City of Peterborough Puts Out Call for Community Advisory Group Members

The City of Peterborough is asking residents to consider joining the community advisory group that will help inform the creation of a Secondary Land Use Plan and Community Planning Permit System for the City’s Strategic Growth Areas.

downtown photo

The plan and permit system will help promote intensified development, speed up development approvals and implement the new Official Plan, the City of Peterborough stated in a media release.

The Strategic Growth Areas are designated in the new Official Plan and include the downtown core as well as major corridors such as Lansdowne Street, Chemong Road, Clonsilla Avenue, Water Street and Armour Road.

There are openings for two residents on the advisory group.

It will also include representatives from local community organizations involved in a range of issues including housing, transportation, arts, cultural heritage, Indigenous rights and heritage, and environmental sustainability.

Interested persons can apply at Connect Ptbo by Oct. 4.

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The Lakefield Jazz, Art & Craft Festival is Coming to Town This Saturday

The Lakefield Jazz, Art & Craft Festival returns this Saturday, July 8 to Isabel Morris Park in Lakefield.

file photo.

Enjoy a day of jazz music, colourful works for sale by artisans and crafters, local food and beverage vendors.

The grooving begins at 11 a.m. at 20 Concession Street and finishes up at 10 p.m. Admission is $10 per person with tickets available for cash only at the gates

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own water bottle for use at the on-site water refill station and cutlery.

A shuttle bus will be available for free on Saturday, July 8 from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., with stops at Trent University, the Lakefield District Public School and the Lakefield Jazz, Art & Craft Festival.

Visit the website for details.

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The City’s Public Art Program Announces Selected Poets for the Renaissance on Hunter Poetry Gardens

The City of Peterborough Public Art Program has announced the selection of poets commissioned as part of the Renaissance on Hunter Poetry Gardens Project.

photo courtesy of the city of peterborough.

From mid-July to mid-October the Renaissance on Hunter Poetry Gardens will feature works by local poets; Laurie Graham, Jen Cole, Bruce Whiteman, Jon Hedderwick, Justin Million, PJ Thomas, Chantel Daniels, Bon Scott, Esther Vincent and Laura Murray.

The poems are installed in the temporary planters adjacent to the Renaissance on Hunter Road Murals on Hunter Street between George and Aylmer streets, and will change monthly over the course of the summer.

In June the gardens featured poetry by the 2023 Poet Laureate, Ziysah von Bieberstein and Peterborough’s first Poet Laureate, Sarah Lewis.

As part of the project, GreenUp was commissioned to design and install the gardens that form the backdrop for the poems. The gardens feature an array of perennial native plantings that are drought-tolerant and thrive in full sun. Plantings include purple coneflower, yarrow, hairy beardtongue, anise hyssop, brown-eyed Susan and nodding wild onion, as well as a selection of prairie grasses. Many are now in full bloom.  

This announcement coincides with the completion of the 2023 road murals, created through the Road Mural Mentorship Program.  

The road mural artist teams by site are:

Site 1: Odoonabii II by mentor Aaron Robitaille, with mentees Kelly King, Em Farquhar Barrie, and Holly Edwards.

Site 2: Glacial Formation II by mentor Josh Morley, with mentees Sarah St. Pierre and Bethany Davis.

Site 3: Flight of the Pollinators II by mentor Brooklin Holbrough, with mentees Justine- Marie Williams and Deanna Henry.

Site 4: Nothing Out of Reach II by mentor Nuin-Tara Morin, with mentees Aryan Bhagat and Cassandra Shaw.

Twenty-three local artists were commissioned as part of the Renaissance on Hunter public art projects this year. For more information about the projects and the artists visit the City’s Public Art website.

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The Faculty Art Exhibition Returns to the Haliburton School of Art + Design

An annual art exhibition celebrating the creative talents of faculty at the Haliburton School of Art + Design (HSAD) will return to the school this summer.

photo courtesy of fleming college Haliburton School of Art + Design.

‘Hand of the Maker’ runs from June 26 to August 18. 

The exhibit features thirty pieces of work from Haliburton’s faculty in a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, painting, jewelry, and metal work.  

An opening reception takes place July 3 from 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Great Hall.  

Both the reception and the exhibit are open to the public and free to attend. 

Other events at HSAD:  

Art Talk, July 5 – Aug. 9 in the Great Hall  

Running each Wednesday evening, Art Talk is a series of focused discussions touching on everything from Mad Comics to the history of seed beads.  

Live Music in the Great Hall, July 6 to Aug. 10  

Join us Thursday evenings for some live entertainment. Doors open at 4 p.m., and guests are welcome to walk around HSAD, meet faculty and learn about the art created by our multitalented students.  

More information on Haliburton’s programming, summer activities and faculty can be found here.  

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New City Public Art Program to Mentor 10 Local Artists For Large-Scale Project

The City of Peterborough Public Art Program is inviting 10 local artists to be in a paid mentorship, working on road murals throughout downtown Peterborough.

File Photo.

