Photo: Julia Goudkova / Facebook
The Vancouver Park Board has advised staff to leave the painted memorial bench dedicated to Colin Mackay in place - for now.
In June, local artist Julia Goudkova painted the Kitsilano Beach Park bench that was purchased to honour Mackay, her late partner, following his tragic, accidental death in 2015. However, the Board stated that it would remove the bench, as it violated policy. In response, Goudkova started a Petition entitled, “Ask Vancouver Park Board to keep Colin Mackay’s memorial bench,” which currently has 8,259 signatures and counting.
The Board responded to public outcry by allowing the bench to remain for the fourth anniversary of Mackay's passing on July 2. It noted that, "allowances need to be made to accommodate the many different ways in which people choose to express their grief and give life to memories that honour those no longer with us."
Following this, the Board held a meeting on July 23, ruling that it will, "investigate options to accommodate artistic enhancements to dedicated park benches under the Board’s park bench dedication program." In addition, staff will report back to the Board by Dec. 2019 with recommendations for expanding public art opportunities and artistic enhancement to Park Board benches.
Finally, the Board ruled that staff will leave Mackay's dedicated bench in place on an interim basis, and that it will work with his family on potential solutions, until Park Board Commissioners have had an opportunity to consider the staff report with recommendations.
In response to the ruling, Goudova mentions on her GoFundMe page that she has mixed emotions about the Board's decision. Specifically, she mentions how the Board made an, "amendment to the motion to exclude any paint or coatings to the benches."
Goudova adds that while Mackay's bench will remain until until the end of the year, its fate will be discussed further at the December Board meeting.
