Town making public art a priority in the revitalization of public spaces

By Zachary Roman

Residents of Bolton may have noticed new pieces of public art popping up recently. 

With the painting of two murals and the recent callout for an artist to create a sculpture for the Humber River Centre, it's clear public art is taking centre stage in the revitalization of Downtown Bolton. 

Jason Schildroth, manager of community and cultural development for the Town of Caledon, explained that public art was embedded in the Downtown Bolton revitalization plan as a priority. 

He said in all the surveys the Town did, community members said public art is an important way to bring life to public spaces. This led to the creation of a public art program, which looked for places that could use a boost to change the way people view them.

The first space identified in Bolton was the Queen Street Bridge Underpass, somewhere there was typically lots of graffiti and vandalism. In 2022, artist Blaze Wiradharma was hired by the Town to make a giant street art-style mural that paid homage to the Humber River. 

“That's how the public art conversation really started in Downtown Bolton,” said Schildroth. He said the underpass has transformed from a place people would shuffle past quickly to somewhere where people are even stopping to take photos. 

“People take selfies with it now… it's exciting to see as well the vandalism has stopped there,” said Schildroth. With the success of the Queen Street Bridge Underpass project, Town staff and the Downtown Bolton Revitalization Task Force moved forward, knowing they could achieve that same success elsewhere.

Giuliana Giancotta, project manager of community projects for the Town of Caledon, said public art is an important tool in placemaking, which is in turn, an important tool for economic development. She explained that placemaking is about creating the maximum value out of shared public spaces.

Giancotta said placemaking and economic development go hand in hand. When there's a place people want to be at, businesses want to be there too. That's why the Town views public art as an asset. 

“We think it is incredibly worth the value and the time, and I think you're seeing that too with the public reaction,” said Giancotta. 

Schildroth said public art is all part of making a downtown area somewhere that people want to go to. For example, they may come to see a new mural and then grab an ice cream from a local shop. He said it can even inspire visitors to Town to check it out. 

“If you're on Google Maps and you see there's neat public art… you're more likely to want to get out of your vehicle, stop, take a walk around, grab a coffee,” said Schildroth. 

Giancotta said the Downtown Bolton Revitalization Task Force is working with Town staff every step of the way in the public art process. For the recent mural painted on a building in Downtown Bolton at King and Queen Streets, the idea was to make it bright, colourful, and representative of nature. 

“We invited everyone to do research, it's a very collaborative approach,” said Giancotta. “It's completely community driven… that's the wonderful part about having the task force.”

With the revitalization of Bolton going well, Town staff plan to continue to work there. However, they are also going to be expanding revitalization work to Caledon's other villages and hamlets. Bolton was kind of like a pilot project to prove the strategy works, said Schildroth, and now the goal is to bring revitalization to as many villages and hamlets as possible. 

“It won't be overnight, but we're definitely looking at Caledon East, Southfields, and Alton as our next springboard locations,” said Schildroth. He noted at a recent Council meeting, Town staff asked for the creation of a Caledon East Revitalization Task Force to begin work there. The request was approved. 

“It's a huge opportunity to take what we have learned in Bolton… and apply it Town-wide,” said Schildroth. 

Giancotta shared some details about other interesting public art initiatives in Town.

Right now, students at Mayfield Secondary School are painting a piano that was donated to the Town, and this piano will be implemented for public use somewhere in Caledon at a future date. 

Also happening right now, the Town is working with the Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives to implement art exhibits at community centres across Town. 

Coming later this summer is the Caledon Creative Arts Festival, which will be hosted by the Town and Caledon Public Library in August. 

“We're looking to use art as a way to bring people together, educate, engage, share a feeling, and create a sense of place,” said Schildroth.

Giancotta said it's important to note the Town has planned for the maintenance of its public art. Schildroth agreed and said the Town views public art as something someone has invested a lot of time and creative energy into and, therefore as something that's worth maintaining.