Bronze at Barnett House

In honour of the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s 100th anniversary, they installed and dedicated a bronze sculpture outside of their office. ARTA generously contributed to the art piece.

The piece is titled “On the Shoulders of Our Teachers”, Bronze, and “Hopscotch”, Granite, 2018. By Brian McArthur and Dawn Detarando of Voyager Art & Tile.

This sculpture exemplifies the strength and importance of all teachers.

As mentors, guides and educators, teachers undeniably play important roles in our communities. They are charged with the heavy responsibility of fostering an environment of learning that is safe, empowering, and enlightening. They take on this duty with courage.

The artists captured the strength and compassion that teachers have for their students. This sculpture imaginatively portrays a student who is looking to the horizon and into the future while being supported on the shoulders of the teacher. This artwork is in homage to past, present, and future teachers who have inspired and will continue to inspire.

Along with this monumental sculpture, the artists created a playful and engaging “Hopscotch Game”. It tells the story of learning and teaching, and the history of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, using an interactive method. The start of the game has the image of Alberta’s first public schoolhouse, the “Edmonton 1881 School” and the Alberta Teachers’ Association insignia. It proceeds with images of various school subjects until it ends with the historical handbell.

This larger than life figurative statue was originally sculpted from plasteline clay in the Voyager Art & Tile Studio and then cast into bronze in the Studio West Foundry. The hopscotch game was constructed using a variety of granite, which was cut, sandblasted, and accentuated with colour. The project took well over a year to design, create and install.