Published in The BANAR November 1999
The City of Gloucester has commissioned a work of art, “Faces of the Community” by Karl Ciesluk for the Blackburn Hamlet Community Hall.
Mr. Ciesluk will work with children from Emily Carr Middle School in Blackburn Hamlet to produce the commission. The work is a series of mosaics and will be designed and presented as an interior mural.
The commission will cost $6,000 and is funded through the 1999 capital program ( $4,000) and money carried forward from the 1998 art acquisition program ($2,500).
Two proposals were received and reviewed by a jury comprised of art professional artists, a member of the Gloucester Arts Board, the Gloucester Arts Council, and members of the Blackburn Hamlet Community Association.
The last commission of this kind was the RAKU sculpture that now hangs in the North Gloucester Branch of the Gloucester Public Library. This work was commissioned in 1997 and formally unveiled in 1998. There were no acquisitions made in 1998.
The City’s Municipal Art collection through its Art Acquisition Program is currently comprised of 45 works of art in various media, purchased or commissioned by artists from Gloucester.
There are two methods of purchasing art as described in the Public Arts Policy. One method is to have an open call for submissions where a jury selected completed works of art to accession into the collection The other method is to hold a commission for a specific location. Artists then submit proposal which are juried. There has been a change in approach to public art programs in that programs are now focusing on projects involve the community. Community involvement results in benefits to the community which include:
Strengthening (or creating) the link between artists and communities;
- Raising the community’s awareness of the art process;
- Gaining an understanding of the work prior to its installation;
- Encouraging innovative and creative partnerships;
- Allowing the community to take ownership and pride in the work; and
- Providing a framework that communities can use within their own organization.