Art gallery in a parkade: New apartment complex features handcrafted murals

EDMONTON -

An apartment building in south Edmonton will have a unique attraction in its underground parking garage.

The new 358-rental unit Louvre at Century Park building features an art gallery on its parkade pillars.

Forty-four local artists got the opportunity to paint support columns within the parking garage and compete for five cash prizes. The winner of the top prize will take home $5,000.

Artists were asked to create images inspired by Paris or items held in the Louvre Museum’s collection to match the residential building’s name.

Painters came in every Saturday for the past five weeks to bring their creations to life.

“We’ve had a really great response,” said George Schluessel, CEO of ProCura Real Estate Services. “We really wanted to create the theme of the Louvre.”

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Louvre at Century Park (@livelouvreyeg)

For Schluessel, parkades are often simply a transit point.

“When we were developing this building, the parkade with high ceilings and a skylight, it just lent itself to a great opportunity to involve art into the project,” Schluessel said.

One of the artists, Peter Gegolick, told CTV News Edmonton that the project has been a rewarding experience, as he got to meet and learn from other artists as they created their work.

“Painting in a parkade isn’t the first place you would think of doing artwork, but I love art doing competitions and meeting other artists,” Gegolick said. “It’s really crazy almost seeing almost all the finished pieces at this point.

“I think it was a cool and fun concept to take things that are in the Louvre that are very much structured and have been around for centuries and really put this cool spin on it,” he added.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Louvre at Century Park (@livelouvreyeg)

Grace Beaudin, another artist competing for the prize, said the paintings have brought a new life and character to an otherwise drab or cookie-cutter part of an apartment building.

“It just makes everything so much more alive,” she said. “There’s so many different styles of art and techniques, it’s beautiful.

“There’s some absolutely stunning pieces of work in here,” Beaudin added.

The prize winners will be announced on Nov. 27. Online voting runs from Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Geraldine Soh (@geri.pics)