City announces winners of Centennial Park Festival Plaza Art Competition

December 3, 2020

This summer, the City of Fort St. John, with support from the Fort St. John Arts Council, hosted a public art competition offering local artists the opportunity to leave a lasting impression in the Centennial Park Festival Plaza.

The Centennial Park Festival Plaza includes four fire obelisks surrounding the performance oval; each contains a large gas-fueled fire cauldron within an enclosed steel structure. Each obelisk features cut-out designs on the four flat metal sides inspired by one of four themes. During special events, the natural gas-fuelled flames will be both beautiful and provide heat and light for people using the plaza.

Over a dozen entries were received from local artists, with a three-member selection panel selecting the four winners:

Kirstyn Kerr


Joely Percival


Ovvian Castrillo Hill


Alison Newth

The obelisks were fabricated by Arctech Welding and Machining and will be installed at the Centennial Park Festival Plaza shortly.

The plaza design has strong influences from local ecology, landforms, culture and events developed through conversations with local First Nations and community members, and additionally features:

  • Eight leaning wood poles mimicking the placement of natural wood poles as the skeleton structure of a teepee, artistic paving patterns
  • Artistic paving patterns throughout the site with a variety of coloured concrete surfaces, including a coloured river that mimics the alignment of the Peace River through the Fort St. John region
  • Bronze paw prints impressed directly into the concrete surfaces placed to exactly replicate true gaits and spacing of each animal

“The quality of the submissions for this art competition was truly spectacular. The four winning artists were able to create unique designs that capture the beauty of Fort St. John and we cannot wait to showcase these creations,” said Mayor Lori Ackerman.

For more information about the Centennial Park Festival Plaza, visit www.fortstjohn.ca/festival-plaza.

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Media Contact:
Ryan Harvey
Communications Coordinator
250 794 3313