Don DimanligOttawa has been given another chance to re-imagine the public purpose and identity of 100 Wellington St., a decade after Stephen Harper’s Conservative government halted plans to turn the former U.S. embassy into a national portrait gallery.
If we confine our creativity and choose a safe and unimaginative future for the space — including the portrait gallery — then we will watch a golden opportunity pass us by. This is a chance to do something truly unexpected and innovative.
For almost 20 years, the former embassy has sat vacant directly across from Parliament Hill. The building is still admired for its white marble lobby, oak paneling and Italian neoclassical design, but has largely been gutted as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation.
The place is rich with possibility.
Imagine yourself standing in the centre of what seems to be a limitless space where thousands of motion-activated golden lights hang above you. Each light momentarily illuminates the room and then fades into darkness. You are enveloped by a “seemingly infinite horizon” and are then “confronted by an equally infinite void.” This is Kusama: At the End of the Universe, an exhibit by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Or envision yourself wading in a foot of water while computer animated koi fish in green, red and yellow swim around your feet. One fish collides with your body, turns into a flower and scatters. In another room, long strands of crystals glisten in rays of purple, pink and blue as they hang from the ceiling all around you. Like 100 sparkling stars they twinkle as the room pulses between darkness and light.
These are two of Tokyo’s DMM.PLANETS art exhibits by teamLab.
Each of these displays incorporate elements of storytelling, engagement, fluidity and even disorientation. They are the kind of exhibit that can leave an audience in awe — and Canada should take note.
The Canadian government recently sought the public’s opinion on six potential uses for 100 Wellington: a museum, an interpretive centre for Parliament, a Capital Information Centre, an indigenous cultural facility, a “Canada house” celebrating the country’s achievements, and a gallery. Though respondents were invited to offer other ideas, the portrait gallery idea still remains the most popular choice.
But this is not the time for Canada or its capital to play it safe. This is an opportunity for us to stand out.
Younger generations in Canada are technologically adept and are connecting constantly via social media to stimulate their minds. The re-imagining of 100 Wellington should be pursued with this generation and their future in mind.
Ottawa has grabbed the attention of a younger crowd before with, for example, the Canadian Museum of Nature’s “Nature Nocturne” night-club soirées, and the city’s yearly House of Paint urban art and hip-hop festival in Ottawa. These events exemplify innovation, immersion and creativity.
The federal heritage building and ex-embassy has been a landmark on Wellington Street for almost 85 years. While the exterior of the building represents a noble impulse to preserve the past, what we do on the inside could signal our bold embrace of the future.
This is an opportunity to make people say: “Wow.”
— Alanna Smith