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A council committee has voted to continue the suspension of Calgary’s embattled public art program while work is completed to repair “trust” with Calgarians and members of the arts community.

The city’s public art program was suspended in the fall of 2017 amid the outcry following the unveiling of the controversial Bowfort Towers installation on the Trans-Canada Highway. The $500,000 piece faced a slew of criticism, including that the city and the American artist behind the project had belatedly consulted with Indigenous groups, with some First Nations leaders suggesting it amounted to cultural theft.

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Wednesday’s meeting saw the new leader of the city’s public art program proposing to rebuild “trust and credibility” with a strategy aimed at improving the transparency and accessibility of the public art program, while prioritizing more investments in local talent.

Committee members also voted unanimously to maintain the freeze on new projects until 2020 to give city staff more time to figure out the details of the proposed changes.