17th Ave SW

Tomkins Park, Calgary

Summer - Fall 2021

17 Ave 28 - Artist: Kiran Rai - Photographer: Brendan Klem copy.jpg

PARK is thrilled to announce that it has partnered with YYC hotspot, 17th Ave, to bring a vibrant new outdoor seating space along 17th ave and at Tomkins PARK. To bring the installation to life, we recruited local artist Kiran Rai, and duo The WKNDRS, to add some colour to the avenue with a series of picnic tables, benches, and other abstract seating designed and painted by the artists themselves.

Round up the crew, grab a bite from your favourite local dining spot to-go, and soak in the sunshine and sights of 17th Ave at one of our summer-themed picnic tables courtesy The WKNDRS. Or perhaps, take a much-needed rest at the parklet in front of Servus thanks to Kiran Rai.

Kiran Rai

Benches

“How did you develop the concept for this project?”

— I was focused on maximizing accessibility, while also creating a functional seating space and a fun design intervention. To maximize possibilities, I played with angles and levels of seating. It actually started as a parklet, and ended up breaking apart as pieces of street furniture that still respond to each other, and thus belong together.

Featured

17 Ave 19 - Artist: Kiran Rai - Photographer: Brendan Klem .jpg

17 Ave 2 - Artist: Kiran Rai - Photographer: Brendan Klem.jpg

17 Ave 28 - Artist: Kiran Rai - Photographer: Brendan Klem .jpg

17 Ave 25 - Artist: Kiran Rai - Photographer: Brendan Klem .jpg

The WKNDRS

Tables

“How did you develop the
concept for this project?”

— We were inspired by the fun happenings that go on on 17th Ave - shopping, eating out with friends, and rad hang outs - combined with bright, bold and optimistic shapes and colour play.

Featured

17 Ave 10 - Artist: The WKNDRS - Photographer: Brendan Klem.jpg

17 Ave 7 - Artist: The WKNDRS - Photographer: Brendan Klem.jpg

17 Ave 4 - Artist: The WKNDRS - Photographer: Brendan Klem.jpg

17 Ave 5 - Artist: The WKNDRS - Photographer: Brendan Klem.jpg

Featured Artists

Featured

Kiran Rai

Kiran Rai (KRAI) is a multidisciplinary Punjabi artist based out of Canada. Well versed in fine arts, design, and architecture, Kiran fuses her love of creating with embracing the public accessibility of the arts. She strongly believes in design by the people, for the people.

Engaging with topics surrounding women and their cultural, digital, and diasporic identities, she reflects and celebrates the collisions of ethnographics, while also working to decolonize western frameworks and investigate key social issues. Her recent artistic endeavours include showcasing in galleries, live painting, public murals, and NFT projects.

Always interested in experimenting with different styles and mediums, Kiran has completed her Masters in Architecture in which she lived in Tokyo part-time. She is also an avid world traveller, plant

mom, and iced chai connoisseur. She is curious to see how design and art can intersect to provide meaningful connections in everyday life.

WKNDRS

Claire Ouchi and Rachel Rivera met at Alberta College of Art & Design, majoring in Visual Communication. They now call BC home and have worked collaboratively together in the art, fashion and lifestyle industry for over 10 years as textile designers, artists and muralists. Key themes that have been ever present in their collaborative work over the years include unorthodox, light and playful aesthetics where colour plays an effervescent role.

Together Claire Ouchi and Rachel Rivera have founded the artistic lifestyle brand - WKNDRS. They are a multidisciplinary artistic duo that specialize in creating collaborative and interactive art experiences within the community. Their goal is to connect the community through artistic endeavours to make art and design accessible to all.