The two artists, Wendy Wallace and Jacqueline Lemmon, are proposing a one-year artist residency program in downtown Oshawa. They are requesting donated studio space and a $10,000 stipend in exchange for creating public art installations for the city. The program aims to promote Oshawa's cultural identity, encourage other artists, and provide educational opportunities for students through mentorships.
2. Who we are:
The two artists who would initially participate
in this pilot project are
Wendy Wallace and Jacqueline Lemmon
We are both artists with a formal arts education
and a history of exhibitions and teaching experience.
3. What we are proposing:
• We would like to ask for your support in developing a mutually
beneficial programme between the artist community and the
City of Oshawa. We feel that such a relationship will nurture
the concept of a Creative City Initiative.
• We ask for a one-year commitment of donated studio space in
the downtown corridor, which will be open to the public during
the daytime hours while we are working.
• We also ask for an equitable stipend of $10,000
for start-up costs and materials.
4. What we can do:
• In exchange for the City’s support of our proposal, we would
create one installation each of public art for City grounds to be
installed by Oshawa’s Public Works Department. In keeping
with the vision of a renaissance of downtown Oshawa, after
just three years the City would have six pieces of public art
that could be used to feature and highlight the City’s cultural
base with a walk-about brochure guide.
The arts programme and subsequent installation would
promote a new identity for the downtown neighbourhoods and
help reshape its history.
5. Our vision for the future:
These art works would be celebrated
with an opening and exhibition,
which would also introduce new artists in residency and
wherein the City would be recognized as a contributor.
The artists in residence could also be mentors for Durham College
and Durham Public and Separate School Boards
Visual Arts Programs students. The artwork produced by students
who participate in the mentoring programme
would be celebrated with an exhibition
each semester.
6. Change for the better:
It will encourage other artists to participate and
bring about economic spin-offs.
We believe the artists studio to be one step closer
in encouraging people to think of the downtown of Oshawa
as a family-friendly and culturally-diverse neighbourhood.
The arts programme will promote a new and positive identity
for the downtown neighbourhoods.
7. Encouraging Growth
in the Arts Community
1.
The arts are one of the primary means
of public dialogue
The creative act can reveal and bring into light
contrasts and contradictions in ways that speak powerfully
and directly to a wide range of audiences,
across boundaries of language
and education.” (Tresser, 1977)
8. Encouraging Growth
in the Arts Community
2.
The arts contribute to the development of
creative learning communities
“Artistic activity that embraces the ideas and visions of different
cultures can lead to new and innovative ideas and inventions.”
(Voluntary Arts Network, 2005)
9. Encouraging Growth
in the Arts Community
3.
The arts help create healthy communities
capable of action.
Arts involvement creates opportunities for people to develop
positive social contacts in pro-social environments
(Department of Justice Canada, 1999).
10. Encouraging Growth
in the Arts Community
4.
The arts can serve as a powerful tool
for community mobilization and activism
Arts approaches can catalyze a community’s
interest and energy towards change (Rogers & Spokes, 2003).
The arts help mobilize communities of support (Fiske, 1999).
11. Encouraging Growth
in the Arts Community
5.
The arts can build community capacity
and leadership
The arts can help create linkages across different groups,
thus developing intergroup cooperation and establishing
partnerships.” (McCarthy, Ondaatje, Zakaras, & Brooks, 2004)
12. The 8 Goals
Local and city-based investment in culture-based
urban revitalization and urban renewal
1.
To regenerate a community
2.
To re-identify a negatively stereotyped community
3.
To improve not only the physical but also the emotional state
of urban space through creative means
4.
To rediscover heritage and local history
13. 5.
To create necessary work and living spaces
for new artists and cultural workers
6.
To create permanent infrastructure for artists and culture,
which gives essential support and legitimacy
to the arts and cultural sectors
7.
To develop infrastructure that
increases access to arts and culture for
residents and visitors
8.
To regenerate the aesthetic appeal and attraction
to “the real city” or the downtown
14. Case Profile:
Quebec City – St. Roch Quarter
With a core focus on arts and culture and
the subsequent strategic integration
of economics and environmental initiatives,
the St. Roch quarter serves as
a model of Canadian urban renewal
and cultural restoration.
15. Case Profile:
Trackside Gallery – Victoria, B.C.
The Trackside Art Gallery is an urban art
corridor that in the past has been an area prone
to criminal activity. To combat this, the Rock
Solid Foundation has installed lights as well as
restored the area as an urban green space by
removing trash, reclaiming the weed choked
orchard, building gardens and creating
pathways. Our goal is to create an environment
which will evoke a sense of respect and
ownership in those who
frequent the area.
16. Case Profile:
• City of Kitchener Artist in Residence Program
• Did you know Kitchener created the first municipal artist-in-residence program
in Canada, in 1995? The year-long program stimulates conversation
between artists and Kitchener residents and visitors, as they connect with
special programming presented by the artist-in-residence throughout the
year.
• The artist-in-residence program supports artistic innovation and excellence in
contemporary art. Artists work in any visual arts medium. Although there is no
studio space available for the residency, the artist has the opportunity to offer
workshops in neighbourhood community centres, lectures in city hall, exhibits in
partnership with other agencies, and video projections on The Cube, atop city
hall's Berlin Tower.
• One month of the residency year is reserved for the artist to use city hall's
Rotunda Gallery for exhibition.
17. Sandra Martin
Title: Grand River I and II
Year: 2002
Artist: Sandra Martin
Medium: Oil on canvas (series of 2)
Location: The Centre in the Square
101 Queen Street North Kitchener, ON
N2H 6P7
Acquisition Method: Artist in Residence commission
18. Andrew Wright
Title: Five Skies for Doon Pioneer Park
Year: 2001
Medium: Photographs (series of 5)
Location: Doon Pioneer Park Library
150 Pioneer Drive
Kitchener, ON
N2P 2C2
Acquisition Method: Artist in Residence commission
