St Catharines looking to shift six Rodman Hall sculptures
Published August 12, 2021 at 3:41 pm
With the sale of Brock University’s Rodman Hall being finalized, St Catharine is currently hunting for city-owned parks where the art gallery’s six outdoor sculptures can be relocated.
“Culture adds value to the lives of all our residents, it provides meaning to and understanding of the world around us,” said the city in a release.
“It’s why we are working to relocate and display six outdoor sculptures from the grounds of Rodman Hall to City property, ensuring our residents can continue to appreciate and experience these world class works.”
At this week’s council meeting, Council approved a $133,905 expenditure from the Civic Project Fund this week to remove, store and eventually relocate six sculptures from the grounds of Rodman Hall.
The Rodman Hall Arts Centre Inc. (RHAC) is currently taking ownership of the gallery’s art collection. As part of the process, RHAC has been working on an inventory and condition assessment of the collection.
However, RHAC asked the City to take on removing a portion of the collection, the six outdoor pieces and relocate them to an as-yet determined location in the downtown core. Under a lease agreement the City will take the sculptures for 20 years, covering the cost of removal, storage and relocation, with RHAC picking up costs for maintenance of the pieces, insurance and related programming.
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“As a City we are committed to fostering arts and culture in our community, it is one of the pillars of our Strategic Plan,” said Phil Cristi, Director of Community, Recreation and Culture Services.
“These sculptures represent the work of world class artists and should remain on public display for our residents to enjoy. This is a real opportunity to not only preserve these works and their artistic legacy but also to build the cultural landscape of our community.”
The ultimate location of the six pieces – Mary Anne Barkhouse’s “Settlement”, Marino Di Teana’s “Homage a la Vitesse”, Sorel Etrog’s “Profile II”, William McElcharen’s “The Race”, John MacGregor’s “The Flowering of Time” and Reinhard Reitzenstein’s “Carolina Blue” has yet to be decided. The City will host these works on City property, with locations determined in consultation with the Public Art Advisory Committee and RHAC.
(Photo of Rodman Hall courtesy of Brock University. Photo of sculpture courtesy of St Catharines)
