THE City of North Vancouver will be yarnbombed after all.
After a rancorous debate, city council agreed to put $7,500 in public funds toward an unnamed "community art project."
Arts Office staff, however, made no secret they intended to use the money for a guerilla knitting proposal specifically rejected by councillors last week.
The idea would see knitters decorate public spaces with pieces of woolen art similar to those that have begun appearing unsolicited in recent years on trees, poles and other public property.
The absence of Coun. Don Bell, the return of Coun. Guy Heywood, and Coun. Linda Buchanan's change of heart on Monday combined to swing the decision.
"I said last week that I liked the concept of yarnbombing," said Buchanan, who asked for the issue to be brought back on the city's agenda. "But I didn't have enough information, therefore I felt I couldn't move forward. I got the information I was looking for, and I'm quite satisfied with what's been provided to me."
Buchanan noted that the $7,500 only came up at council because it had been returned from another public art project - a decorative concrete street bench - that hadn't been able to go forward. The money, Buchanan argued, was still the Arts Office's to spend as it saw fit.
Public art co-ordinator Lori Phillips provided council with an overview of temporary public art installations and showed examples of large-scale, co-ordinated yarnbombing, which involves wrapping public objects in colourful knitting.
"Yarn is another way to engage the community in their environment," said Phillips. "For this project, we're talking about organizing a group of people and working with them over a period of eight months to create bigger yarnbombing installations."
Phillips said she expected roughly 200 people, including seniors and students from high school and Capilano University, would be provided with a kit and the tutelage of a professional artist.
The project, she said, had the backing of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council.
"We made a decision about a fiscal envelope for public art," Heywood said, "and I would like to see us follow through with that. This is not the body that is going to be qualified to be making decisions about exactly what kind of public art it should be. That said, it's not a black-and-white line. I think the arts council has to operate within some sense of the sensibilities of council."
"Boy, that was quite the waffling statement," said Coun. Pam Bookham. "Talk about wanting to have it both ways. I'm not happy with this motion, because it doesn't specifically rule out yarnbombing.
"What you're trying to do," Bookham continued, addressing Buchanan, "is un-ring the bell . . . I think we were quite clear last week that we found the use of taxpayers' dollars for this purpose difficult to defend."
Bookham reiterated her stance that the activity was best left to community groups.
"We specifically said no," agreed Coun. Rod Clark. "I find myself somewhat taken aback at the disingenuousness nature of this recommendation. I think it is disingenuous to say we'll just give the money back, and they can spend it any way they want."
Mayor Darrell Mussatto interrupted and said he wouldn't allow Clark to question the intentions of another councillor, but Clark managed to use the word "disingenuous" several more times before the mayor shouted him down.
"Are you going to call the sergeant-at-arms to get me out of here?" retorted Clark. "This is a total lack of respect for taxpayers' dollars."
Mussatto said: "Just as we have library boards to make sure politics stays out of buying library books, we have a public arts steering community to make sure politics stays out of public art."
Council voted 4-2 to pass the $7,500 to the North Vancouver Community Arts Council, which will ultimately decide how to spend it.
balldritt@nsnews.com
