Public Art
Art helps us tell the story of who we are, and who we want to be. Burnaby regularly commissions new artworks for public spaces to mark important milestones, gateways, places and passages. As part of an expansive and vibrant network of artistic expression, public art harnesses new ideas, generates discussion about the past, present, and future, and translates experiences between residents. Burnaby’s Civic public art program reflects the myriad perspectives and traditions present across the city. Through community engaged art practices, it seeks to build connections and create inclusive expressions shaped by collaboration and shared experience.
Community public art
Community-engaged public art is shaped through collaboration and community participation.
Angie Quintanilla Coates, Common Ground, 2026
Created by artist Angie Quintanilla Coates, this joyful basketball mural at Willingdon Heights Park features geometric shapes that symbolize community values. The mural was made in collaboration with Buckets & Borders and engaged more than 40 youth from neighbouring Burnaby schools and youth groups in its design process.
Taryn Walker with Burnaby Youth, Visions in Concord, 2026
This collaborative artwork features textiles by 19 young artists from across Burnaby and a group of dedicated mentors from MOSAIC, Simon Fraser University, and REACH initiative. Led by artist Taryn Walker, the installation reflects the aspirations, experiences and creative voices that emerged as participants explored identity, belonging and dreams throughout the process.
Dawn Lo, Let’s Grow a River Together, 2026
Let’s Grow a River Together brings together inspiration from more than 450 community members who took part in Art in the Park community art sessions across five Burnaby parks. The colours, patterns and imaginative approaches created by participants become part of the garden wonderland mural designed by artist Dawn Lo at Edmonds Spray Park.
Temporary public art
Public Art produces a range of temporary installations and activations in the community, explore our current and recent initiatives.
Art in the Open
Discover the beauty of art right in your community with Art in the Open. This innovative public art project showcases a selection of 12 stunning artworks from the City of Burnaby’s Permanent Art Collection. These large-scale reproductions will be displayed in community centres and public spaces until the end of 2026.
Art Stop
Art Stop shares ten artistic bus stops in Burnaby that feature designs by five local artists. On temporary view, the works range from collage, illustration and photography and touch on themes connected to the urban environment, transportation and landscapes both real and imagined.
Dan Bergeron, Portals, 2026
A new mural by Dan Bergeron at Lougheed pedestrian overpass invites passersby to contemplate movement—through space and through time. Many who encounter this work will be passing through the tunnel, and the mural may be a simple wayfinding marker. For those who pass by regularly, however, the artist wonders about their lives.
Permanent public art
Burnaby has a growing collection of public art created through unique commissioning opportunities. Civic artworks are part of the City of Burnaby Public Art Collection managed through the Burnaby Art Gallery. Our active private sector public art program supports commissions in private sector development. All artworks are catalogued in the City’s Public Art Registry.
Nancy Rubins, Winnie’s Pleasure, 2025
Winnie’s Pleasure is a site-specific permanent sculpture composed of found canoes and reflects the surrounding Brentwood community and the region, as well as nearby Burnaby Lake, that is home to a canoe and kayaking club and rowing club. With multiple vantage points, pedestrians may gaze up into the work as if it were a great tree, or experience it as a dynamic punctation of colour on the streetscape as seen from the Skytrain.
Nathan Lee, Hak Chu/Pak Chu, 2021
In the 1990s, during a renovation designed to preserve heritage at Deer Lake Park, artifacts were discovered. Among them was a single white "Pak Chu." These tiny game pieces and their black counterparts, "Hak Chu," were used by early Chinese labourers in a game of chance.
In 2025, artist Nathan Lee and illustrator Marlene Yuen, bring together the complex Chinese Canadian history to life. Read the graphic comic in:
Myfanwy Macleod, Cosmos (I am as constant as the northern star), 2022
A mural executed in mosaic tiles, located at a building on the corner of Imperial and Dunblane Avenue. The tile mosaic presents the location of the stars as seen on January 18, 2018, the date the construction on this building began. Set in a prominent location on the outside of the building, the artwork transforms the building’s corner plaza into a celestial cornerstone.
Upcoming civic public art commissions
- Adad Hannah, TimeLine at Burnaby Lake Recreation Complex
- Susan Point and Jonas Jones at Cameron Community Centre & Library
Upcoming private sector public art commissions:
Brentwood
- Maskull Lasserre, The Visitors, commissioned by Aoyuan International
- Eva Rothschild, Open Arms, commissioned by Onni Group
- Kambiz Sharif, Growth, commissioned by Beedie Living
- James Harry, Breach, commissioned by Shape Properties
Edmonds
- Susan Point, Salish Spirit, commission by Open Road Properties
- Russna Kaur, Title to be determined, commissioned by Square Nine Developments Inc.
Metrotown
- Eli Bornowsky, Title to be determined, commissioned by Artillery Developments Ltd.
- Marian Penner Bancroft, WindWaveWeave, commissioned by Rize Alliance Properties
- Victoria Fard, Title to be determined, commissioned by Concord Pacific
- James Harry, All My Relations, commissioned by Kingborn Properties
- Tsēmā & Jonathan Igharas, Fenhaven, commissioned by Reliance Properties
- Objects of Common Interest (Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis), Title to be determined, commissioned by Bosa Properties
- Soo Sunny Park, Title to be determined, commissioned by Anthem Properties Group Ltd.
- Debra Sparrow, Weaving the Wind, commissioned by Westland Living
- Lyse Lemieux, Skirted Herons, commissioned by Concord Pacific
- Ken Lum, Title to be determined, Commissioned by Polygon Onyx Homes Ltd.
- Luke Marston, Title to be determined, commissioned by IDS Group
- Rachelle Sawatsky, Each rainbow droplet, crashing down a waterfall, makes a light spectrum, commissioned by Beijing Shokai Vancouver Metrotown Project Ltd.
- Brandon Vickerd, Title to be determined, commissioned by Concord Pacific
Resources
The City of Burnaby Public Art Policy documents provide guidance for the acquisition, installation, interpretation, maintenance and lifecycle planning of artworks in public areas.