Richmond’s No. 3 Road Art Columns share messages of hope, resilience and strength

17 August 2021

Those that travel along No. 3 Road near the Aberdeen and Lansdowne Canada Line stations can now enjoy a new art exhibition by three local artists. Until January 2022, the works of Aman Aheer, Anja Novkovic and Manuel Axel Strain will be on display in the large, backlit display cases at the base of the concrete columns near the two stations.

This exhibition is part two of the year-long showcase of artwork by local artists who have created work in response to the theme of Hope, Resilience and Strength. It is also part of the #RichmondHasHeart campaign, an initiative that began in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is one of many campaign-based initiatives that aims to bring the community, residents and businesses together to show their support for those working to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore new and meaningful ways to find connection and express solidarity and support for others in the community.

For more information about this program, visit www.richmond.ca/culture/publicart/whatsnew/no3rdartcolumns.

About the Artists and Artworks
Lansdowne Station: Aman Aheer is a queer painter of Indian heritage currently residing in Richmond. His work for this exhibition reflects on the idea of adaptation in the midst of rapid change and resilience of spirit in the context of uncertainty. His practice weaves textiles into the surfaces of his works and often mixes seemingly opposing or contradictory materials.

Lansdowne Station: Anja Novković is a Richmond-based artist. In her illustration work she often focuses on nature and employs symbolism, dreamy line-work and joyful colour palettes to depict flora and fauna. Her series of illustrations for this exhibition depict medicinal plants and animal species found in the Garden City Lands, aiming to venerate the natural bounty that surrounds local residents and to encourage an attitude of stewardship.

Aberdeen Station: Manuel Axel Strain is a non-binary Two-Spirit artist of Musqueam, Simpcw and Inkumupulux ancestry. Strain uses their art practice to confront and undermine the imposed realities of colonialism, proposing a new space beyond these systems of power. In Different Grounds, a series of photographic work for this exhibition they assert the presence of the Indigenous body to uplift and honour our relationships to the ground we all walk upon.