The Road Mural Mentorship Program has seen the past two decades work on the Renaissance on Hunter public art project which is entering its third year. It transforms the café district on Hunter Street into a series of road murals and artist gardens.

The purpose of both public art projects is to transform Hunter Street into a welcoming and engaging pedestrian space during the warm weather season.

“The goal of the Road Mural Mentorship Program is to create opportunities for artists interested in expanding their practices into the public art realm,” says Wendy Trusler, City of Peterborough public art facilitator. “I’m excited to see the mentorship program build capacity within the local arts community for future projects like the Renaissance on Hunter.”

The program is seeking applications from emerging and mid-career professional artists who are in Peterborough, the County, Hiawatha First Nation, and Curve Lake First Nation with the deadline on May 1, at 4 p.m. All applications must be submitted online.

The Renaissance on Hunter public art projects are administered and funded through the City of Peterborough Public Art Program and in partnership with the Downtown Business Improvement Area and GreenUP. 

For more information and to apply, visit peterborough.ca/publicart.

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Haliburton School of Art and Design Launches Summer Course Calendar

Discover a new passion and embrace creativity this summer with 55 new classes and workshops at the Fleming College Haliburton School of Art + Design (HSAD).

photo courtesy of fleming college haliburton school of art + design, facebook.

The new Summer 2023 course calendar for HSAD is out and features new courses, plus the return of some of HSAD’s most popular programs. Featuring 55 new classes and workshops, programs cover everything from Art as Activism, Contemporary Rug Hooking to Forging-Damascus Steel Construction.  

HSAD says they are also excited to welcome more than two dozen new teachers to the campus this upcoming summer to both inspire and teach students. Juno Award winning artist Susan Aglukark is hosting two four-day workshops in August, and other instructors include Julie Moon, Naomi Smith, Daniel Scott Tysdale and Lisa Barry, part of the team behind Homestead Pottery. Barry will be teaching an evening class on Wheel Throwing and Hand Building in the spring.  

There are day camps for children and teens and week-long workshops for adults yearning for an artistic getaway in the Haliburton Highlands.  

Join HSAD as they open the doors to the community through lectures, live music and a chance to get a first-hand look at what’s going on at the Haliburton Campus this summer.  

Art Talks run Wednesdays from July 5 to Aug. 9 in the Great Hall, featuring discussions on topics ranging from Mad Comics to the Story of Seedbeads. All are welcome to attend a Walk About at the campus Thursday afternoons, and there will also be free live music in the Great Hall Thursday evenings from July 6 to Aug. 10.

Summer program registration begins on March 1. Find the full catalogue by contacting the College by phone (ext. 4) or email to order a 2023 summer program.  

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Art Gallery of Peterborough Acquires Late Artist David Bierk’s Painted Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

The Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP) announces the recent acquisition of the late David Bierk’s Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to its Permanent Collection.

David Bierk and Members of the Major Bennett Chapter of the IODE as his portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was installed at the Memorial Centre on Jan. 9, 1980. Photo courtesy of Trent Valley Archives from the Major Bennett IODE Fonds.

The painting was made for the Peterborough Memorial Centre and was installed on Jan. 9, 1980, where it presided over countless sports games, concerts and events until the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 19, 2022.

The painting was commissioned by the Major Bennett Chapter of the IODE for the Memorial Centre to commemorate the group’s 60th anniversary with matching funds from a Wintario Grant.

David Bierk was selected from a list of potential artists by jurors Illi-Maria Tamplin and Zoltan Temesy, then director and chair of the board of the AGP. The original commissioning documents, which are held at Trent Valley Archives, state that if the painting ever needed to be removed it should be donated to the Art Gallery of Peterborough, or the Peterborough Public Library, whichever was preferred.

With these documents the City of Peterborough provided information to the AGP that was reviewed by the AGP Acquisitions Committee. The Committee considers all collection offers and makes recommendations to the AGP Board of Directors, which is the owner of the AGP’s Permanent Collection.

Councillor Alex Bierk, chair of the City’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Portfolio, shared “Growing up, I saw my dad’s massive painting of the Queen at Pete's games, high in the Memorial Centre. My brother Zac told me how players tried to aim for it with pucks during practice. I find it special how the painting intersects my dad's love of sports and his life as an artist, and how it hung over my brother Zac’s head in goal as he played for the Petes. The public reacted strongly when it was taken down. I'm so happy that it ended up in the collection of the Art Gallery of Peterborough to be kept safe and continue to live on in our community.”

The Art Gallery of Peterborough received designation as a Category A Collecting Institution by the Department of Canadian Heritage in 1981. Chair of the board and acquisitions committee, Catharine Blastorah says, “The AGP makes collection decisions very carefully following best practice standards. Whenever we accept a work into the Collection, we make that decision for our and future generations. This painting, which is based on a photograph of the Queen taken during her Silver Jubilee visit to Canada, is a welcome addition to the gallery’s collection, which holds very few early works by the artist.”

