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No one from the city’s public art department was available to answer followup questions.

Marc Iturriaga, executive director with the Genesis Centre, said they’ve been working with the city to see if Wishing Well can be reintegrated to the site, but if there are no easy solutions, they would like to see an alternative piece of art to grace the community hub in Martindale.

“For us, there’s a definite appetite for an art installation at the Genesis Centre,” said Iturriaga, who noted there had been some discussion last year about integrating Wishing Well into a planned skate park slated to open in the coming months, but it was deemed unfeasible.

“If Wishing Well is not going to work in this space, we’re happy to explore other opportunities. We want artwork that reflects the community, that reflects the artist’s vision, and doesn’t burn people.”

Area Coun. George Chahal said spending $180,000 to repair a sculpture that already cost the city half-a-million dollars is a non-starter, and he’s hoping the city’s public art team can find a new safe spot for Wishing Well, while also filling the void left at the Genesis Centre.

“It was a popular piece of art and it was quite nice, but it was burning people — art should not attack people,” the rookie councillor said.

“At the Genesis Centre, we do need something and we need to have a good discussion about what that looks like in that location.

“The residents of northeast Calgary and Ward 5 deserve to have some appropriate art. There needs to be some sort of compensation for that public art that’s not there.”