The City of Peterborough has launched a public art competition for a monument to be installed in the new urban park planned for downtown Peterborough.
The city is inviting Canadian artists and design teams to submit proposals to design the UN Peacekeepers monument at the Charlotte Street Urban Park, which is planned for the Louis Street municipal parking lot (where the Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market is held during the summer months).
The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 3, 2017. Complete details are available at www.akimbo.ca/akimbos/?id=104225.
The UN Peacekeepers Monument Project is the first of several public art projects this year as part of the city’s Public Art Program. In 2016, the Public Art Program sponsored the creation of two public art murals under the Hunter Street Bridge as well as a mural at the corner of Queen and Simcoe Streets.
The city has developed the UN Peacekeepers Monument Project in partnership with, and with sponsorship from, the Peterborough chapter of the UN Peacekeepers Association. Since 1947, United Nations Forces have performed peacekeeping duties worldwide. The association informs the public about the role of peacekeeping and honours sacrifices made in the service of peace.
The competition is open to professional artists and designers across Canada who are permanent residents of Canada. The design team leader must be an accomplished artist or designer, partnered with a professional architect or landscape architect, engineer fabricators and constructors who are able to complete the installation.
The UN Peacekeepers Monument Project will support innovative proposals from both emerging and established artists working in a range of disciplines and media. Beyond improving the appearance of the chosen location, the artwork should consider the community in which it will be installed, as well as the spirit of peacekeeping and the role that Canada plays in bringing peace to the world.
When it comes to peacekeeping, Peterborough has a connection with Lester B. Pearson, the first Canadian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his proposal to establish a United Nations peacekeeping force to resolve the Suez Crisis. Pearson, who would later become Prime Minister from 1963 to 1968, lived in Peterborough as a youth where he attended Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School.
The proposed location of the UN Peacekeepers monument is a nine-meter square area at the north end of the proposed park, in the area near the Charlotte Street entrance to be known as “The Commons”.
The budget for the UN Peacekeepers Monument Project in $95,000.
The city will announce a short list of successful designs in late April and will select the finalist in June 2017. The UN Peacekeepers Monument Project will be completed concurrently with the expected completion of the park in late 2018.
