CHERYL PAGUREK'S "CURRENTS" VIDEO PROJECT SELECTED AS THE WINNER OF THE MARKET PLACE CORRIDOR PUBLIC ART COMPETITION IN OTTAWA. THE $90,000 PROJECT INCORPORATES VIDEO, LED SCREENS TO DISPLAY IMAGERY FROM THE NEARBY JOCK RIVER.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM CITY OF OTTAWA.
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Winner selected for Southwest Transit Extension: Market Place public art competition
Ottawa – Local photo and video artist Cheryl Pagurek has been selected as the winner of the Market Place Corridor (Ward 22) public art competition. The proposed artwork entitled Currents employs the contemporary medium of video to embody the concepts of flow, movement, and community identity. A free-standing LED screen will house and display two synchronized videos of imagery of the waters of the Jock River, ensuring a link is maintained to the nearby body of water amidst urban development.
Currents celebrates the surrounding environment while commemorating times past through the incorporation of historical images of the area into the work. By locating the present site within a continuum, the video footage harkens to the past and preserves the present for future generations. The dominant unifying visual and conceptual theme will be the current, movement, light and reflections of the Jock River as it changes throughout the day and seasons.
The Public Art Program commissions artists’ works for display in public spaces. One percent of funds for municipal development projects is set aside for public art in order to enhance the unique character of the space giving it a sense of identity while ensuring that art is accessible to everyone.
The City’s Public Art program initiated a two-stage competition to integrate art into the Market Place Corridor. The surrounding community was given a preview of the submissions from four finalists and was asked to record their comments about the proposals. The art selection committee took these comments into consideration prior to the selection of the winning artist’s proposal. The project’s selection criteria included such things as artistic excellence, experience of the artist, site integration, reflection of the community and sustainability.
For more information about the new public art, visit ottawa.ca/arts or call 3-1-1.
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