Rainbow Rocks on Arbutus Greenway Installation
BIG IDEAS School Project (York House School)
Date & Time
Date: Friday, June 9th, 2017
Time: 9:30 to 11:00 am
Where: Arbutus Corridor
Intersection of Nanton Avenue and Maple Crescent
York House School (YHS) Grade 2 students have been collaborating with the Arbutus Greenway and Vancouver Biennale Big IDEAS education program to create their own public art installation. Students have been reimagining a section of the Arbutus Corridor to serve the needs and wants of the local community. They have visited the site, interviewed community members and learned about the natural environment. To bring awareness to this space and community, the students collaborated with Biennale artist, Toni Latour. The students learned about public art, its role in creating community, and visited several of the Vancouver Biennale’s large scale public art installations across Metro Vancouver.
While visiting the Arbutus Corridor, students were inspired by the word happy stenciled in bright yellow on the asphalt. Students began to talk about how the bright colour and positive message made them feel. To add more colour to the corridor, students painted over 700 rocks in a spectrum of colours. On the rocks, students have written positive messages encouraging community members to “smile,” “count the trees” and “think about what this space could be.”
On June 9th from 9:30 – 11:00 am YHS grade two students will be installing 700 painted rocks on the Arbutus Greenway to inspire community engagement and awareness on the Arbutus Corridor. The rocks will be installed on each side of the asphalt between Nanton Road and Quilchena Park.
For more information about the project, visit York House School: Reimagining the Arbutus Greenway learning case.
