Winnipeg Arts Council Wins Public Art Award of Excellence!
Last night in Surrey, BC, The Creative City Network of Canada celebrated its inaugural Awards of Excellence during the Creative City Summit. The Award of Excellence in Public Art was presented to Executive Director, Carol A. Phillips and Tricia Wasney, Manager of Public Art of the Winnipeg Arts Council. The award of Excellence in Public Art recognizes a Canadian municipality that demonstrated visionary leadership by supporting an excellent program and process that led to a successful public art program.
Winnipeg’s Public Art Policy was developed by the Winnipeg Arts Council on behalf of the City of Winnipeg in 2002. The Policy was approved in 2004 and has evolved into an ever-expanding Public Art Program that includes local, national and international commissions, artist residencies and an innovative collaborative community art program. This award reinforces the broad respect for Winnipeg’s Public Art Program from local communities and artists to national and international artists to municipalities across Canada. The Program has been a model of best practices since its inception and has played a major role in making Winnipeg a leader in Public Art development and programming.
“We are thrilled and honoured to receive this award. We are grateful for the support of the City of Winnipeg whose investment has allowed the Public Art Program to flourish. Our public art projects, ranging from major international commissions to intimate community collaborations exemplify the power of public art to enhance connections between people, place and culture, and to humanize civic space.” - Carol A. Phillips
The Public Art Program works closely with a diverse volunteer Public Art Committee to ensure engagement with the people of Winnipeg.
"The Program has proven to be an exceptional way to add depth and meaning to public spaces ranging from parks, streets, green lanes, bridges, community centres, bike lanes, trails, nature preserves and more. None of these successful collaborations would be possible without WAC’s exceptionally hard working, professional and adventurous public art staff." - Monica Giesbrecht and Heather Cram, past chairs of the Public Art Committee and principals of HTFC Planning and Design.
The WITH ART and Youth WITH ART projects match professional artists with communities to collaborate on art projects that explore identity, issues and ideas of grass roots communities.
"Knowing that those ideas, undertaken with and by people who have a nascent sense of their own creative power and their place within the City, will be fostered by the Winnipeg Arts Council, is truly a testimony to the strength of this remarkable program." - Margaret Ormond, Special Projects Manager, Sunshine House Inc.
A fundamental belief of the Winnipeg Arts Council is “Arts For All,” and guiding principles of the Public Art Policy and Program include creating meaningful, integrated artworks that are accessible to the people of Winnipeg in many forms.
