The Conversation Bench - Castlegar, British Columbia
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 18.412 W 117° 38.872
11U E 452905 N 5461771
This most impressive and massive conversation bench is at the Mir Centre for Peace. Directions provided in detailed description.
Waymark Code: WMHBT5
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 06/21/2013
Views: 2
This is a most impressive work of art and massive. One of the largest benches we have ever seen. This is well worth a visit and stop by the MIR Centre for Peace while there.
Details: The Conversation Bench is crafted from Laminated Fir, bronze, pewter and stone and is 18' long by 12' wide x 4.5' high
by Denis Kleine and Pat Field (lead artists)
Inscription:
The Conversation Bench
This sculpture was created and donated by artists Pat Field, Denis Kleine, Gary Burns, Jeremiah Benbow and Daniel Kloc, with Pat Field and Denis Kleine as lead artists. The work weighs 6 tons and is created of interior Douglas fir, river stones from around the world, bronze and pewter.
The bench is aptly named; while it encourages visitors to sit facing in opposite directions, a large tunnel joins the two seating areas ensuring that a connection between the opposing views is never lost. In fact, a person can slide from one view to another without ever leaving the bench.
Funding for the installation and sheltering of the bench provided by Columbia Basin Trust and Selkirk College.
Directions: To locate the Mir Centre for Peace, enter Selkirk College on Frank Beinder Way, slight left onto Selkirk College Road then turn left, go through the parking lot, then onto a dirt road. It will be about 500 metres ahead on your right.
The Mir Centre for Peace is housed in a restored early 20th century Doukhobor communal dwelling on what once were traditional aboriginal lands.
The Mir Centre for Peace was established in 1999 with the mandate of understanding and building cultures of peace through education.
The Centre offers a unique program of studies in peace building and cultures of peace. Mir programs and lectures make a significant new contribution to Peace Studies in Canada and the world.
MIR---a complex Russian word which means "peace", "community", and "world". The MIR Centre for Peace at Selkirk College seeks to understand and build cultures of peace locally and globally. Located on this bluff at the confluence of two great rivers--the Kootenay and the Columbia--the MIR Centre for Peace has become a place of gathering; a site which honors the history and cultures of our region.
The joining of two rivers symbolizes the MIR philosophy---the coming together of diverse peoples who seek common paths to peace through education and cultural understanding.