Edmonton artwork nominated for top 100 international public art projects

One of the phones from the Play it by Ear public art installation in Butler Memorial Park in Edmonton can be seen on July 03, 2025. (Evan Klippenstein/CTV News Edmonton)

An Edmonton public art work has been nominated for an international award.

The interactive art installation Play it by Ear was created by Calgary artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett and installed in Butler Memorial Park in 2023.

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Park visitors can pick up one of the brightly coloured phones to send a call to a matching phone somewhere else in the park, hopefully sparking a conversation with whoever stops to pick it up.

If no one answers, the phones record a message that can be listened to by other visitors.

“It’s really encouraging that community connection,” said Renée Williams, executive director of Edmonton Arts Council (EAC).

Williams said the installation has been nominated as one of public art industry leader CODAworx’s Top 100 Public Art Projects for 2025. It will compete against 281 entries from 14 countries.

“We’re going to find out in August if we’ve been selected, and (we’re) so excited to see what comes of that,” she said. “Public art is such an important part of what the EAC does here in the city”

“We’ve got such a great public art program that’s recognized nationally,” she added. “We have different cities that reach out all the time to understand what it is that we do.”

According to Williams, there are about 300 pieces of public art in Edmonton. She encourages Edmontonians to visit the EACwebsite to learn more and find out where to go to find installations and artworks to engage with.

“There’s a story behind every single piece in the collection, so understand the story, understand the connection, and understand the place that it’s in and what it represents – and you might find yourself coming to be a big fan of public art,” she added.