Vitality Coast Salish Family Sculpture

Thomas Cannell · Deer Lake Park, Burnaby, BC

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) · Medium: Carving, Basalt Sculpture & Metalwork · Necklace Project · Installed: 2010

A Musqueam artist was asked to reflect Burnaby's past. He went to the park with his family first — and let what he found there shape everything.

The Works

Deer Lake Park sits in the traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. In 2006, Coast Salish sculptor Thomas Cannell was commissioned here as part of the Necklace Project — a multi-city initiative conceived ahead of the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympic Winter Games, in which each Metro Vancouver municipality created a unique, locally interpreted artwork around a shared theme. What Cannell made is not one piece but two — companion works that together tell a complete story about land, life, and the enduring presence of Musqueam culture on this territory.

Vitality is the larger of the two — a carved sculpture presenting a traditional Coast Salish family amid four basalt stones, conveying the circle of life through traditional Coast Salish imagery. The rolling form mirrors the landscape of Deer Lake Park itself, the hills, the energy of families gathered there.

In Cannell's own words: "After the initial visit to Deer Lake Park with my own family, I was thrilled by all of the families there at dance classes and playing on the rolling hills. This has been directly incorporated into my design, through the rolling landscape and the energy flowing through the artwork."

Know Before You Go

Both works are outdoors in Deer Lake Park, Burnaby. Accessible year-round, free of charge. Vitality is a central sculptural installation on the open hillside. State of Nature is distributed across the park's waterway and drainage areas — allow time to walk the full area and find the iron grate installations along the water's edge. Wear appropriate footwear for uneven terrain.

Best time to visit: Spring and summer when the park's flora is in full growth — the relationship between the artwork and the living landscape is most apparent in the growing season.

Getting There

By Transit — SkyTrain Millennium Line to Burnaby Lake Station, then Bus 144 toward Deer Lake. Or Bus 130 from Metrotown Station to Deer Lake Park stop on Canada Way.

By Vehicle — Access via Sperling Avenue or Canada Way in Burnaby. Free parking at the Deer Lake Park lot off Sperling Avenue. 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver.

By Bike — Burnaby Lake cycling trails connect to Deer Lake Park. The Central Valley Greenway cycling route passes through the area. click here for a Bike Map

Allow at least 45 minutes on foot to walk the full park area and locate both works.

From the VCC: 30 minutes by SkyTrain and bus. From YVR: 45 minutes by Canada Line to Commercial-Broadway, then Millennium Line to Burnaby Lake.

CONTINUE THE TRAIL

→  Written in the Earth · Susan Point · SFU Campus, Burnaby · 4 km

→  Blanketing the City — Granville Island · Debra Sparrow · Granville Street Bridge · 14 km

→  People Amongst the People · Susan Point · Brockton Point, Stanley Park · 18 km