Here are the 5 candidates for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa
Feds taking feedback until Nov. 28, monument expected to be done in 2025
The federal government wants to know what Canadians think about five potential designs for a new monument in Ottawa to honour victims of its LGBTQ2+ purge.
The LGBTQ2+ National Monument is a partnership between the federal government and the LGBT Purge Fund created from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the government.
The monument will be placed in a grassy area on the Ottawa end of the Portage Bridge, just west of Parliament Hill.
The goal, according to a federal news release sent Monday, is to choose a winning design early in 2022 and have the monument completed by 2025. The selection team will weigh several considerations, including public feedback, which is open until Nov. 28, and not limited to only LGBTQ2+ people or Ottawa residents.
Below are the five designs, in alphabetical order. More information about the proposals can be found in the individual hyperlinks.
Team Durling
This design is a pearl ring that "bonds us together, to share experiences, celebrate, and commemorate, holding space for all who enter."
It would be surrounded by seven landscaped zones inspired by the seven grandparent teachings of First Nations people including the Anishinaabe and Mi'kmaq.
Team MASS
Its pitch has two main parts: a bowl holding a sunken garden with a waterfall off one lip, and a plaza.
"Our vision combines the intimacy of a singular portal, as a place of transition — where we move from who we were, who we are, and who we can become."
Team OnCommon Ground
It sees a monument with an outer concrete wall representing government oppression, with a small passage "with visceral reminders of the pain of LGBTQ2+ discrimination."
Inside, there would be a central sculpture, garden and event space, with the government's apology for the purge etched on its inner walls.
Team SOM
This space would have a meadow and lawn surrounding hundreds of stainless steel wands and, in the middle, a heated communal table.
A sound installation would play recordings from "fruit machine" tests, which tried to determine if someone was gay so they could be fired from their government jobs.
Team Wreford
This team's idea has a mirrored thunderhead in a large column at its centre, with space for larger events outside and smaller gatherings inside.
"It rises up as our community has risen up to say, 'We demand change.'"
