In January 2025, the Corporation of the County of Prince Edward entered into a three-year partnership agreement with County Arts to lead the development and implementation of the municipality’s public art program in collaboration with municipal staff. The draft Public Art Policy will be presented to County Council for approval at the June 10th 2025 Council meeting, and related draft procedures and application forms are being reviewed by the Chief Administrative Officer. The Public Art Committee and an Interdepartmental Public Art Team composed of municipal staff will help facilitate the implementation of the public art program, guided by the 2025-30 Public Art Plan.
If you have any questions about the public art program, please reach out to our Public Art Coordinator (and Programs Director) Stacey Sproule (stacey@countyarts.ca). We also invite you to click here to subscribe to receive updates in our Public Art Program Newsletter.
Until the Public Art Policy is approved, a temporary moratorium on permanent public art installations on municipal property remains in place. However, the municipality does allow for temporary public art installations. The guidelines and application form can be found here on the municipality’s website. Questions should be directed to Jane Vader, Bookings Representative, Recreation and Community Facilities bookings@pecounty.on.ca / 613.476.2148 extension 5003.
The Prince Edward County community is at the heart of this public art program. Community engagement and involvement activities take several forms:
1) Public Art Planning Process – The vision and recommendations of the 2025-30 Public Art Plan were informed by extensive community engagement (overview of results here) carried out by County Arts with support from the municipality through over 50 interest holder interviews; an Artist Focus Group; engaging with hundreds of community members and partners through a Have Your Say survey, conversations at 10 community events, and exploratory Public Art Walk and Community Conversation events in Picton and Wellington; consulting with the Accessibility and Heritage committees; and more.
2) Committee, Panels, and Consultations – Residents participate through the Public Art Committee (PAC – Terms of Reference here), Selection Panels, and community consultation opportunities for certain projects. The current Community Representative Members on the PAC are: Kamee Abrahamian, Golshan Abdmoulaie, Shyanne Brant, Paul Epp, Jamie Janx, and Victoria Taylor – check out their bios here!
3) Community-initiated Public Art – County Arts will serve as a resource for information and supports for community members, BIAs, Community Organizations, and others seeking to pursue public art projects, and develop and maintain this user-friendly Public Art webpage.
Prince Edward County is a rural leader in public art, championing creativity as a catalyst for vibrant community engagement in our public spaces. Access to creating and experiencing art is equitable and inclusive. Public art initiatives welcome, enrich, and inspire our community; showcase artistic excellence; and create opportunities to respectfully discover and celebrate all of our stories.
Cover photo: Mural in Bloomfield by Chrissy Poitras (photo credit: Kyle Topping).
