “Fine” will be forged and fabricated from recycled mild steel, the silhouette of an eye, but inside the pupil heavy wave’s crash against each other. My hope is that “Fine” can open up communication and help anyone going through a difficult time.
Materials: Forged and Fabricated Mild Steel
Biography: Lisa was born and raised in the Okanagan, where she discovered a love for metal work. She studied Welding at Okanagan University in Kelowna B.C. She also took instruction under Master Blacksmith Joe Delisimunovic in Vernon to learn “The Lost Art of Blacksmithing”. Then in 2003 Lisa started her own business. Lisa also collaborated with Ted Howell on a few projects and learned a great deal from him. Lisa was asked to start up an Introduction Blacksmithing Program at Okanagan University and greatly appreciated her time there.
Later in 2015 after starting a family, Lisa and her husband had a strong desire to raise their children in a smaller town, which led them to the Kootenays. They now live on a small acreage on the outskirts of Castlegar B.C. Canada.
Lisa finds inspiration from nature, the beautiful curves in plants and the unique details of animals. She loves the challenge that metal provides and the huge satisfaction of bending and forming it to her desired shape.
Location: McNeill Bay
For Sale Cost: $17,000
Sponsors: Prestige Picture Framing Etcetera (1/2 sponsorship) | Barclay’s Fine Jewellers (1/2 sponsorship)
Harmony Unveiled
By Tarcila Neves – Assisted by Paulo Roberto do Couto Neves
Artistic Statement: “Harmony Unveiled” serves as a poignant tribute to the delicate balance between art, nature, and technology. Through the majestic Steller sea lion art, it underscores the importance of preserving endangered species while celebrating Oak Bay’s coastal vitality. The innovative incorporation of augmented reality technology enriches the viewer’s experience, bridging the gap between physical and virtual realms. Through the use of QR codes, observers are invited to delve deeper into the artwork, prompting reflection on the intricate relationship between nature and technology. As part of Oak Bay Parks, Recreation & Culture’s Arts Alive program, “Harmony Unveiled” not only transcends traditional sculpture but also serves as a poignant reminder of the critical need to safeguard our environment.
“Harmony Unveiled” also boasts a striking display stand crafted by Tapeworm Corp. Employing recycled bicycle materials as an homage to Tarcila’s late father, Paulo Roberto do Couto Neves. Paulo, who shared Tarcila’s passion for cycling since her childhood, instilled in her a deep appreciation for sustainable living. By using recycled materials, the stand not only pays tribute to Paulo’s memory but also aligns with Tarcila’s commitment to environmental consciousness, serving as a poignant symbol of her journey and the interconnectedness between art, sustainability, and personal history.
Materials: Metal giclée
Biography: Tarcila Neves, a Brazilian/Canadian artist, began her journey in Rio de Janeiro’s Gueto district. Her artistry ignited at eight, exploring traditional techniques and refining skills. With an Industrial Design degree, she specialized in digital painting in Toronto and Concept Art in Vancouver. Despite immigration challenges, she pursued excellence. As an independent artist, Tarcila gained social media acclaim for blending fantasy, futurism, and surrealism. Her style features vibrant pastels, melting effects, and a love for feminine forms and nature. Tarcila innovatively integrates augmented reality, allowing viewers, including the visually impaired, to experience audio descriptions and music by scanning QR codes.
Location: Cadboro Bay Road
For Sale Cost: $3,000
Sponsor: Oak Bay Pharmasave
Swan
By Geemon Meng
Artistic Statement: “Swan” is a piece representing peace and unity in the current era. The graceful swan’s light blue colour is similar to the colour of the flags and clothing donned by United Nations peacekeepers. Its form harmoniously coexists with its surrounding environment, just as we coexist with the great natural diversity of this province, and even some native species of swans as well.
Materials: light blue fibreglass, foam
Biography: Born in 1968 in Inner Mongolia, Geemon immigrated to Toronto, Canada as a distinguished artist in 2004. He has exhibited his works in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and China, among other countries. Geemon became a member of the Sculptors Society of Canada in 2006 and founded the Vancouver Sculpture Studio in Vancouver in 2012. Geemon taught sculpture for 6 years to more than 100 students from more than 10 countries. He became an
elected member of the National Sculpture Society (USA) in 2018. That same year, he began construction on a 10 year long project to build an international sculpture program and sculpture garden in Washington State, USA. Geemon is currently working on a group of 40 life sized figures in a sculpture titled “Moment”. He currently resides in Vancouver, Canada.
Location: Oak Bay Avenue
For Sale Cost: $15,000
Sponsor: Oak Bay Tourism
