Alex Janvier's tile mosaic wins downtown arena art commission

AlexJanvierdescribes his art work as a meeting place, and piece by piece hell watch as its laid down at the heart of Edmontons new meeting place, the downtown arena.

Janvier was chosen from a list of Canadian and international artists to create an immense artwork, 150 square metres, for the arena building.

Fitting, given his love of hockey, a sport he played until he was 63 andhis legs gave out.

Its the only thing thats been closest to the native people, because thats what they played on the ice ... it was one tribe against the other tribe and it would settle the difference that way, he said,describing why hockey matters to aboriginal people.

Instead of Wayne Gretzky, we could have had Wayne Two-feathers or something like that, its possible, its possible... today.

And thats whatJanviersees in the new arena - possibilities. The possibility to believe that the past can be part of the future.

Janviers past informs his art. Hes from the Le Goff Reserve near Cold Lake and is ofDeneSulineandSaulteauxdescent. When he was eight, he was sent to a residential school near St. Paul. While there,he was given the supplies to create his first painting.

He graduated with honours from Calgary's Alberta College of Art in 1960 and has had his art displayed all over the world, including a piece entitled Morning Starthat now hangs at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec.

Standing in front of a depiction of the art,Janviergestured to the blue, the flow of the North Saskatchewan River and all the tiny tributaries that feed into it.

I think the character of the area, the sky, the water, the rivers flow and the hills.

This was really a very, very important meeting place for all the tribes, and then when the fur trade came this became a central trading area.

The unveiling ceremonywas attended by Janvier's family, members of the Edmonton art council and city staff.

The lines of Janviersart intersect, much like his love of art and hockey, dancing in acontinuous, and soon to be immense circle.

His art will be transformed into a massive mosaic , 150 square metres of tiny tiles, assembled by a team, overseen byJanvier. Once constructed, it will be laid inside the winter gardenpedwayfloor stretching across 104th Avenue - a circle 13 metres in diameter.

I dont know where the winter gardens is ... but it must be some place in that building, saidJanvier.

His vision will take a year to make, six weeks to install. His will be one of four public art commissions in the downtown arena area, worth a total of $1.6 million.

The works fall under the citys Percent for Art program, where one per cent of the construction costs of city-funded projects must go to public art.

The arena competition attracted 184 artists from around the world, with the winnersselected by a group of 10 anonymous judges.

Special way to honour Treaty Six territory

Mayor DonIvesoncalledJanvier'spiece "spectacular," and "a special way to honour our place on Treaty Six territory and celebrate our rich and shared history."

We feel there is no one better to capture the spirit of Edmontons deep history as a meeting place for aboriginal people and subsequent newcomers, said PaulMoulton, executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council.

Quick to make a joke about the losingOilers,Janviersaid hes honoured to have his artwork chosen for the downtown arena project, a piece he said really belongs to all of us.

And that good ole game of hockey thatJanvierrecalls with fondness? He wore number 16, the same year that Rogers Place arena is set to open, 2016.

• On mobile? Listen to the Edmonton AM interview with Alex Janvier and Aaron Paquette here