An idea that started over a beer and was roughly drafted on a napkin has evolved into the latest addition to the City of Lethbridge Public Art Collection.

Aeolian Aviary, a collaborative installation by U of L alumni and art professor Denton Fredrickson and Art Studio facility manager Catherine Ross, was recently unveiled in its permanent location on the east side of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG).

Fredrickson and Ross were awarded the public art commission following a competition that attracted 40 submissions from across Canada and beyond. The selection committee consisted of representatives from Allied Arts Council, SAAG, a community member, an artist and a technical expert.

"It is exactly these kinds of awards and achievements that reflect so well on the creative and research work of the members of the Faculty of Fine Arts," says Desmond Rochfort, Faculty of Fine Arts dean. "It also helps to highlight the excellence of our creative activities and research endeavours, and underscores why the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts is increasingly the place of choice in Alberta for those wishing to study fine arts."

Aeolian Aviary combines the acoustic resonance of 16 wind and light-sensitive string instruments with the dynamic emergence of 67 bronze birds.