Image: City of Chilliwack / New public art was unveiled Thursday, January 12 at the corner of Young Road and Yale Road in downtown Chilliwack. Pictured (left to right) are Councillor Harv Westeringh, Vice Chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee; Patrick Stedman, committee member; Alicia O’Connell, TDH Fabricators; Councillor Bud Mercer; Councillor Nicole Read, Chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee; Trevor McDonald, Executive Director of the Downtown BIA, Terry Cross, committee member; Ryan Huston, committee member; and Mayor Ken Popove.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Five Corners public art

City of Chilliwack unveils public art at Five Corners towering over 10 feet tall

Jan 13, 2023 | 12:25 PM

CHILLIWACK — The work of Chilliwack artists David and Krista Kilvert now illuminates the corner of Yale Road and Young Road in downtown Chilliwack in what city officials and downtown advocates hope will be a public treasure.

In a news release from the City of Chilliwack Friday (Jan. 13), “Meetcha at the Five” was designed by the Kilverts and fabricated by TDH Experiential Fabricators.

It was formally installed on Thursday, Jan. 12 in front of the business building at 46115 Yale Road, currently occupied by CEPCO, the Business Improvement Association, and the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce.

In a statement, the City of Chilliwack said the piece was designed to honour the area’s Indigenous history and acknowledge Chilliwack’s growth into what it called a “uniquely vibrant and expanding urban Fraser Valley community.”

The spectacle features the number five stretching three metres tall, along with a sculpted bird and three berries affixed to it, highlighting the role nature plays in the community. The structure is fabricated with metal and polycarbonate, and LED lighting.

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Contained within the illuminated five are pictograms designed to reflect the area historically, and moving forward. The artists consulted with local First Nations leadership on the design of the pictograms and territory acknowledgement. The circular metal base of the piece reads, “Chilliwack is located on the traditional, cultural and unceded territory of the Ts’elxwéyeqw and Pelólhxw tribes of the Stó:lō Coast Salish peoples.”

Council ratified the conceptual design of the piece in June 2021, following recommendations from the Public Art Advisory Committee.

“The Public Art Advisory Committee was looking for a piece that would provide a strong visual and suit the area’s new look,” said Councillor Harv Westeringh, vice-chair of the Public Art Advisory Committee. “It was a pleasure to see local artists David and Krista Kilvert’s work on this piece to uniquely fit our community.”

The committee felt that this piece best met the requirements of the Request for Proposal, which were to increase foot traffic, animate Chilliwack’s historical downtown and draw attention to Chilliwack as a vital municipality that promotes arts, culture and tourism.

To learn more about public art in the City of Chilliwack, visit chilliwack.com/publicart.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

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City of Chilliwack unveils public art at Five Corners towering over 10 feet tall

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