Salmon sculptures for Coquitlam's 125

They stand more than six feet tall, six feet wide and three feet deep.

And, starting this summer, a dozen of them will dot the landscape at parks and public venues around Coquitlam.

For its 125th anniversary, the city commissioned Squamish Nation artist Jody Broomfield to make 12 salmon sculptures similar to the Spirit bear and orca statues that were auctioned off a decade ago for the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities.

Those public art pieces are now scattered around the province but the salmon will stay local and be uniquely Coquitlam.

The city is calling for artists and artistic teams to decorate Broomfield’s legacy salmon and, on Monday, it will host an information session to talk about beautifying the fish.

Lynda Baker, Coquitlam’s cultural and community events co-ordinator, said the Coquitlam 125 Anniversary Steering Task (CAST) Force is looking for designs that will reflect the city’s past, present and future as well as reinforce the theme of the milestone year: Stories Told, Stories to be Created.

An emphasis will be placed on First Nations artwork, too, because of the salmon link to the city’s name: “Coquitlam” is derived from the Kwikwetlem First Nation meaning “red fish up the river.”

The story told is that the Coquitlam River once teemed with sockeye salmon but, when the dam was built in the early 1900s, the species disappeared; however, because of the recent work between the native band and BC Hydro, the sockeye has now returned to spawn.

Broomfield said he wanted to celebrate the success story by incorporating the letter “C” (for Coquitlam) in the shape of his fish. Also, he wanted the iconic symbol to smile about its homecoming. “I wanted a happy salmon,” he said.

Broomfield, whose First Nation carvings can also be seen at the entrance to Port Moody city hall with the welcoming posts, said he hopes the artists selected to decorate his salmon will be bold with their images. “They’re a blank canvas,” he said of his 12 forms. “People should think outside the box and test their boundaries, use their imagination.”

• Artists or artistic teams wanting to decorate a salmon can attend an information session on Monday, Feb. 15 at the Innovation Centre (1207 Pinetree Way, beside Evergreen Cultural Centre) at 7 p.m. Candidates have until March 15 to apply via coquitlam.ca/bidopportunities. The finished pieces will be unveiled at the Kaleidoscope arts festival at Town Centre Park on July 23 and 24.

Resource: http://www.tricitynews.com