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Placemaking through public art: Hamilton Expands Offerings

NRU
Nov. 23, 2016
Andrew Cohrs

Recognizing the benefits of public art to placemaking the City of Hamilton is proposing 14 new sites across the city.

“Public art is a very important part of placemaking, we try to [undertake] a process where we involve the public upfront in placemaking and telling their stories and the stories of the community. [And we ask] artists to address that in the work they propose to improve our public spaces so [the public art] makes local landmarks that tell our own stories,” public art and projects program manager Ken Coit told NRU.

The city has 31 public art installations recently mapped. Th rough the adoption of its first public art master plan in 2009, it commissioned 17 public art projects. Eight have been completed. Coit says that the 2016 master plan identifes an additional 14 sites where public art will be installed over the next six to seven years.

“This is very much the official plan of public art so it’s the big ideas. [For] each project our process involves a detailed focus group meeting with stakeholders and neighbourhood people and [then] some more planning work with our colleagues in public works or whoever is involved with the project,” Coit said.

Through consultations with the public, city councillors and staff and members of the art and cultural community, 14 sites were selected from the 110 originally considered. Sites were chosen based on their distribution across the city, visibility and accessibility, historic and cultural significance, public input, implementation potential, possible synergies with other city projects and availability of funding. In addition to identifying locations, the master plan assigns a general vision for each site, such as commemorating a historical event or addressing themes of human rights and diversity and provides a budget to give some sense of the anticipated scale of the project.

Funding for public art projects comes from a public art reserve which has an annual allocation, ranging from $45,000 to $171,000, as well as additional allocations by ward councillors, derived from area specific property taxes devoted to local infrastructure. If the art is associated with a specific capital project like a park revitalization or new bridge, funding can come from those projects as well. Additionally the city maintains a downtown public art reserve with voluntary contributions from developers of downtown projects.

Hamilton defines public art very differently than how it considers art in public spaces, says Coit. As a result staff is drafting an Art in Public Places policy to encourage and guide the proliferation of art in public places. This is expected to be considered by in 2018.

“Hamilton uses a specific definition of public art: it’s art on public property, created by artists, not landscape artists, and it’s chosen through a transparent public process... But there is a lot of other art in the public realm or public places [like] community art... donated art and art on private buildings... [The future policy will] encourage art on private property and different ways of getting the community to express themselves in public spaces.”

Coit says that of the 14 identified sites in the new master plan, the Pipeline Trail at Kenilworth Avenue North, Waterdown Rotary Memorial Park Skating Loop and Raoul Wallenburg Path in Churchill Park are anticipated to be priority locations. November 16, the general issues committee recommended council approve the plan when it considers it at its meeting November 23.

Hamilton’s proposed new public art locations and minimum budget allocations