The new Public Art Plan annual budget of $60,000 will be divided equally between commissioning public art from local artists and program administration.

Andrea Dawes, special initiatives manager of the Prince Edward County Arts Council, presented the Public Art Plan to Council’s Committee of the Whole on October 10. 

“This is a big one for us,” said Ms. Dawes, who spent three years consulting across the County. She conducted interviews and focus groups with hundreds of stakeholders and community members. The work culminated in a the Public Art Plan, a roadmap for selecting, promoting, and financing public art in the County.

Available on the County’s CivicWeb portal, the 83-page plan represents a “collaboration with municipal staff, co-created with hundreds of community members,” said Ms. Dawes.

Community priorities included using unique spaces, beautifying neglected ones, promoting local artists, and celebrating diversity.

But most important, there was a just a strong desire for more public art installations. These could take a variety of forms, such as a sculpture in a roundabout, a painted utility box, or more murals.

Dominique Jones, Executive Director of The County Foundation, extolled the benefits of public art, referring to examples such as Cloud Gate (also known as The Bean) in Chicago, by artist Anish Kapur, which attracts 20 million visitors a year, and The Forks in Winnipeg, a work of Indigenous art that attracts 4 million visitors annually.

The idea of developing a community-informed public art plan was hatched four years ago, after the County erected a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald outside the Picton Branch Library. It was repeatedly vandalized to protest the Prime Minister’s role as the architect of Canada’s residential school system. 

The County Arts Council suggested a public consultation process to determine the kinds of art that could best represent the values of the community.

“This process began from a rough patch in our community and the approval of this funding is a positive outcome,” said Councillor Phil St-Jean. “The benefits will be tremendous. It’s a small investment that I have no doubt will show a massive return — not just economically, but socially as well.”

Councillors Neiman and Maynard voted no, citing budget concerns.

“In these times of budgetary challenges, I am struggling to understand how we add something else to our plate,” said Councillor Maynard. “I wonder how much work was done to find alternate sources of funding, for example, sending it through our already established municipal grants, or private donations.”

Chris Palmer, Supervisor of Museums and Cultural Services, said the plan was developed with a $40,000 stipend, “considerably less than consultants are paid for something of this calibre, and it was done with little impact to taxpayers.” Of that amount, $10,000 came in the form of a bequest to the County Museums from a local benefactor, a further $10,000 came from the Community Services, Programs and Initiatives budget and the remaining $20,000 came from the Ontario Ministry of Agricultural Services and Rural Affairs.

The investment from the County will attract funding from other sources, said Mr. Palmer. “If the municipality supports the arts, it opens the door to so many more grants.”

The County Arts presentation compared public art budgets in Canadian towns of similar size. 

The budget for the County, including both administration and commissions for projects, comes to $2.33 per capita. Canmore, Alberta funds public art with $62,000 for the town of 15,990, or $3.88 per capita. White Rock, British Columbia, a town of 22,000, spends $50,000, or $2.27 per capita, on public art.

Ms. Dawes pointed out that it makes sense to fund local artists to support a local workforce. The County’s 300 working artists represent 2.6 percent of the local labor force, more than double the provincial and national average of 1 percent. 

A study commissioned by County Arts of data from the 2021 Census showed the County to be as rich in artists as Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake. It tied with both for first place in Ontario for number of artists per capita.