Everyone has a hand in this mosaic art piece in St. Albert

Two artists with Red Knot Studio invited the public to add their own piece of tile to a mosaic art installation in St. Albert's Element Park.

The public gathered at the new Element Park in St. Albert on Saturday to make their contribution to an art installation that will commemorate its grand opening.

Red Knot Studio artists Erin Pankratz and Christian Pérès Gibaut invited people to add their own piece of tile to a final mosaic piece entitled ‘The Long Play,’ which will be embedded on the blank side of an outdoor bouldering wall in the park.

“We have come up with a funky, whimsical, crazy design that we are fabricating in (our studio), and right now we’re doing an engagement session with people to introduce them to what’s happening on the wall … They can put their mark on the wall and be part of it and experience what it’s like to play with the tiles,” Pankratz said at the park on Saturday.

“I think when people feel that they have ownership and a hand, and are invited to participate, that is welcoming, and it’s community building.”

The City of St. Albert finished work on the northernmost park in Erin Ridge North late last year. The updated space includes an outdoor rink, social ice, a bouldering wall, play area and open green space.

Red Knot Studio was tapped to create a “dynamic feature within the park designed to captivate both locals and visitors” after a round of applications, according to a media release.

The couple hasn’t revealed the final design – but Pankratz says to expect something that “engenders joy, and there’s a lot of movement involved.”

Pankratz and Gibaut’s work is not just found in St. Albert. The pair won national recognition for joint public art pieces that captured childlike imagination in Edmonton’s downtown core in October last year.

The final labour-intensive mural, which covers 240 square feet of wall, will start its 10-day installation process in September.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall