The Lacombe Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) has recently added three installations to their outdoor space.
The artwork includes metal additions to the guitar topiary that was created last year, a free-standing piece placed in the new sculpture bed next to the guitar topiary and a musical note on the southwest pony wall.
Donated in memory of their mother, Myrtle Pallister, the Pallister family sponsored the metal musical note and guitar hedge sculptures. Myrtle was an avid supporter of the arts in Lacombe and a dedicated community volunteer.
Myrtle was active in the Lacombe Performing Arts Festival, played the glockenspiel for the Lacombe Lions community band, and enjoyed listening to the United Church choir. She also volunteered at the Tuck Shop at the Lacombe Hospital and was an avid community supporter.
The sculptures are designed by Ellen Corea and fabricated by local metalworker Tristin Kerekes.
Inspired by the Comedy and Tragedy drama masks, Trenton Thomas Leach of Rogue Art and Design donated his sculpture It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times to the City of Lacombe Art Collection, placed on the LPAC grounds.
The sculpture is designed to express the polarity of mental illness.
The yellow section is indicative of the mask we wear, the façade of happiness; the blue section represents infinite sadness that lies behind the mask.
“My hope would be that the viewer can relate to their own experiences through this sculpture,” says Leach. “With the recent state of the world, I felt this topic is even more relevant. People were more isolated than they have ever been.”
As the grounds continue to flourish, the community is welcome to enjoy the green space and the art.
Playschool and summer camps have made full use of the space and LPAC is thrilled to have art be present for youth to experience as part of daily life.