Something Very Unique is Coming to Celebration Square
Published June 5, 2017 at 7:47 pm
We now know what major Canada 150 art project will take shape at Celebration Square.
The City of Mississauga recently announced that the city has selected Hadley Howes and Maxwell Stephens (Studio of Received Ideas) to create a highly-anticipated Canada 150 legacy public art installment.
Conference at the Council House (picture below) is designed to draw attention to the Indigenous history of the area and region that resident know as Mississauga.
According to the city, the piece will feature an artistic replica of the tower that tops the historic 132-year-old Council House on the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation Reserve in Hagersville.
Thirty birds cast in bronze and painted in a range of eye-popping colours will be placed on and around the tower to “signify the diverse community that inhabits the area today.”
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“Conference at the Council House highlights this significant part of our history in both a meaningful and impactful way,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Canada 150 and the support of the Federal government provided an exceptional opportunity to learn more about our past and to foster deeper relationships with our community.”
The art was chosen after a fairly long and seemingly rigorous process, as an open Call to Artists was issued in late summer 2016.
The selection process involved an independent Art Selection Committee and feedback from more than 600 residents who participated in an online survey.
As for the artists themselves, Hadley Howes and Maxwell Stephens are co-creative directors at the Studio of Received Ideas (SRI) based in Mississauga and Toronto. Their work has been exhibited around the world including in Berlin, Dublin, Amsterdam and Vancouver.
“Mississauga Celebration Square is an ideal site for this legacy piece,” said Ward 4 Councillor John Kovac. “As a thriving location, it provides easy access and high visibility to this notable addition to the Square.”
The artwork is supported through a contribution of $199,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage. The funding supports the City’s Canada 150th anniversary program with the theme of “Brilliance Together.”
According to the city, the funding will be used to support community programs that encourage residents to share their stories about being Canadian and understand the importance of Reconciliation with Indigenous communities.
The artist announcement comes at the beginning of National Aboriginal History Month.
Residents are invited to take part in the design process and are encouraged to submit drawings of their favourite birds. These submissions will be used to create the artwork and will be accepted until Friday, June 30, 2017.
More information is available here.
An official unveiling will take place this November.
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