Public Art Program

What Is Public Art?

The term 'public art' refers to works of art that have been created with the specific intention of being sited or staged in a public space that is accessible to all.  The City of Burlington’s Public Art Program enhances the quality of life in Burlington by bringing artwork by recognized artists to the city centre and to neighbourhoods throughout Burlington.

Visit www.burlingtonpublicart.com  for all the current news about public art in Burlington

Artists

If you are a visual artist and would like information about art opportunities with Burlington's Public Art Program, please email us at publicart@burlington.ca with your name, address, phone number, fax number, and medium with which you work.

Project Updates

Bike Rack Project

The City will be installing 24 new public art bike racks throughout the downtown core. Beyond providing additional bike parking, the new racks will act as an urban art gallery that citizens can enjoy year round. Completion April 2011.

Regional artists submited designs that reflected the unique character of downtown Burlington. More than 180 original designs were submitted by 75 artists. A citizen jury reviewed the submissions and narrowed down the selection to 10 finalists. The public  then voted for their favourite designs. The jury received 883 public votes from which they selected six winning designs. The winning artists are:

Martyna Dakowicz, Stacked Bikes
Jen Hsieh, Rainbow Trout
Zhiyang Mao, Untitled
Kyle Reed, Row of Bikes
Wesley Tsang, Untitled
Xiaojing Yan, Reflection

“This showcases the creative talent of citizens in our community and exemplifies the ways we are working together to enhance cycling infrastructure in this city,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “Projects like these demonstrate the city’s commitment to transforming Burlington into a premier bike-friendly destination. In doing this, the benefits are twofold. We are encouraging our citizens to live healthy by participating in physical activity; while reducing our carbon footprint by promoting alternative modes of transportation.”

Palladium Park Project

The City of Burlington is pleased to announce that Mary Catherine Newcomb has been selected as the winning artist for the Palladium Park public art competition. Palladium is a new neighbourhood park being built in the Alton community that will feature a series of artist designed benches. Completion August 2011.

Upper Middle Road Project

In 2010 artists from across Canada and from other countries submited designs for public art to be fabricated and installed on the median of Upper Middle Road between Appleby Road and Walkers Line. Proposals were reviewed by an independent public art jury convened for the project, which included practicing arts professionals and a representative from the local community. Artist Alex Pentek’s submission, Orchids, was selected. The artwork design is a series of three six-metre high orchids, native to the Burlington area, made from bronze and  stainless steel. The sculptures will also contain fibre optic and LED lighting elements. Completion June 2011.

Public Art Master Plan and Public Art Policy

Established in 2009, Burlington’s Public Art Program is a Council-approved system of processes that guide how artwork is commissioned, acquired and managed. The Program is guided by two key documents: Public Art Master Plan and Public Art Policy.

Burlington’s City Council, at its meeting on July 6, 2009, approved a Public Art Master Plan for the next ten years (2009 – 2018).The Plan outlines a framework for the City’s Public Art Program by identifying opportunities and priorities for public art projects, program scope, site selection guidelines, funding strategy, as well as the governance structure and resulting management of the Program. For an overview of potential sites by ward, click on the ward map links to the right.

As part of the Plan, Council approved a revised City of Burlington Public Art Policy. The primary purpose of the Municipal Public Art Policy, which guides the Public Art Program, is to provide a mechanism through which the City acquires public art for municipally-owned public space through its purchase, commission or donation.

Guiding Principles

The following principles guide the creation and acquisition of public art:

• context of social purpose; enhancing social connections; contributing to health of community
• accessibility, through:
• placement in public space
• content
• community knowledge and experience as context for creation
• commitment to artistic merit through qualified adjudication and selection
• community engagement through a process that elicits public input early, and stimulates an artistic process that reflects and interprets people’s experience and aspirations
• artistic content that addresses Burlington’s context of landscape, history, and cultures
• integration into City fabric through functional pieces and integration into infrastructure, as well as independent site-specific artworks

Funding

The Public Art Reserve Fund has been established to permit funding to be accumulated for the purchase, commission or donation of public art and its maintenance over more than one year.

Maintenance is administered by the Parks & Recreation Department, in conjunction with other departments, to ensure specific requirements for individual pieces of public art are met. Funding donations from both the public and private sector are accepted into the Public Art Reserve Fund. Donations must be free and clear of conditions and restrictions imposed by the donors regarding the City's use of these funds for the City of Burlington’s Public Art Program.

Management of the Public Art Program

The management of the Public Art Program is based upon a consultative process involving many different partners. To support this process, available resources include Public Art Program staff, City departments, juries, as well as additional technical and support services as required.