Crews have almost finished setting up two 30-foot lighthouse sculptures at the entrance to Collingwood's downtown, a public art installation years in the making.
The lighthouses are being installed at the end of Hurontario Street where it meets First/Huron Street. The metal structures are etched with images of ships built in Collingwood.
The sculptures were commissioned by the Collingwood Downtown Business Association (BIA) and designed by artist Pierre Poussin. The BIA received a federal grant for the cost of the public art.
Originally envisioned as an archway stretching across the street, the BIA changed its plan after vehement public opposition to an arch. After a public art committee selection process, Poussin was chosen as the artist for the new project.
The lighthouses are due to be lit for the first time this evening.
Poussin said his installation is meant to celebrate the ingenuity, craftsmanship and hard work of the people who contributed to Collingwood's shipbuilding heritage.
The public art installation is called Saga, inspired by the Nottawasaga River and lighthouse by the same name. In the Algonquin language, the word “saga” means “mouth of the river.”
The Collingwood BIA is working with the Collingwood Museum to install signs that highlight the community’s shipbuilding history as represented by the artwork.
