From an elk to giant mushrooms to rainbows, the Town of Newmarket is deciding which unique artwork will mark the entrance of its massive new park project at Yonge Street and Mulock Drive.
The town hosted a public art open house April 26 to highlight public art throughout Newmarket, as well as the upcoming Mulock park. As part of that, it sought feedback for five different concepts that could be a "beacon" at the entrance at the future park.
Director of recreation and culture Colin Service said the concepts have been submitted by artists through an open-call process.
“We’ve really embraced (and) created an opportunity for the artists in the community to become involved,” he said. “We’ve really embraced the artist's vision in many cases.”
The town completed a public art plan for the park last year. Art is planned to be a major focal point of Mulock park, with the central house also serving as a site for the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Many art pieces for the park have already been selected, but a jury is still considering what will be a beacon at the entrance. The five concepts include a structure inspired by the fungi world, a shaft of light with a wide array of colours, an elk sitting atop an archway, a multimedia column structure and three tall steel structures resembling a flock of birds or herd of animals.
Art + Public UnLtd principal Rebecca Carbin said they had 67 submissions for the entranceway art, which were narrowed down to five to gather more public feedback.
“Each one of these is completely unique and very much about the artist’s perspective about the opportunity," she said. "The best part of a project to me is seeing what the artists come up with."
Resident Steve Whitfield attended and said the town is doing a good job with the public art to come.
It “integrates the creative part of our community into some physical, historical location,” he said. “That’s going to be important going forward with that project.”
His partner, Elizabeth Whitfield, said they wanted to see what is happening and whether the art can “wow” them as they have seen elsewhere.
“We travel a lot and we go to places around the world that have amazing arts installations,” she said.
The five options for the entranceway art will be on display at the town’s office at 395 Mulock Dr. until the end of Friday. Members of the public can still view them and submit comments in person before the jury begins deciding on the piece starting next week.
The art will all be ready by the time the park opens, Service said. Art will be located throughout the park, including embedded works.
“We wanted to really make things that are often utilitarian into beautiful pieces unto themselves,” he said.
