Castlegar Sculpturewalk hits ground running
By Kyra Hoggan
The funds are raised, the sculptures have been chosen, permissions have been secured – Sculpturewalk is almost ready to unveil the exciting and ambitious initiative that will make art a public experiece in Castlegar.
Organizer Pat Field (who is, himself, a professional artist) said it took some time to develop a jury process to determine what constitutes public art for and in Castlegar, as well as identifying where the pieces should be placed, once chosen.
“We came to the conclusion that we should put the most vulnerable (to vandalism) pieces in Spirit Square, adjacent to the police station, with the bullet-proof ones going closer to the element and the (midrange) ones, like bronze or cement, between Kootenay Market and City Hall,” he said. “We’ve already got permission from all the both the city and the private landholders for the sites we’ve chosen, and we’ve met with the city’s Public Works department and determined what site preparations need to take place before the pedestals go down and the sculptures go up.”
He said they’re in the process of fabricating prototypes of the pedestals base plates on whch the sculptures will reside.
“The sculptures will go up May 29, and voting will probably start around June 7, after we’ve created and distributed the brochures,” he said.
Voting will continue until mid-September, at which point the city will purchase the People’s Choice Award winner at designate a spot for it to be permanently displayed (with a new sculpture acquired each year in this manner, the city will soon boast its own rich and varied public art collection).
He said this is all spearheaded by a group of people who care about the community, and who see art as an opportunity to further diversify the city economy.
“It’s just one small tool in what hopefully is a much larger toolbox we’re using to keep Castlegar vibrant,” he said.
Not such a small tool after all, though, as the project budget for this year was a whopping $77,000, much of which was raised through sponsorship from local businesses, families and clubs.
“It was originally $68,000, but there were some unforseen beaurocratic expenses,” he explained. “Some of them are one-time-only expenses, though, so hopefully next year’s budget will be substantially lower.
“We’re also in the process of trying to develop other projects to create synergy, get people coming downtown, and get recognition for some of our high-calibre local artists, like the sand project in Spirit Square.
Watch for exciting new art-based initiatives to be unveiled this summer, and be sure to cast your ballot for People’s Choice sculpture.
For more information, visit http://www.sculpturewalkcastlegar.com
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