Adrian Göllner and his wife Joanna Swim, playing with their son Grey in their living room which displays artwork by both of them.
A Centretown art contest is nearing its end, with five teams of finalists competing for the Preston Street public art commission.
Twenty-three contestants submitted proposals at the end of the summer and the selection committee narrowed the field down to five. On Nov. 25, the St. Anthony Italia Soccer Club will host an open house for the public.
Karen Nesbitt, the commission’s cultural planner, says the public will play an important role in determining the contest’s winner.
“This is an opportunity for the public to come and see the maquettes and proposals from the different artists that are competing in this competition and to give feedback to the jury that will eventually choose the winning artwork,” she says. “They are a big part of all of this.”
The selection committee will make its final decision Nov. 27, taking into consideration factors such as artistic excellence, experience, site integration, reflection of the natural and cultural environment, and durability of the proposals.
Chandler Swain, an Ottawa resident and contest finalist, says that in previous commissions, the public has shown great interest in the contest and the various proposals.
“The public come and they spend a lot of time considering the designs, giving their input, talking about which ones they want, and they write out stuff, grade them, the whole bit,” she says. “I hope their input is respected and taken into account by the jury.”
The City of Ottawa designates one per cent of the funds for its municipal development projects to public art, to beautify public spaces and make art more accessible for everyone in the city. Locations for the public art commissions are tied to construction. Since Preston Street is currently under construction, Nesbitt says it was the perfect site for a contest of this nature.
“Preston Street is ideal because the whole street is being redone,” she says. “It’s a publicly acceptable site and a main street in Ottawa that is very pedestrian friendly.”
Preston Street is also home to Little Italy, a culturally rich business neighbourhood that will present ample walking space for pedestrians, once reconstruction finishes.
Adrian Göllner and his wife Joanna Swim are Centretown artists and contest finalists who have collaborated for the first time on this project.
Göllner says he’s thrilled with the prospect of displaying their artwork in Little Italy.
“There’s a rich history on Preston Street and it’s an area where crowds go day and night for restaurants and activities. It’s a very good location in terms of traffic and context,” he says. “To have people potentially see [the artwork] and appreciate it on a daily basis is the very essence of public art; to put something there that adds some variety to their day, and makes them think a little differently as they move down the street.”
Once the selection committee makes it final decision, the winning team of artists will be commissioned by the City of Ottawa to build their artwork on an approved section of Preston Street.