Seeds to Sow: Public Opening

Lou Sheppard, Sunset Ceremony, Kempenfelt Bay, 2024, digital drawing. Courtesy the artist.

Public Opening for Seeds to Sow

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 28, 2024, 1 – 3pm
Exhibition Dates: September 27 – November 8, 2024
Key program dates and details below
City of Barrie, ON

Curated by Katie Lawson
Organized by Public Art Coordinator and Artistic Director, Carol-Ann Ryan

The presence of temporary public art is, by nature, fleeting. In the time that these interventions are a part of our common spaces, we are encouraged to appreciate these offerings much in the way we do the bounty of a finite growing season. The exhibition Seeds to Sow evokes the cyclical time of seasons, each seed carries an inheritance from our past and a potential for the future. Over the course of six weeks, the shore of Kempenfelt Bay and Barrie’s downtown is host to six site-specific artworks by Adrian Blackwell, Amy Bagshaw, Lisa Hirmer, Lou Sheppard, Native Art Department International and Ted Fullerton. Each of these artists has developed a new project that responds to local ecologies, history, and stories.

In relation to dominant forms of public art, these works are modest in scale and material, yet they urge viewers to engage with that which already surrounds them, whether that is the built environment, the air we breathe, or the soundscape of the Bay. The seeds sown by the artworks in this exhibition are the seeds of curiosity—to notice what makes up the fabric of a place and linger on the slippage between the work of art and its surroundings.

The artworks in Seeds to Sow offer the opportunity for reflection: an encouragement to look to the past as we imagine our collective future. The act of planting a seed is a powerful symbol of hope and potential, oriented towards the season to come. Artists urge us to reflect particularly on interconnected crises that define our current moment, as a time marked by major social, political and environmental change.

Visit our satellite exhibition, Their horizon was mountain, their distance reveals, by Derek Liddington at The MacLaren Art Centre.

Seeds to Sow is generously supported by the City of Barrie, Anonymous, OCAF, Downtown Barrie, Joan Gilroy, Flying Monkeys, Kim Kieller, Anne Menzies, Barry and Elizabeth Peacock, RBC Wealth Planning, Leading Edge Earthworks, Joan Lehman, Rotary Club of Barrie – Huronia, Seven Elements Wealth Management.

Lisa Hirmer, A Reminder That You Too Are Atmosphere, 2023, laser cut steel signs with custom steel posts. Courtesy the artist.

Programs

Artist Performance: Amy Bagshaw
Friday, September 20, Saturday, September 21, and Monday, September 23 | 9:30am – 5pm
Barrie Public Library, Downtown Branch, 60 Worsley Street, Barrie, ON L4M 1L6
In the lead up to the public opening, exhibiting artist Amy Bagshaw invites members of the public to watch as she weaves hundreds of metres of rope into a large-scale installation and site-specific sculpture on the second-floor Rooftop Garden of the Barrie Public Library. All ages are welcome for this public performance where the artist will connect and chat with viewers.

Public Opening Reception
Saturday, September 28, 1pm – 3pm | Remarks at 1:30pm
Sandbox Centre, 24 Maple Ave 2nd Floor, Barrie, ON L4M 7W4
The artists and curator will be present and circulating. Following remarks the public is encouraged to view the exhibition.

Artist Performance: Lou Sheppard
Saturday, September 28, 7pm – 8pm
Centennial Beach, 65 Lakeshore Drive, Barrie, ON L4N 2M6
As a part of Lou Sheppard’s sound installation at the Lion’s Pavillion on Centennial Beach, the public is invited to gather by Kempenfelt Bay for a live performance of Sunset Ceremony.

Spare Room: The Making of Seeds to Sow
Thursday, October 3, 6pm – 8pm
Spare Room, 12 Lakeshore Mews, Barrie, ON L4M 1A6
Join Public Art Coordinator Carol-Ann Ryan at local creative hub Spare Room as she discusses the development of Barrie’s public art program and the vision behind Seeds to Sow. Attendees will gather for networking and refreshments during the first hour of the event, talk begins at 7pm.

Maclaren Fall Opening Reception
Friday, October 4, 6:30pm – 9pm
MacLaren Art Centre, 37 Mulcaster Street, Barrie, ON L4M 3M2
Derek Liddington’s Their horizon was mountain, their distance reveals – a Satellite Exhibition of Seeds to Sow – is celebrated alongside the MacLaren’s full Fall program, including Structural Integrity curated by Noa Bronstein and Jon Sasaki’s Homage.

Interactive Walking Tour
Saturday, October 5, 11am – 12:30pm
MacLaren Art Centre Lobby, 37 Mulcaster Street, Barrie, ON L4M 3M2
Curator Katie Lawson will lead a walking tour of the exhibition Seeds to Sow. After meeting at the MacLaren, participants will join Lawson for a walk to engage with the satellite exhibition and six site-specific installations through a series of sensory prompts.

Spare Room: Panel Conversation
Friday, November 1, 6pm – 8pm
Spare Room, 12 Lakeshore Mews, Barrie, ON L4M 1A6
As a part of local creative hub Spare Room’s program, Seeds to Sow artist Adrian Blackwell will bring together a panel to extend the dialogue of his installation A New UFO? on view at City Hall. Attendees will gather for networking and refreshments during the first hour of the event, panel discussion begins at 7pm.

For exhibition information, please contact:
Carol-Ann Ryan
Public Art Coordinator and Artistic Director Seeds to Sow
carol-ann.ryan@barrie.ca
705-984-5215

For media inquiries, please contact:
Emma Sharpe
Communications Advisor
emma.sharpe@barrie.ca
705-794-0416

@CreativeBarrie
Barrie.ca/seedstosow

The City of Barrie acknowledges the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg people, which include the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Pottawatomi Nations collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. We also acknowledge the Wendat Nation (Huron) who occupied these lands prior to the middle of the 17th century.

We are dedicated to honouring Indigenous history and culture and recognize the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples on this land. We are committed to moving forward in the spirit of reconciliation and respect with all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People.