Public Artwork
Circle of Words, Garden of Thought
Location:
Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane Street, Toronto, ON, M3N 2K3, Canada
See map: Google Maps
Artwork creator(s):
Covit, Linda
Text author(s):
Covit, Linda
Installation year:
2002
Remarks on location:
Some of the boulders (with writing) were placed within the circle, others were placed through the grounds.
Description:
The main component, a wide stone bench, traces a sixty-foot-long arc. The circular movement is reinforced by a stand of light columns and an arc of birch trees along the outside curve of the bench. Narrow lengths of granite, alternating with bands of river stones, form a footpath into the circle.
Text of the artwork:
heritage
community
trust
friendship
unity
caring
gathering
peace
nurture
diversity
neighbourhood
embrace
belonging
home
traditions
memory
support
harmony
Artwork theme:
Community
History:
- A shootout took place in 1999. In response, the City Council adopted a strategy and decided to initiate the Jane-Finch community.
- March-October 2000: Board establishes fund $150,000 for the creation of a public work of art to encourage community spirit, celebrate cultural diversity and to serve as a meeting place for members of the Jane-Finch community. Following a public consultation, a steering committee, comprised of residents and officials, chose the site of the Driftwood Community Center for the artwork in progress.
- On October 12, 2000, Linda Covit was announced as the winner of theJane-Finch Public Art Competition.
- The final design of the work occured in the winter of 2000.
- The project began in October 2001.
- Trees are planted on the site in spring 2002.
- The artwork was inaugurated on June 8, 2002, at the Driftwood Community Center.
Note(s):
"This commission by the City of Toronto (Canada) is installed on the grounds of a community centre in an economically disadvantaged, multicultural neighbourhood. Among other themes developed in consultation with the community, the artwork was expected to create an outside meeting place. My installation sculpts a three-dimensional space to encourage interaction between people. The main component, a wide stone bench, traces a sixty-foot-long arc. The circular movement is reinforced by a stand of light columns and an arc of birch trees along the outside curve of the bench. Narrow lengths of granite, alternating with bands of river stones, form a footpath into the circle. Each granite piece is incised with a thin channel to collect rain or snow. On dry days, the shadowed dark lines evoke the ephemeral liquid lines. Small boulders engraved with words – such as heritage, trust, friendship, gathering – are scattered within this circle, and extend outwards through the adjacent wooded grounds."
- Conversation with artist
• The words were chosen with the contribution of the Driftwood Community Centre.
Artist's biography:
Linda Covit
Propriétaire(s):
City of Toronto Document(s):
Syndicate
