If you picked up a copy of Spacing‘s Winter 2006 issue (“The New Beautiful City”) you may have seen an article by Anna Bowness on Liberty Village’s BENCHmark program. Bowness wrote:
BENCHmark coordinator Jessica Tudos [says] that public art is a good way to revitalize the neighbourhood, and notes that these benches are the first real examples of public art in the area.
As well, they’re the first really deliberate “congregation spots†where people are encouraged to stop, hang out, and contemplate their neighbourhood. “Public art,†says Tudos, “is an opportunity to enhance the experience one has of walking through a space. The BENCHmark [pieces] invite interaction, discussion or perhaps an opportunity to simply sit and think…on a masterpiece.â€
So it is good news to hear that the Liberty Village Business Improvement Area (LVBIA) is inviting professional artists living in Toronto to submit a proposal for the creative transformation of EIGHT park benches into permanent works of public art to be installed in Liberty Village.
You can find out more about the BENCHmark program here or download the Call for Entries PDF [88k].
DEADLINE: Monday July 24, 2006
photos by Bouke Salverda