New colourful art, seating installed in Halifax’s Raymond Taavel Park

A new public art and seating installation has been installed at the Raymond Taavel Park in downtown Halifax.

A park in downtown Halifax named in honour of a late local activist is now home to colourful new art and seating for visitors.

The installation – called “A Place for Everyone” – is now on display at Raymond Taavel Park on the corner of Barrington and Inglis streets.

Taavel, a well-known gay rights advocate, was attacked and killed outside a gay bar on Gottingen Street in 2012.

The new display features colourful structures that form a bench, tables and a light beacon.

It was funded by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC)’s Gritty to Pretty grant program and conceptualized by the Halifax-based OSO planning + design agency.

DHBC asked applicants to add creativity, vibrancy and queer joy to the park.

“This new infrastructure celebrates the 2SLGBTQIA+ stories that continue to shape Halifax,” says OSO project coordinator Jen Frail.

“The bench idea (and design) emerged from community engagement sessions and is a tribute to the hope and love it takes to build a kinder, safer, more compassionate city together.”

DHBC says it has supported more than 50 local artists through its ‘Gritty to Pretty’ grant program since 2015.

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