Online outcry over garbage cans placed over mosaic prompts response from Rogers Place

Rogers Place said measures have been taken to ensure garbage cans won’t be placed on a centerpiece of Ford Hall – the Alex Janvier mosaic piece.

The piece, called Tsa Tsa Ke K’e (Iron Foot Place) by artist Alex Janvier was revealed on September 8 in a ceremony in Ford Hall.

The mosaic tile floor inlay represents the natural beauty of the Edmonton area.

 On Wednesday, during the Edmonton Oilers home opener at Rogers Place, comments on the placement of garbage cans and flags over the piece started surfacing online – and a photo taken Tuesday, October 4 of two garbage cans placed on the piece was reposted.

The photo was originally posted online by Wayne Chow, who posted it on Instagram October 4.

 

 

This is how we honor one of our greatest artists and the piece de resistance of the Winter Garden by putting garbage cans on this beautiful mosaic? #oilers #unacceptable #art #appreciateart #yeg #wintergarden #fordhall

A photo posted by vwayner (@vwayner) on Oct 4, 2016 at 8:33pm PDT

 

That photo ignited a small protest on social media – Chow told CTV News he had seen the garbage cans had been in the same place since the preseason game, but by the end of Wednesday’s home opener, the cans had been moved.

On Thursday, Oilers Entertainment Group Communications VP Tim Shipton had responded with a statement:

“We were alerted to the inadvertent positioning of waste receptacles on the Janvier mosaic last night. We acted immediately to remove them and have reviewed with our Rogers Place staff to ensure the situation does not occur again. The Janvier Mosaic is one of the most beloved features in Rogers Place and we respect its importance.”

The mosaic was commissioned for Ford Hall as part of the city’s Percent for Art program, where one percent of construction costs of any new development go to public art.