The AGP Board of Directors approved the acquisitions committee’s recommendation to accept the donation on Dec. 15, 2022. Gallery staff and the AGP board of directors worked with staff at the City to safely relocate the work from the Memorial Centre to the AGP’s Collection storage vault. There it will be cleaned and integrated into the gallery’s Permanent Collection where it will join over one hundred works by Bierk.

David Bierk (1944-2002) was born in Appleton, Minnesota, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. David immigrated to Canada and in 1972 took up a teaching position at Kenner Collegiate and Vocational Institute. After two years teaching high school art he moved on to teach at Fleming College, where he remained for 5 years.

In 1974 David became a founding member of Peterborough’s artist-run-centre, Artspace, of which he was the Director until 1987. In 1998 he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Artists.

David was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and his work is held in numerous public and private collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canada Council Art Bank, and the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

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DBIA Unveils Two Large-Scale Murals To Enhance Downtown Peterborough Streetscape

The Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) has unveiled two new large-scale murals to enhance the streetscape experience through public art.

Artist Julii McMillan next to her creation, “Monarch Monolith” outside Peterborough Square’s courtyard. It took her and assistant Samantha Chiusolo three and a half days to complete. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The murals are located just outside the Peterborough Square courtyard and on the corner of George Street and King Street along the Village of Thai building.

These art pieces serve as the DBIA’s renewed focus towards street art as a means to create an attractive downtown area.

The Peterborough Square piece is a monarch-themed mural created by artist Julii McMillan and assistant Samantha Chiusolo. It repurposed a large defunct pillar near the Market Hall entrance, below the clock tower. Described as being similar to a butterfly, the pillar has undergone a metamorphosis and now stands as a magnificent cylindrical art piece.

“Public art is powerful. It can bring people together over shared values, inspire pride and responsibility in the surrounding community,” said McMillan. “It brings colour and joy and moments of discovery for all ages when they stumble upon it. Public art is place-making. It asks us to stop and pay attention, to wonder and play a little more.”

Artist Katie Irwin took roughly a week to paint her “Boro” mural at the side of Village of Thai on the corner of George Street and King Street. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The other mural titled, ‘Welcome to The Boro’ is roughly 105 sq. ft. and has been installed to greet visitors and refresh the experience of entering the downtown. It was created by Katie Irwin who has had her work displayed at the First Friday Art Crawl and Art Gallery of Peterborough.

The mural displays Peterborough in its natural environment with the Otonabee River running through the image. 

“These two new murals will entice foot traffic and interest to the area. We were inspired by First Friday PTBO, which had great success with a mural by Kathryn Durst in Bankers Commons on Water street a few years ago,” says Terry Guiel, DBIA executive director. “We are so grateful to have the opportunity to add more art to our vibrant downtown. Street art plays a vital role in nurturing safe and welcoming spaces by connecting people to public space while magnifying the profile of our local arts community.”

Both murals were funded by the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund (TRF), through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

The DBIA, alongside 36 other regional tourism organizations, have received $2.8 million in support for tourism relief in the Peterborough, Kawarthas and Northumberland regions.

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You Can Help Shape Peterborough's Cultural Map By Taking Survey

From now until August 15th, you have been invited to help plan the City's Cultural Map. Visit the city's website to find the "Culture Lives Here" survey. For print versions of the survey, you can stop by City Hall's reception desk. For further information, visit the "Culture Lives Here" Facebook page or contact the Arts, Culture, and Heritage division at 705-742-7777, Ext. 1442.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Peterborough's Music & Arts Scene Rocks (Exhibit A: Bear Trees)

Bear Trees are a new local pop band, spreading their collective wings across the local music scene. The band is lead by Mike Duguay, a multifaceted scenester who seems to display an unending energy to explore all facets of his creativity. On any given night, you might find him and his band opening for any number of touring musical acts passing through town. Then again, you might find him taking the stage for a play or performance piece as part of a local, improvised theatre troop.

It’s people like Mike Duguay, and projects like Bear Trees, which are forever springing out of the local arts scene. The lush arts community we are blessed to witness here in Peterborough on a daily basis would be nothing without people like Duguay and dozens just like him.

This town is ripe with folks wanting to collaborate, organize, promote and spread the gospel of the talented folks who create here. Peterborough's vibrant arts scene is a known calling card across this country. This town has long been a draw for artists of all disciplines, bringing great music, leading edge visuals and dynamic performance to venues across the city.

Renowned painter David Bierk and a team of like minds put Peterborough on the visual arts map when they initiated Artspace in the mid-seventies. Artspace was and remains a cutting edge nest of creativity where local and touring visual ideas brew. Recently, the much lauded debut album by roots-centric band Evening Hymns was born from a series of recording sessions within those same art covered walls.

You needn’t look very hard to discover music in this town. The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, choral groups, and singer-songwriters alongside punk and metal bands carry on a thriving existence here. Welcoming venues are peppered throughout the city, hosting live music on a nightly basis.

It’s this tangible, communal, supportive nature which benefits both the artists and performers as well as the audiences who have witnessed the spoils of this for decades.

--Jeffrey Macklin, PtboCanada contributor

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