Mayor Dave Augustyn’s Column for Monday, 6 June 2016
I hope you can provide your feedback on something that has been talked about and planned for many years – a gateway / public art feature at the Eastern entrance to Pelham.
You see, various Town planning documents – the East Fonthill Secondary Plan, the East Fonthill Site Master Plan, and the Downtown Master Plan for Fonthill & Fenwick – have called for a gateway feature or public art installation at the corner of Regional Road 20 (Hwy 20) and Rice Road. This location “…represents an opportunity for the Town to develop a significant gateway element, integrated with the design of the stormwater management pond, to promote Town identity.”
Now that the development in that area is proceeding, Council earmarked $200,000 in the 2016 Capital Budget for this feature.
The Town received 25 national and international submissions for qualifications to our Call to Public Artists in January 2016. Through a review and evaluation process, a Public Art Selection Panel shortlisted three finalists who each provided a submission.
Pelham Gates: by Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins.
“The integrated artwork rises eighteen feet into the sky to welcome visitors to the area. Tall poles resemble reeds or grasses, elegantly curved to suggest movement resulting from a gently blowing wind…part to reveal the water beyond but also as a gesture of welcome or embrace.”
Sculpture: by Juanjo Novella.
“The Sculpture has a great presence and at the same time is very dynamic. Despite the size, scale is human, among others, this is determined by the presence of the open faces and you can enter, allowing different views and that the sculpture is very diverse. The human being does not feel self-conscious about the sculpture, but feels himself elevated and part of an experience.”
Pelham House: by Kip Jones.
“The intention is to create a unique site-specific work that has multiple uses as a meeting place, a recognizable intersection and a place of introspection. The concept of Pelham House speaks to the relationship of humans to nature in a way that reflects on its harmonious inter-connections — it is a dualistic vision, as in mind and matter or yin and yang.”
Please provide your feedback at www.pelham.ca/public-art or in writing with the forms at Pelham Town Hall until June 17. Your comments and response to the questions will be reviewed and considered by Pelham's Art Selection Panel before they make their final selection and recommendation to Council for approval this summer.
You may contact Mayor Dave at mayordave@pelham.ca or read past columns at www.pelhammayordave.blogspot.com .
