Great Art for Great Lakes Reaches Out to Kingston Artists

Kingston, March 30th, 2017 — Waterlution, in partnership with Greatness - The Great Lakes Project, is looking for an artist in Kingston to help local residents connect and engage with the Great Lakes.

Project Lead Christopher McLeod says “Great Art for Great Lakes wants to celebrate the grandeur and importance of the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. We will fund a local artist to collaboratively create works of art with local residents that honour the Great Lakes, share their stories and mark Canada’s 150th birthday. It is crucial we connect with the Great Lakes so we can understand and safeguard them for our current and future quality of life.”

According to McLeod, “when chosen, the Kingston artist will develop a participatory, community-based art project that will showcase what Lake Ontario means to local residents. It will highlight the history and the diverse peoples of the lake, and share their stories.” The innovative art project will be exhibited at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning throughout 2017 and beyond.

The Tett Centre, on the shores of Lake Ontario “is a perfect place for this work as we look onto the lake everyday. We feel a part of it and the beauty and majesty of the water reminds us how important it is in our lives” says Nadine Baker, chosen as one of the judges for the Kingston component, and the Tett's Facility Manager. “We are thrilled.”

Great Art for Great Lakes is sponsoring similar projects in seven other Great Lakes communities, including Toronto, Thunder Bay, Owen Sound and Sarnia. Each community will host two public workshops or events to collaboratively create a permanent work of art to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Great Art for Great Lakes is funded through the Canada 150 Fund and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

McLeod will be travelling to all eight Great Lakes communities, speaking to local artists and residents and guiding the projects that will build on the long-lasting relationship people have with the Great Lakes.

Great Art for Great Lakes is part of a larger initiative: Greatness – The Great Lakes Project, which began at a 2015 roundtable convened by Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor. The participants, drawn from business, the arts, science and sport, resolved that “a bold and noble initiative” could make the Great Lakes a powerful symbol of “greatness” for the 40 million residents of the Great Lakes basin.

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http://waterlution.org/GAGL/communities/kingston/

For more information or for interviews, contact:

Christopher McLeod


Coordinator, Great Art for Great Lakes

(905) 730 - 4008

chris.mcleod@waterlution.org