Barrie’s waterfront just got a little more beautiful.
Monday morning saw the unveiling of new temporary art at the former Trans Canada Trail pavilion at Lakeshore Drive and Tiffin Street.
Regionally based artists Angela Aujla and Meg Leslie collaborated on this artwork, mosaic mural Mother Nature, and its theme. The design was inspired by Kempenfelt Bay and its role as a habitat for wildlife and plants.
Aujla drew the illustration and Leslie created hand-formed and hand-glazed porcelain tiles. It was installed on-site by the artists with support from the city’s parks planners.
“I think the medium of this work, mosaic, metaphorically reflects the aspirational idea of being stronger together as a community, and as multiple pieces unite for something larger and more unified, is a metaphor for our community itself,” said Aujla, a local visual artist whose role is in the design and illustration of Mother Nature.
Leslie grew up in Orillia, studied interior design at Georgian College in Barrie and teaches art at Barrie Montessori school. She now lives in Atherley and her business is making handmade porcelain mosaic tiles.
“I like to incorporate all of these natural things, animals and flora and fauna … and how important it is to look after what we have here,” she said. “It is the largest handmade tile mosaic (I've done) … it was a big undertaking.”
Mother Nature was commissioned for $10,000 by the Rotary Club of Barrie, in partnership with the city, to beautify the pavilion.
Rotary Club president Brian Galbraith noted his group has helped with other projects along the waterfront — the Heritage Park pavilion and benches, Kidds Creek restoration, Festival of Trees, the Rotary fountain, the Rotary islands, the Southshore Centre itself and Military Heritage Park, along with hundreds of trees planted.
“We believe that this lakeshore is the gem of Barrie and we need to support it and provide funding to make sure it continues to thrive,” he said.
Mayor Alex Nuttall said Mother Nature fits right in.
“This is a beautiful, beautiful piece for our waterfront,” he said. “This is a reflection of what you see around you, in the sense that the wildlife, the loon (and a turtle) … it is beautiful.”
Barrie’s public art program includes Art on Transit, which is artwork installed on high-profile bus shelters and in all 10 Barrie wards.
There’s also the Brightening Barriers exhibition, with nine restaurant patios in downtown Barrie's having temporary art installations displayed on their patio fencing. It offers an opportunity to turn the barrier of imposed separation into a collective artistic experience.
Also on display is Dividers Made into a Juncture, the first commissioned public art sculpture, installed at the downtown branch of the Barrie Public Library.
Barrie’s public art project also has practical purposes.
The Container project is designed to serve two purposes, in that the container at Meridian Place is not only a storage facility, but a mural that adds to the beautification of downtown Barrie.
Proactively painting anti-graffiti coatings and murals on surfaces prone to graffiti is also one of the approaches used in the city's graffiti abatement program.
