Public art policy in Sudbury being looked at by the city

Greater Sudbury is looking to bring more art out onto the streets as city staff are working on a policy to guide the creation and management of public art.

The policy will set guidelines for selecting, funding and maintaining public artwork, including murals, statues and monuments. It could also establish legal graffiti walls for anyone in the community to use.

Senior planner for the city, Ed Landry, says the goal is to have a one-window process that makes it easier for artists to bring their ideas to the city.

"Eventually looking to grow the capacity of the community, to enliven Greater Sudbury as a whole, and to allow Greater Sudbury to celebrate and to kind of tell its story through public art," he said.

Landry adds communities across the country have approached public art in different ways.

"How do we hire artists? Is it an RFP every time? Can they be part of the design team?" he explained.

"It'll be our task now to go out to the community and say, okay, what works for Greater Sudbury?"

The completed public art policy is expected to be presented to council in September after public consultation sessions are held.

Important to have community involvement

Local artist Julieanne Steedman says public art is extremely important.

"It's the type of artwork that you can't miss," she said.

"There's a lot of people that don't necessarily seek out art by going to museums or galleries. Public art is there. You see it. It can really transform a space and add character."

She says when it comes to public art, it's important to have the community involved.

"It can be led by an artist but has community engagement and involvement, I think would be really important," she said.

"I think you get more perspective by asking and inviting engagement from the community verses one person's point of view and how they see it."