It’s the first of hopefully many for the City of Lacombe.
City of Lacombe administration is currently accepting applications for the very first piece of artwork to be added to the City of Lacombe Art Collection from the Percent for Art policy.
“It’s exciting, I think, because basically we are wanting to be the prettiest, greenest, most beautiful city in Canada or in Alberta,” said Sandi Stewart, manager of Lacombe recreation and culture.
“This is a good way to force ourselves, going forward, to incorporate things that beautify our City.”
Lacombe’s Percent for Art Policy is a new policy that was brought in to help Lacombe grow as a center for arts and culture.
It ensures that a percentage of the budget for certain capital projects goes toward adding new art to the City of Lacombe Art Collection.
“Because Lacombe wants to be an arts and culture hub, we needed a way to ensure that we continued to grow as a community with art and culture,” said Maureen MacKenzie, executive assistant for the City of Lacombe.
One of two locations will be chosen for the piece.
Option one is the area of the small green space by the spray park of the Leisure Complex which would be suitable for a fixed and permanent three-dimensional piece.
The second option is the south facing wall of the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre which would be appropriate for a two-dimensional art piece such as a mural.
Other than that, administration is reluctant to give any further direction to applying artists.
MacKenzie said this is in an effort to avoid influencing any artist and added that administration would rather hear what kinds of pieces artists think would go best in those spaces.
The area around the Leisure Complex was chosen to house the first piece of art under the One Percent for Art Policy because it is a high traffic area that is a hub of activity for Lacombe.
MacKenzie said another purpose behind the project is to promote Alberta artists so it is important for the piece to be easily visible.
While this new piece will be the first added to the City of Lacombe Art Collection under the new policy, the collection already contains over 160 pieces of art.
The City of Lacombe Art Collection Committee is charged with accepting art into the collection and will be choosing the new piece to be placed in one of the two areas outside the Leisure Complex as well.
Artist applications for the new piece will be accepted by the City until July 26 at noon.
The City of Lacombe Art Collection Committee will then select the successful application which will be completed by the fall of this year.
For more information, or to submit an application, contact Sandi Stewart at 403-782-1266 or via email at sstewart@lacombe.ca.