GIVE PEACE A CHANCE – Public Art
Ville Marie – Montreal
(Remembrance Road – Mount Royal Park )
(Public commission from the Ville de Montréal)
https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/siteofficieldumontroyal/patrimoine-artistique-commemoratif/give-peace-a-chance
https://artpublic.ville.montreal.qc.ca/en/oeuvre/give-peace-a-chance/
Ville-Marie, Montreal 2009 – Public Art
Mount Royal, Park
Public commission from the Ville de Montréal
The installation was produced marking the 40th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s visit to Montreal, during which the song “Give Peace a Chance” was recorded. This invitation to the world was issued in the context of the Vietnam war (1954–75).
The artwork borders one of the curves in the path leading to Olmsted Road, at the Peel entrance of Mount Royal Park.
It is defined by two rocks symbolizing the mountain. In an arch on the ground are 180 rectangular limestone flagstones, on 40 of which are engraved the sentence “Give peace a chance” in 40 languages.
The installation integrates elements and components, creating a space inviting reflection, in harmony with the vision of Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), the landscape architect who designed Mount Royal Park.
The artwork, produced jointly by the artist Linda Covit and the landscape architect Marie-Claude Séguin of Cardinal Hardy et associés, is a symbol of peace and a reflection of the social diversity that has been built in Montréal over the centuries.
The 40 languages are Algonquin, Arab, Armenian, Bengali, Creole, Croat, Danish, Dutch, English, English Braille, French, French Braille, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Huron-Wendat, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malagasy, Mandarin, Mohawk, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Yiddish.
Awards and honours:
• 2012 – Plannning Award for the Art Intervention « Give Peace a
Chance »
• 2012 – Prix aménagement, Les Arts et la Ville et Télé-Québec
• 2011 – Regional Citation in Landscape Management for the
Peel Entrance
• 2011 – CSLA Awards of Excellence
• 2010 – National Honour in Communications
• 2010 – CSLA Awards of Excellence
• 1988 – Prix d’Hydro-Québec, Florexpo
Linda COVIT, Marie-Claude SÉGUIN, Cardinal HARDY ET ASSOCIÉS
#Installation #Public art #LandscapeArchitecture
#Sustainability
Manufacturer • ARCO (1980) CIE Ltée
Transformation Éclipse Inc.
