Fenhaven
In 2023, Misc. Activities was commissioned to present a design for a new development along the Burnaby Sculpture Walk. We were awarded the contract and are currently in the fabrication phase. Fenhaven Wetland Sculptural Installation will be unveiled, Summer 2027.
Fen is a wetland fed by a natural spring and haven is a safe place, a refuge and sanctuary.
Fenhaven Wetland art installation pays homage to the wetland as a model for sustainability, a harmonious community and symbol of natural wealth. Informed by the wetland environment, Fenhaven creates interest and awareness of critical environmental issues and the ways civilizations, cultures, and all living things have relied on wetlands since time immemorial.
Alliance-Marlborough community development is located between and nearby significant bodies of water, Burnaby Lake, Deer Lake, the Brunette River and the Fraser River and long before becoming the City of Burnaby, was a significant Cranberry harvesting route for local Indigenous people (as found in our research from the Burnaby Village Museum Archive).
Cranberries thrive in the peat-bog wetlands that predate and continue to exist around the watersheds of Burnaby. For its nutrition and trading value, Bog Cranberries were and continue to be an important plant to local hən ̓ q̓ əmin ̓ əm ̓ speaking people: Tsleil-Waututh, Stz’uminus, Qayqayt, Musqueam, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla and Stó:lō (https://native-land.ca/Metrotown).
Wetlands are lush and vibrant, nourish culture and community, and support specialised animal and plant life (such as the Bog Cranberry). In our proposed artwork, Fenhaven, we are paying homage to the wetland as a model for sustainability and symbol of natural wealth. Our conceptual streams are the following:
1. Wetlands are safe and vibrant communities
2. The Wetland is a beautiful “sanctum sanctorum” (Thoreau)
3. Wetlands as mentor for a sustainable environment
Fenhaven consists of four sculptural elements; Cranberry Vine Rain Sculptures, Landforms, Moss Clouds Soffits, and Cattail Gates & Balcony Guardrails that work in harmony to become a compelling wetland-inspired public art sculpture and environment.
