Stephen Avenue’s ‘trees’ adorned with kilometres of colourful, weather

May 16, 2023

Ribbons of red, orange, green and yellow have transformed an iconic downtown Calgary art installation into a colourful representation of the city's urban fabric.

Novus Textura, which officially launched Monday, involves more than 4.25 kilometres of hand cut straps that travel from massive ‘spools’ at ground level along Stephen Avenue and into the branches of the ten Galleria Trees located between the buildings of Bankers Hall and The Core shopping centre.

Local artists Gordon Skilling and Jolie Bird created the art piece, with Bird investing more than 400 hours into the hand weaving and stitching of the ribbons. Roughly eight kilometres of black thread was involved.

The 120 straps range in length from three to 24 metres and have been weather-treated to minimize damage caused by ultra-violet (UV) exposure. Heather McRae of the Calgary Downtown Association confirms to Global News that numerous studies were conducted beforehand into the effects of wind and weather on the strapping.

Planning for the project began during the COVID-19-pandemic, with a goal of revitalizing the area.

The temporary installation is expected to remain in place on Stephen Avenue for two years.

PrairiesCan committed federal funding for the project through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund. The cost of the art piece has not been released.