HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-2025-358 - Upper Canada Park public art commission
Development Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: October 6, 2025
SUBMITTED BY: Andrea Hallam, Manager, Arts & Creative Industries, 519-783-8269
PREPARED BY: Eric Rumble, Coordinator, Arts & Creative Industries, 519-783-8294
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 4
DATE OF REPORT: September 15, 2025
REPORT NO.: DSD-2025-358
SUBJECT: Upper Canada Park public art commission
RECOMMENDATION:
That the commission and creation of a
Jah and his organization JAH Cube, to be installed at Upper Canada Park as part of
the final phase of its current facility improvements, be approved; and,
That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to implement an agreement, satisfactory to
the City Solicitor, with the artist team, outlining the obligations of the commission.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
The purpose of this report is to explain the selection rationale and recommended
proponent from the 2025-26 Upper Canada Park invitational public art competition.
The key finding of this report is the jury selection of one proposal, which resulted from
a consensus deliberation after consideration of three options submitted and presented.
The financial implications are a $60,000 allotment from the park improvement budget,
plus approximately $17,000 to $20,000 from the consolidated public art account.
Community engagement included support from the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee.
This report supports the delivery of core services through the 1% for public art policy.
BACKGROUND:
The -specific artworks at newly constructed
facilities such as libraries, community centres, fire stations, parking garages, and other
public spaces and civic buildings. These artworks include permanent installations of many
styles and materials, chosen with a preference for artistic merit and material innovation, site
responsiveness, public engagement and accessibility, durability and sustainability.
Upper Canada Park (UCP) is eligible for a public artwork allotment through the City of
GOV-COR-816. Guided by policy, an invitational competition
was used to create a process to determine a recommended project to invest this allotment.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
Due to the compressed timeline of UCP improvements, Arts & Creative Industries (A&CI)
staff organized a single-stage competition, extending invitations to three artists to submit
proposals. Each potential proponent was asked to develop an idea for a new artwork for a
add new washrooms, improved parking options, shade structures, benches and pathway
-lit baseball diamonds, skate park, playgrounds and trails.
Internal discussion of the UCP artwork allotment crystalized in winter 2025. Aiming to
select an artist proponent by fall, a proposal opportunity brief and curated list of invitees
were made, and invitations were sent after the RFP and project budgeting were confirmed
in late spring. Artists submitted proposals and presented their concepts to jurors in
summer 2025. With the requirement that an artwork be sited to align with critical
reconstruction deadlines in spring 2026, contracting an artist during autumn 2025 would
allow the selected proponent up to six months to engineer, fabricate, produce, document,
and install their concept.
This compressed timeline enabled staff to experiment further with 1% policy application
options by facilitating a three-
committee and both teams responsible for integrating an artwork into the park. Additional
commentary was solicited from stakeholder City teams and references provided by artists.
As A&CI staff continue to recalibrate policy implementation following the 2023 review and
revision, testing various public art competition models helps build experience and flexibility.
No allotment was made during other recent upgrades to the park. A&CI staff chose to draw
additional funds from the consolidated public art account to pay for administering the
competition (proposal and maquette fees, a jury meeting, HST cost), as well as to support
site preparation and offer a more competitively resourced opportunity to seasoned artists.
REPORT:
The opportunity brief shared with artist invitees described a semi-prescriptive approach to:
2
transform an irregularly shaped 20m poured-in-place raised green space
or garden area into a baseball-related visual point of interest. A riff on the
moniker could be a strong option. Or
an artwork concept could reinvent the pennants-on-posts visual of major
championship trophy. Other baseball-related motifs
such as diamonds, balls, caps, stitches or bats could also be reimagined
in another form. City staff are seeking concepts that do not include
figurative representations of baseball players, which will not be
considered for this project.
Invitees were determined by the A&CI team based on a variety of considerations, including
bilities. Careful attention was given
alignment with the thematic details
of the opportunity, and the prospect of three distinct, accomplished styles to select from.
Invited artists were each paid $1,500 to produce a proposal containing these details:
Preliminary sketch(es) or drawing(s) of the artwork concept
A two-and suitability
Up to 10 images of past work that arerelevant to theproject
Two past public art project references for staff to contact
Additionally, each artist was asked to prepare a presentation to the competition jury that
would expand on their proposal package, clarify the poured foundation necessary to support
their artwork idea, and explain how their concept would align with the commission
art toolkit); design, engineering, fabrication, production and/or installation contractors;
material, studio, storage, transportation and/or documentation expenses; insurance, legal
and/or administrative fees; and artist or team travel, accommodation and meeting costs.
Competition
In advance of proposals and presentations, each artist was provided an opportunity to meet
Spaces Design. The questions, visual resources and follow-up details surfaced by those on-
site meetings were shared with all three competitors.
The competition jurors recruited to participate were:
Nathan Stretch, a volunteer representing the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee
Ashley Hosker, a landscape architect on staff, representing the UCP renovation team
Karoline Varin, A&CI program administrator, representing the public art portfolio
The following criteria for evaluating submissions were explained to artists and jurors:
artistic merit, strength and clarity of concept in the proposal
relevance to the established site activities in the proposed artwork installation
capacity to collaborate with other professionals to realize a successful outcome
qualifications and ability to produce high-quality artworks
capacity to successfully complete and install an artwork
Jurors were provided with a couple of weeks to review the submitted proposals before a
mid-August presentation and deliberation meeting. Each artist was provided 30 minutes to
present and discus
Engineering, Sports and Parks Operations teams, as well as by professional references
submitted by each artist, were shared. Jurors deliberated for approximately 90 minutes.
While the two proposals not selected by the jury were compelling and led to interesting
discussion with each artist and among jurors afterwards, the recommended proponent was
The Seams imagines a composition of steel tubes
-
shape, implied by its negative space and presented on an exaggerated home base plinth.
The idea is a sculpture that unequivocally speaks to the culture of baseball yet remains
open and provocative for those meandering through the park an
optical illusion, creating intriguing views from every vantage point.-
build studio, JAH Qube, touted its ability to design and fa
sculpture within the allotted budget, having competed for and completed
other public artwork permanent art
that can meet challenging criteria yet maintain aesthetic and ingenuity.
Jury statement
The Seams, offers a cool experience to baseball
enthusiasts using Upper Canada Park or anyone else there for any other reason. The jury
intriguing focal point that also does not obstruct any views. The idea is evocative, not
derivative, and is likely effective at any time or season. A deconstructed baseball is also a
fun idea that works as either a literal or abstract icon, and this use of negative space is an
engaging solution for a striking outdoor sculpture within the available budget.
suitability to the site design.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports the delivery of core services.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The recommendation has no impact on the capital or operating budget.
for UCP was
determined to be a $60,000 allocation by Parks staff. To cover selection process and
administrative costs such as compensating artists to develop proposals, one jury meeting
and a portion of HST collection, and to adequately scale this opportunity in consultation with
ble project costs, A&CI has
elected to invest an additional $17,000 to $20,000 from the consolidated public art account.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM This report has been
the council / committee meeting.
COLLABORATE A&CI collaborated with the Parks & Open Spaces Design team to
constitute an opportunity to meet shared objectives, as well as with staff from Engineering,
The Arts & Culture Advisory Committee unanimously endorsed the jury selection of the artist
Javid Jah and his team at JAH Cube, and their proposed artwork, The Seams, for the Upper
Canada Park public art opportunity, at its meeting on September 16, 2025.
PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
GOV-COR-816 City of Kitchener Public Art Policy
APPROVED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A Selected The Seams
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