A public art installation featuring coloured lights and sound will beautify a Front Street fire escape this summer.

Biliana Velkova, the city’s arts coordinator, said Floralume will be installed on the Front Street staircase in July, in time for the return of this year’s Friday’s on Front.

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“Floralume will transform the industrial staircase in this historic area of New Westminster into an iconic new place-making sculpture,” she said.

On Monday, city council agreed to engage Monkey C Interactive to produce and install Floralume on the fire escape stairs at 642 Front St. The installation will cost $70,000.

David Parfit of Money C Interactive said Floralume is comprised of “organic vine-like structures made out of conduit” that work their way up the staircase structure, occasionally blooming out into floral shapes that will be made from repurposed street lamps. Sound and light will be controlled by people via controls at the base of the staircase.

“We build things that are really fun,” said Scott Amos of Monkey C Interactive. “You can’t hit a wrong note with this. You can’t actually make it sound bad, which is good for musicians and non-musicians alike. I’m not a musician, but I feel like one. It’s a really magical thing to feel how musicians feel.”

When Floralume is installed, people will be able to touch the “petals” located beneath the stairwell, triggering colour changes in the blooms (street lamps) throughout the structure and music from nearby speakers.

Amos said Floralume is based on technology Monkey C Interactive developed for an installation that was erected in Victoria a couple of years ago and has become a destination for people to visit and enjoy a unique, shared experience.

The City of New Westminster made headlines last summer when it built a $248,000 emergency staircase at the rear of 642 Front St., after eliminating the building’s emergency exit when it demolished part of the Front Street parkade and built the new mews. The staircase, which wasn’t immediately connected to the building and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, was soon dubbed the stairway to nowhere.

In an effort to improve the esthetics of the staircase, the city put out a call for submissions to artists to create an innovative and interactive public art installation. The artists were asked to consider a number of objectives for the project, including: to enhance appearance of staircase and add to the overall attractiveness of the public space around the structure; to develop a sense of place and community pride through public art; to create a contemporary and innovative art installation that inspires residents and visitors; and to integrate programmable, multimedia or new media components such as light or sound into the public art.

Velkova said the city received 42 submissions worldwide for its call for proposals. Of the four shortlisted proposals, the selection committee unanimously Floralume.

“I think it’s going to be really exciting,” said Coun. Mary Trentadue, who sits on the city’s public art advisory commission. “It’s going to be great for the community. The only problem will be the lineup.”

Coun. Patrick Johnstone said he’s looking forward to “jamming out” when the interactive piece is unveiled this summer.

“This is a situation where we had a fire escape we were required to build and it ws something that a lot of people in the community, including myself, thought it took away from what we were trying to do in a public space down on Front Street,” he said. “I’m really glad to see we are bringing something that is interactive and interesting.”