Council approved the Public Art Policy prepared by County Arts last week.

It also lifted a near two-year moratorium on permanent Public Art installations, set in 2023.

Andrea Dawes, special initiatives manager at the Prince Edward County Arts Council, gave a deputation to describe the new policy, which will be in place for three years.

“Prince Edward County is a rural leader in public art, championing creativity as a catalyst for vibrant community engagement in our public spaces,” noted Ms. Dawes.

“Access to creating and experiencing art is equitable and inclusive. Public art initiatives welcome, enrich, and inspire our community; showcase artistic excellence; and create opportunities to respectfully discover and celebrate all of our stories.

“The budget is relatively small for a county-wide program, so it will take some time to roll out, but our aim is to have public art projects in in all corners the County.”

County Museums Supervisor Chris Palmer, municipal liaison for the program, outlined its structure. “It’s set up with a public art reserve fund monitored by the County. $30,000 per year will be put in that fund from the municipal coffers, and we’ll use that money as the Public Art Committee to sponsor projects or apply for grants for specific projects.

“There will be a community-initiated forum and procedure.”

A separate Public Art Team at the municipality can support with content review, proper permitting and, help to get the artwork through the hoops, “pulling all the municipal levers to make sure the project gets seen through to installation.” 

Councillor John Hirsch expressed appreciation of level of detail of report that stands behind the Public Art Policy. “There are no loopholes.”

Mayor Ferguson expressed the general feeling of Council, “it’s a really thorough and high-water-mark report.”