News release - the City of Barrie
The City of Barrie, with support from the Barrie Public Art Committee (BPAC), is embarking on a temporary exhibition of public art that will be hosted from September 27 to November 8, 2024.
Barrie’s exhibition, Seeds to Sow, will feature six installations of site-specific artwork that will complement the public art scene developing throughout the downtown core and within other neighbourhoods.
“Fostering growth in arts and culture is one of Council’s key priorities and plays a direct role in strengthening Barrie’s economy. This public art exhibition is an opportunity to enhance our public spaces, attract new audiences to Barrie and continue to build a thriving community,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall.
In May 2023, Council approved a motion for City staff to pursue an outdoor temporary public art exhibition in 2024. The intent of the exhibition is to showcase Barrie as an arts and cultural destination and strengthen economic and community impacts through placemaking, talent attraction, tourism, and downtown development.
“Contemporary public art at this scale will elevate Barrie’s role as an arts and culture destination, enhance the experience of Barrie’s outdoor spaces, and drive interest and positive engagement from residents and visitors to Barrie,” said Stephannie Schlichter, Director of Invest Barrie. “It will continue to put Barrie on the map, contributing to talent attraction and retention, economic strength and cultivate a strong community in support of the arts.”
The City is working with independent curator, Katie Lawson on the Seeds to Sow exhibition. Katie was a curator for the Toronto Biennial of Art in 2019 and 2022. She has also curated exhibitions at Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (2024); Images Festival, Toronto (2023); MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie (2021); the Art Museum at the University of Toronto (2018); the Art Gallery of Ontario (2018); Y+ Contemporary, Scarborough (2017); and RYMD, Reykjavik (2017).
“My experience working in Barrie as a guest curator for an exhibition at the MacLaren in 2021 sparked my curiosity about the city itself. I am grateful to have the opportunity to return and now spend more time engaging with Barrie, this time through working to develop contemporary art projects for public spaces,” said Katie Lawson, exhibition curator.
The selected artists will include two from the Barrie area and four from locations across Canada. There will be an open call for regional artists later in 2023.
For more information and updates as the exhibition progresses, visit the Seeds to Sow webpage at barrie.ca/PublicArt.
Banner image via the City of Barrie - The City of Barrie is working with independent curator, Katie Lawson on the Seeds to Sow exhibition
