Art in the Parks: The Winchester Park Public Art Project | Dispatch # 6

Last weekend we launched Art in the Parks -- an experiment of sorts where we set up tables loaded with mono printing  paper construction and puppet making art supplies and invited passersby to join us in four different parks including Winchester Square Park, Fieldstone Park, St James Park, and Winchester Park .

We wondered: Would people be intersted in joining a motley crew of artists in outdoor art adventures, surrounded by a cacophany of sounds and the hustle and bustle of people travelling form here to there by foot, wheelchair, bicycle, car, bus, and moped while walking their dogs and toting groceries?

Some joined us for both Saturday and Sunday in different locations, and others for a few minutes. Several people said, "This is exactly what should be happening in our parks! When are you coming back?" Others suggested that we make contact with organizations they're connected with including an after school program, a faith-based group, and grassroots neighbourhood initiatives. 

Thank you to all those who accepted our invitations to make art and share stories. Art in the Parks was a lot of fun, and yes, we'll do it again!

Art in the Parks is part of Promise in the Park: The Winchester Park Public Art Project, a four-year community art project in Winchester Park and St James Town communities. Over the next three years, we will create collaborative mosaic public art for area parks, and also a community play presented by and for local communities.

The Winchester Park Public Art Project | Dispatch #5

This week at Winchester Public School, we began mapping the neighbourhood, and our relationships to it: where students live, walk, play, create, and imagine. 

We're going to continue to map the neighbourhood, and populate our large map with original artwork: local stories, symbols, and icons -- representations of the riches within the Winchester Park neighbourhood.

The first and last photo in this series were taken by Lee Hicks, and images 2 - 6 were photographed by Katie Yealland.

The Winchester Park Public Art Project | Dispatch #4

Our most recent art adventures at Winchester Public School included collaborative creative writing, and creating individual story booklets working with word prompts.

Thanks to Katie Yealland for photography documentation, and to educator Lee Hicks for support and inspiration.

This is our collaborative group poem!

The Winchester Park Public Art Project | Dispatch #3

During our first visit to Winchester Junior and Senior Public School we had the opportunity to work with educator Lee Hicks, and his classroom of remarkable young people.

Among the spring-inspired selfie puppets created are: seed man, guardian of the flowers, protector of dogs, and a hummingbird. 

Emmanuel College, University of Toronto Public Art Project

A few images of the recently completed collaborative project with folks at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. The artwork is yet to be titled. 

75+ community members contributed to the conceptual development and building of the artwork, with the support of the artistic team both in community consultations and open studio sessions. Many thanks to Greg Powell for outreach and coordination support, and for approaching Red Dress Productions to begin with.

Red Dress Productions Artistic Team

Anna Camilleri -  Designer and Lead Builder
Tristan R. Whiston - Co-Lead Artist
Katie Yealland - Associate Artist, Photographer
Chantelle Gobeil - Associate Artist

Mixed Media Diptych
stone, smalti,vitreous glass, porcelain, and grout on cradled plywood

5' 6" h x 2' w x 2 panels

 

The Winchester Park Public Art Project | Dispatch #2

As we move forward into this (multi-arts, multi-community, multi-year) project inspired and based upon the stories and artistic discoveries found within the Winchester Park neighbourhood, we've begun to populate a dimensional neighbourhood map with the real and fantastical, the past and the present, and with our histories and imaginations.

ISIS Canada Community Art Weekend

Following The Art of Collaboration, our public lecture on Friday March 28, Tristan and I had the pleasure of designing and facilitating a community art weekend with the 40+ staff and students at ISIS Canada. 

Through a two day creative process, we adventured through a layered process toward creating and presenting collaborative art, along with meeting some of the challenges and inquiries through discussion, reflection, and consensus building. 

Here, we'd like to share some of what emerged:

paper collage

paper collage