This virtual will take you on a tour of some cool public art in and around the former King Edward School (now cSPACE Marda Loop). Current hours are Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm. They are closed Sundays and all major holidays.
ALL VISITORS ARE WELCOME. THERE IS NO FEE TO ENTER AND ALL OF THE PUBLIC ART IS FREE TO VISIT.
It really is a fantastic space to wander around and explore. I hope you enjoy it.
Photo from the Glenbow Archives
King Edward School was constructed using sandstone from the Oliver Brothers quarry, which was located near the modern-day intersection of Crowchild Trail and 17th Avenue SW. The four-storey, 26-room school opened during the first week of November 1913, with William Aberhart as principal. The school housed the RCAF’s wireless training school during the Second World War. In 1969, a large crack in the wall joining the west wing to the rest of the school was discovered. Efforts to preserve the wing failed and it was demolished in 1978 (hence the funky new wing you see today).
King Edward closed its doors as a public school in 2001 after a decline in inner-city enrolment, despite valiant efforts by parents and the neighbourhood. It sat vacant and derelict for 11 years, before the building was purchased with the intention of transforming it into a creative community hub for artists, designers, musicians and makers. The building officially re-opened to the public in 2017.
Your task is to check out the AMAZING public art here.
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To start, visit Waypoint 1, behind the building's parking lot. Please take note of the cache logging requirements at all 3 stops.
“We Are All Treaty People” by Nathan p. Meguinis and Doug Driediger, was originally a whimsical portrait of the building’s namesake, King Edward, but then in 2021, with the heartbreaking discovery of the buried remains of hundreds (and now thousands) of Indigenous children at former residential schools, the colonial nature of the mural called for a reconsideration. Celebrated illustrator and muralist Nathan Meguinis, collaborating with the original artist, Doug Driediger, added a striking portrait of Chief Bull Head to the right hand side of the mural. Magpies travel from one side to the other, carrying orange ribbons that represent the spirits of the children lost to residential schools. The mural has now become a symbol of hope for a new future.
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Now head to Waypoint 2, the contemporary entrance at the NE corner of the building. Take a moment to check out the Honens Piano by Eveline Kolijn, that has been intricately “decorated with the rhythms and patterns of Alberta.”
Enter the stairwell, and make your way up to the top.
"Imaginarium" by daniel j kirk and Katie Green, uses a multimedia approach to transform the contemporary main entrance of the building into a space devoted to the imagination. The work activates the entire four-storey stairwell, with a mixed material installation/mural, using low relief, collage, built material, light and shadow (LED lighting), silhouettes and screens.
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Finally, head to Waypoint 3 (on the first floor), enter the vestibule of the historic front doors on the south side, and look up!
“Yesterday Today Tomorrow” by Caitland r.c. Brown, Wayne Garrett and Lane Shordee, is a kinetic installation visualizing the complex passage of time. It consists of 105 hourglasses, filled with sand crushed from the sandstone bricks collected from the building during renovations. The hourglasses flip at intervals from 1-minute to 12-hours. At noon and midnight, every hourglass rotates at exactly the same time.
I hope you take your time and explore a bit. There are numerous other public art pieces to be found, both inside and outside the building, and the glass floors in the basement that expose the historic boilers, is also pretty cool.
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TO CLAIM A FIND
This virtual has both a creative component and a technical component:
1. CREATIVE COMPONENT
Okay, good geocacher, show me your creative side! I want to see your artistry on display. Bring your sketchbook with you, and draw something while you're visiting. Could be a drawing of the building, or your dog, or...whatever you want! You could even write a poem. Don't worry, there's no judging here, just have fun!
Take a photo of whatever you come up with and add it to your log. One catch: the photo of your sketch must be clearly taken while visiting (such as from inside the King Edward, or having the building in the background, but again, get creative!)
2. TECHNICAL COMPONENT
Message me the answers to the following questions:
At WP1, there is a four-letter word stenciled around the corner from the west side of the mural; what is it?
At WP2, in the Imaginarium stairwell, find the water fountain/bird bath. What is the colour of the bird sitting on top of the fountain?
At WP3, along the walls are a series of dog tags. Pick one of those tags and tell me what it says. Any tag will do.
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Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.