Public Artwork

Circle of Words, Garden of Thought

Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002. © Marc André Brouillette
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002. © Marc André Brouillette
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002. © Marc André Brouillette
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002. © Marc André Brouillette
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002
Linda Covit, Circle of Words, Garden of Thought, 2002
Location:
Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane Street, Toronto, ON, M3N 2K3, Canada
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: 
  1. A shootout took place in 1999. In response, the City Council adopted a strategy and decided to initiate the Jane-Finch community.
  2. 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.
  3. On October 12, 2000, Linda Covit was announced as the winner of theJane-Finch Public Art Competition.
  4. The final design of the work occured in the winter of 2000.
  5. The project began in October 2001.
  6. Trees are planted on the site in spring 2002.
  7. 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.

Propriétaire(s): 
City of Toronto
Document(s):