Becoming Public Art: Temporary Programming

Markham's Public Art Program was first initiated in 2003 and formalized in 2012.  Since 2013, five permanent artworks have been commissioned through the program, with two more currently in progress.  In addition, the program has facilitated a series of community art initiatives in collaboration with the City's Public Realm section.  In the fall of 2019, Markham City Council approved itsPublic Art Master Plan 2020-2024, and a relatedImplementation Planin winter 2020.  The objectives of the program are to inspire people to live, work, visit and invest in Markham; to celebrate the city's diverse cultures and heritage from multiple points of view; and to connect residents to Markham's built and natural environment.

Markham Public Art

Temporary Programming is the 8th session of Becoming Public Art, a 9-week online summit presented by Markham Public Art with ART+PUBLIC UnLt

Please join us on Tuesday, December 1, from 1:15 - 3 PM EST for Temporary Programming, featuring two sequential programs. First, a presentation on the history of the Toronto Sculpture Garden, with a responding discussion about its relevance to today&#x27;s art ecology. This will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the voices of those leading Toronto’s temporary public art programs now. The event is free, online, and open to the public. Registration is required.---PresentationFor its first 35 years, the Toronto Sculpture Garden was the site of innovative, temporary, contemporary sculpture installations. This small park in the downtown core was a testing ground for more than 100 artists to experiment in public space and to address issues of architectural scale, materials and context. Originating when site specificity was in its infancy, the Toronto Sculpture Garden became a laboratory for a whole generation of artists. Many have gone on to make significant permanent art works. Featuring:Rina Greer, public art consultantRespondents: Jayne Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Art; Yan Wu, Markham Public Art CuratorRina Greer is an art consultant, specializing in integrated art and architecture projects since 1974. Concurrently, as Director of the Toronto Sculpture Garden for over 30 years, she organized more than 90 exhibitions showcasing Canadian and international artists. Significant public art projects include: Brookfield Place Calgary; Bay Adelaide Centre – East Tower; North Tower (2022); West Harbour City I, II &amp; III; Ripley’s Aquarium; Trump Hotel (now The Adelaide Hotel); 85 East Liberty Street; 125 Western Battery Road; Metro Toronto Convention Centre.Jayne Wilkinson is an art writer, editor and independent curator. She is currently editor-in-chief of Canadian Art—Canada’s largest contemporary art publication—and has contributed art criticism to a variety of online and print publications, including artists’ books, catalogues, and gallery publications. She holds an MA in Art History and Critical Theory from the University of British Columbia and her research blends interests in surveillance culture, environmental politics, and security and representation, with a focus on contemporary art and photo-based practices.---Panel DiscussionCan permanent projects have a temporary dimension and how might temporary projects bring about permanent change? Can Covid&#x27;s digital transformations teach us anything about liveness mediated? Is it possible to achieve monumental projects within a short-term time frame? Is “now” the opportunity to change programming and explore the temporary? Are temporary public art projects the best solution in a constantly changing world?Panelists: Ilana Altman, Co-Executive Director, The Bentway; Tairone Bastien, Curator, Toronto Biennial of Art; Kari Cwynar, independent curator and Curatorial Advisor, Evergreen Brick Works Moderator: Janine Marchessault, Curator and Prof. School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, York UniversityIlana Altman is a cultural planner and designer who has a background in art and architecture. In her role as Co-Executive Director at the Bentway she works with the local and artistic community to implement innovative and engaging programming, revealing new possibilities for public space and public art.Tairone Bastien is an independent curator. He co-curated the inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art in 2019 and is working on the second edition, scheduled for fall 2021. In 2018, he was one of the curators of Nuit Blanche Toronto. From 2011-2016, he worked with MENASA-based artists developing commissioned projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dhaka, Venice, and London. From 2005-2010, he was a curator for the first three editions of Performa in New York. This semester he is an adjunct professor at OCADU.Kari Cwynar is an independent curator and writer living in Toronto. From 2015-2020, she curated a program of temporary, site-responsive public art projects in Toronto’s Don River Valley through the non-profit Evergreen, where she is now Senior Curatorial Advisor. Cwynar studied Art History at Queen’s University and Carleton University, and participated in the 2012-2013 de Appel Curatorial Programme in Amsterdam. Between 2014 to 2019 she contributed to the editorial team of C Magazine as Assistant Editor, Editor and Editorial Director.Janine Marchessault is a curator of site-specific exhibitions that engage with history and land use, and Professor in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, York University. Her most recent project is Archive/Counter-Archive (<a href="https://counterarchive.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://counterarchive.ca/</a>). With a Canada Council New Chapter grant, she co-produced five short experimental Imax films, XLOuter Worlds (2019), that will begin touring in the near future. She is the author of Ecstatic Worlds: Media, Utopias, Ecologies (MIT Press, 2017).---Becoming Public Art: Working Models and Case Studies for Art in Public is a nine-week virtual summit co-curated by Rebecca Carbin, Principal, ART+PUBLIC UnLtd, and Yan Wu, Public Art Curator, City of Markham. In a series of virtual sessions, professionals in the field will present the broad range of perspectives that shape public art making today.For summit details and to subscribe for updates, please visit the <a href="https://yourvoicemarkham.ca/becoming-public-art" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">summit website</a>.

Katie Bethune-Leamen, Mushroom Studio, 2008. Toronto Sculpture Garden. Courtesy of Rina Greer.

A Forest of Canoes by Dana Claxton, May – August, 2018. Co-commissioned with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Courtesy of the Bentway.

Adrian Blackwell, Isonomia in Toronto? (creek), 2019. Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art. On view at Small Arms Inspection Building as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art (201). Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid. Courtesy Toronto Biennial of Art.

Life of a Craphead, King Edward VII Equestrian Statue Floating Down the Don, 2017, performance for the Don River Valley Park. Photo: Yuula Benivolski. Courtesy of Evergreen Brick Works.

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Becoming Public Art: Temporary Programming

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