A life-sized steel bison sculpture by local artist Bill Keen has officially been installed at the Tourism Moose Jaw site. Keen and his wife Laurette approached the city in 2021 with the idea of creating and installing a life-sized sculpture to showcase the region’s heritage. The Keens donated hundreds of hours of labour in order to produce the artwork. The city’s Public Art Committee, with city council’s approval, purchased the sculpture in the fall of 2022, covering the material costs for a total of $8,295. The sculpture began with a skeletal structure of steel rods, followed by the application of six to eight layers of welds to achieve the finish. About 450 pounds of MIG .035 welding wire was used. It was then given two coats of oil-based primer for sealing and three coats of coloured paint. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot('/50748803/dmj-all-bigbox', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-1648064270259-bbm1'); s.setTargeting('URL', [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting('position', [1648064270259]) s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } }); Engagement sessions were held this year to gather feedback on potential sites for the sculpture. It was decided that the sculpture would be installed at the Tourism Moose Jaw site. The American Bison is a tribute to the large herds that once roamed across North America’s plains. The sculpture was officially installed in late July and a commemorative plaque was installed in October to complete the project. In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, Discover Moose Jaw encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the Discover Moose Jaw app HERE. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if($(document).width()<900) { s = googletag.defineSlot('/50748803/dmj-all-bigbox', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-1648064270259-bbm2'); s.setTargeting('URL', [window.location.pathname]); s.setTargeting('position', [1648064270259]) s.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().refresh([s], {changeCorrelator: false}); } });