Event Details

The City of Barrie’s Public Art Committee’s (BPAC) goal is to enhance Barrie with art and encourage residents and visitors alike to visit public spaces. BPAC secures art by commissioning new works, facilitating donations, and organizing temporary installations. BPAC promotes art appreciation and builds lasting relationships through education, integration and activation that engages the community, creates conversation and demonstrates the value of public art.

"This application is for “Seeds to Sow”, which will consist of six installations of site-specific artwork that will be on view from September 27 to November 8, 2024. Selected artists will create work that responds to sites around the city, drawing on local ecologies, history, and stories inviting residents and visitors to experience and interact with public space in a creative, inspiring and innovative way. Each of the six installations will be created for sites located along Barrie's waterfront and within the downtown commercial district. Specific locations will be identified by participating artists in their project proposals. To date, participating selected artists have come to the city on site visits as a starting point for research and development of their installations. The exhibition’s title, “Seeds to Sow”, is meant to evoke images of cultivation and growth, an aspirational theme for the future of public art programming in Barrie.

The artists selected to participate have been identified based on strength of experience creating temporary outdoor art in the public realm, diversity both in terms of art media and representation and inclusion, as well as artistic themes that suit the project aims. To date, confirmed artists include Lisa Hirmer (Guelph) and Lou Sheppard (Lunenberg, NS).

The Maclaren Art Centre, Talk is Free Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, and the Barrie Film Festival have been engaged to offer complementary programming. Scheduled to align with the Toronto Biennial of Art and national Culture Days celebrations, this multi-disciplinary offering will draw existing local audiences as well as new audiences from further afield."