Here are the 5 candidates for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa – CBC.ca

The federal government wants to know what Canadians think about five potential designs for a new monument in Ottawa to honour victims of its LGBTQ2+ purge.

The LGBTQ2+ National Monument is a partnership between the federal government and the LGBT Purge Fund created from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the government.

The monument will be placedin a grassy area on the Ottawa end of the Portage Bridge, just west of Parliament Hill.

The goal, according toa federal news release sent Monday, is to choose a winning design early in 2022 and have the monument completed by2025. The selection team will weigh several considerations, includingpublic feedback, which is open until Nov. 28, and not limited to onlyLGBTQ2+ people or Ottawa residents.

Below are the five designs, in alphabetical order. More information about the proposals can be found in the individual hyperlinks.

This design is a pearl ring that "bonds us together, to share experiences, celebrate, and commemorate, holding space for all who enter."

It would be surrounded by seven landscaped zones inspired by the seven grandparent teachings of First Nations peopleincluding the Anishinaabe and Mi'kmaq.

Its pitch has two main parts:a bowl holding a sunken garden with a waterfall offone lip, and a plaza.

"Our vision combines the intimacy of a singular portal, as a place of transition where we move from who we were, who we are, and who we can become."

It sees a monument with an outer concrete wall representing government oppression, with a small passage "with visceral reminders of the pain of LGBTQ2+ discrimination."

Inside, there would be a central sculpture, garden and event space, with the government's apology for the purge etched on its inner walls.

This space would have a meadow and lawn surrounding hundreds of stainless steel wands and, in the middle, a heated communal table.

A sound installation would play recordings from "fruit machine" tests, which tried to determine if someone was gayso they could be fired from their government jobs.

This team's idea hasa mirrored thunderhead in a large column at its centre, with space for larger events outside and smaller gatherings inside.

"It rises up as our community has risen up to say, 'We demand change.'"

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Here are the 5 candidates for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa - CBC.ca