 If Dan Donaldson’s work doesn’t convince you that art can be (and doesn’t even have to be more than) just plain fun, you might also consider the nine new large sculptures by University of Manitoba fine arts students that make up the second annual Art on the Avenue: Sculpture Walk, presented by Downtown BIZ.
 The new works maintain the same lighthearted precedent set by the outdoor installation’s first year, with some of the same students contributing new work. Most of the sculptures were carved from a large Styrofoam block, then covered with a hard coat and painted; some highlights include Curtis Wiebe’s tongue-in-cheek The Pigeon King at the Air Canada Building Carlton entrance; Catherine Toews’s kooky Horseshoes and Coppelia at 276 Portage; and Jon Armistead’s preposterous, yet affectionate, A Tribute to the Gulpee Capital of the World across from 403 Graham—a mighty monument to our Slurpee City. One standout is Justin Muzyka’s Exponentially Cubed at the Investors Group Building, fashioned from woven steel screen and possessing a markedly more abstract character. Our favourite? Jackie Traverse’s endearingly goofy Rez Dawg at 283 Portage—how could you not love a mug like that?
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