City of Ottawa Public Art Program
01/03/2023
02/12/2023
$
$47683
Ottawa, , Canada
All
Allison O'Connor
Document not uploaded
The City of Ottawa invites professional artists or artist teams to submit qualifications for the opportunity to design, fabricate and install permanent, site-specific artwork for the newly redesigned Laroche Park, in Mechanicsville, Ottawa. This two-stage competition held in accordance with the Public Art Policy. This Request for Qualifications document provides information, details and submission requirements relating to the public art competition.
Ottawa is built on unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation. The people of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation have lived on this territory for millennia. Their culture and presence have nurtured and continue to nurture this land. The City of Ottawa would like to honour the people and land of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation. The City of Ottawa would also like to honour all First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, their elders, their knowledge keepers, both young and old, their ancestors and their valuable past and present contributions to this land.
The total public art budget for this commission is $65,000 in Canadian Dollars (plus Harmonized Sales Tax, if applicable). This public art budget includes all costs to consult, collaborate, design, fabricate, store, transport and install the public art, plus the cost of engineering, attachments and anchoring. This budget should also include the Artist’s or Artist’s team time, travel and attendance at meetings and events if applicable. The site’s cement and excavation for the foundations, as well as the reinstatement of landscaping and streetscaping, will be covered by the City, within predetermined specifications.
This request for qualifications is an equal opportunity, open to local, national and international professional artists and artist teams with experience in creating permanent public art and working with multidisciplinary teams. City of Ottawa employees are not eligible to apply.
The City of Ottawa supports cultural activities that are inclusive of Ottawa's diverse communities including people from diverse ancestries, abilities, ages, countries of origin, cultures, genders, incomes, languages, races and sexual orientations. Applications from First Nations, Inuit and Métis are welcome and encouraged. The City of Ottawa recognizes both official languages (English and French) as having the same rights, status and privileges.
The revitalization of Laroche Park will amplify the recreational nature of this site and offer an increase in amenities for the growing neighbourhood of Mechanicsville. The public artwork will provide an additional artistic element to the park with a possible interactive or practical component.
This artwork will be the first in the City of Ottawa’s public art collection located in Mechanicsville. This new artwork should reflect the unique history of Mechanicsville, its ties to the river, and the various industries, such as lumber, rail yards, and ice houses, that developed around the community and employed its residents.
The artwork is required to be safe for the public, as well as vandal resistant. Objects that provide places to hide or obscure sightlines art are discouraged.
The City of Ottawa is redeveloping and updating Laroche Park in the neighbourhood Mechanicsville, West of downtown Ottawa. Laroche Park is located between Stonehurst Avenue and Bayview Station Road and south of Burnside. It’s a sports park accessible by LRT at Bayview Station and vehicle parking on Bayview Station Road. Its amenities include a playground with splash pad, full basketball court, space for a seasonal full-size rink, ultimate frisbee and baseball pitches for rent and a field house. The new replacement field house has two multi-purpose rooms with a grand entryway, a skate equipment room, a kitchen with an outdoor serving window and a patio area. It is the space for community and social events, meetings and will host a variety of programs.
The Mechanicsville neighbourhood is part of the city of Ottawa and is located north of Scott Street, east of Parkdale, west of Bayview Station Road and overlooks the shores of the Ottawa River at Lazy Bay. Its industrial, working-class roots derive from employment in the nearby sawmills, train yards, ice, coal and wood dealers, and of course, garages. The original homes in this area were built from scrap material from the sawmills and the trainyard and supported by railway ties so residents could easily move their homes. Today, Mechanicsville has retained many of the original homes, but has seen an increase of high-density rental units, and infills.
Many Mechanicsville residents have little to no backyards, therefore Laroche Park is everyone's playground. The ice rinks have been central to winter activities for almost 100 years and the youth are passionate about basketball.Laroche park has a rich history of being Mechanicsville’s backyard, a place for children to play and neighbours to gather. This working-class neighbourhood grew along the shores of Ottawa River at Lazy Bay, which at one time approached the edge of Laroche Park. Both Lazy Bay and Laroche Park were used by the neighbourhood for recreation such as swimming and skating. Today, Laroche Park is the heart of the Mechanicsville community, a place where its residents gather, and a home to a variety of recreation activities, programs and events.
The outdoor location designated for public art is on the North end of the park, near Bayview Road. This location is in proximity to the basketball court, seasonal skating rink and children's play area. Mature and new trees line the park fence near the site.
This site served as a disposal area in the early 1900’s, which required the Laroche Park Project to undertake extensive archeological retrievals, excavation and topsoil remediation. Therefore, there are geotechnical restrictions that will need to be considered when engineering the depth of the footings for the artwork.
Please see commission document for full project information, and click here to apply.