Changes are coming to how public art fixtures are chosen to be displayed in Prince Edward County.
During Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, the committee voted to recommend council adopt a public art policy to guide municipal staff in how to select what art should be displayed on public land.
Councillor John Hirsch said that after Prince Edward County had issues with public art, creating a policy was a good step forward.
“It’s very tempting when somebody offers you something for free to say, ‘Oh sure, thanks very much.’ And you put it up,” said Councillor Hirsch. “And turns out that half the people or more than half the people don’t think that was such a good idea. So I think this is definitely the best approach to follow.”
The committee heard a deputation from Andrea Dawes from County Art and information from municipal staff outlining the benefits of forming a plan and policy in regards to displaying public art.
During Dawes’ deputation, she advocated for supporting art installations in The County.
“Visitors to Prince Edward County are more likely than the Ontario average to visit, and be visiting, arts and experiencing arts and culture in Prince Edward County, than visitors to other regions,” said Dawes. “Which is kind of amazing given that, you know, our big draws are beaches and wineries and such.”
The staff report after Dawes’ deputation also outlined the benefits of investing in local arts.
One major benefit of displaying art from local artists is that it has been found to boost the local economy. The report found that in Toronto for every one dollar invested in arts and cultural organizations, those same organizations were able to leverage an additional $17.
Some of the other benefits that were noted include increasing available jobs in creative fields in the community, creating new destinations and landmarks to boost tourism, and increasing community spirit.
Part of staff recommendations include a temporary moratorium on new permanent art fixtures, while they are working on developing the policy. This pause on new art installations is expected to last for 18 months and would not affect existing art installations.
The process to develop the art policy, including consultations with firms that have developed similar policies for other municipalities, is expected to cost Prince Edward County $40,000.
