HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-09-16 ACAC Minutes
Arts and Culture Advisory Committee
September 16, 2025, 4:00 p.m.
Schmalz Room - Second Floor City Hall
City of Kitchener
200 King Street W, Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7
Present: ____ J. Hall, Chair
____ R. Labrie, Vice Chair
____ Councillor D. Schnider, Member
____ M. Lam, Member
____ A. Mehta, Member
____ W. Rahimi, Member
____ O. Ajibade, Member
____ S. Florence, Member
Staff:
____ J. Dueck, Director, Culture & Entertainment
____ A. Hallam, Manager, Arts & Creative Industries
____ E. Rumble, Coordinator, Arts & Creative Industry
____ K. Varin, Committee Administrator
_____________________________________________________________________
1. Commencement
The Arts and Culture Advisory Committee held a meeting this date commencing
at 4:00 p.m.
1.1 Acceptance of agenda
Accepted on motion by W. Rahimi, seconded by A. Mehta.
1.2 Acceptance of July minutes
Accepted on motion by W. Rahimi, seconded by S. Florence.
2.Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof
None.
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3.Delegations
None.
4.Discussion Items
4.1 Upper Canada Park public art installation: Eric Rumble, Coordinator, Arts
and Creative Industries
The Upper Canada Park will be undergoing renovations. As per the 1% public art
policy, one percent of the renovation budget has been allocated to site a public
artwork in the park. E. Rumble worked with the Parks & Open Spaces team to
develop an invitational call for proposals. Responding to competition criteria, a
jury composed of staff and an ACAC member selected 'The Seams' by JAH
Qube led by artist and architect Javid Jah. The proposal was further reviewed by
Parks Operations, Engineering and Sports teams. The artwork is a depiction of
the red seams found on a baseball, creating a graceful form with the illusion of a
ball's leather surface. The jury felt that the proposed artwork offers a unique
experience to baseball enthusiasts and visitors alike. They appreciated the
proposal's clever dimensionality, smart detailing and its potential as an intriguing
focal point.
A report will be taken to Council. If approved, the artist and his team will enter
production with the goal of a spring 2026 installation in the park.
On a motion made by A. Mehta and seconded by R. Labrie, members voted
unanimously:
'That the selection of the artist Javid Jah and his team at JAH Cube(Qube), and
their Upper Canada Park public art opportunity be approved
5. Information Items
5.1 Public art program updates: Karoline Varin, Program Administrator, Arts
and Creative Industries
The 2025 Artist in Residency is in full swing. Tara Cooper has engaged the Doon
community in drop-in outdoor workshops on the community centre’s grounds.
She will be participating in and sharing her residency goal, at a fair in September
at the centre, and leading adult and teen workshops in the fall. The imagery and
written feedback from participants will inform some of the designs for her public
artwork to be fabricated and installed in 2026.
The Arts & Creative Industries team worked with the Downtown team to create
and launch a call for proposals, focused exclusively on local artists, to license
artwork that would be reproduced on banners. The call closed with around 50
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submissions. The jury is composed of ACAC and DAC (Downtown Advisory
Committee) members. Twelve designs will be chosen: six as all season, six as
winter.
ACAC will be the jury for the 2026 Rotunda Gallery exhibition program call for
submissions. Members will be able to access and assess the submissions
through a virtual platform. The mandate of the gallery is to showcase artists with
past exhibition history, who tell an interesting story that connects to the local
communities.
5.2 Public art competitions updates: Eric Rumble, Coordinator, Arts and
Creative Industries
Drone footage of 'Wintertime Stories' at KPL Southwest branch was produced by
an Indigenous media collective. It will be used to compliment the audio already
produced to promote the artwork and its story, and to support library
programming in relation to the artwork.
Artists producing the public artwork 'Swoop' for the Mill Courtland Community
Centre will kick off a series of workshops in November. They will host them at
different sites, inviting the community to contribute to the artwork by creating
swallows out of willow branches. They aim to generate about 200 swallows of
good quality to integrate into the installation late in 2026.
5.3 Member updates
J. Hall and S. Florence provided updates.
6. Adjournment
On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
Karoline Varin
Committee Administrator
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