Entertaining: Art exhibit 'unearths' downtown park's past
Article content
Over the years, Belle Park has been, among other things, a dump, a golf course and a wetland.
This week, it will add “art installation space” to that list.
“Unearthed” features the work of six artists — Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Vince Ha, Noah Scheinman, Elyse Longair, Evalyn Parry and Jung-Ah Kim — that will be displayed (and played) in the 44-hectare park along Montreal Street and also in the Art and Media Lab at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.
“For some of (the artists), their work seemed more oriented towards being displayed in a gallery space, and we’re lucky that we have access to that,” explained Laura Murray, who is helping guide the exhibit.
“And some of them wanted to just get in there and do something in the park, which is, of course a lot less predictable, but really exciting for people to visit because you’re immersed in the place and the commentary on it at the same time.”
Running from Aug. 26 to 30, there will be three noteworthy events taking place related to the exhibit. The first is the opening event in the park itself Saturday afternoon, during which Parry will play four songs she’s written about the half-century-old greenspace, while spoken word artist Billie the Kid will also perform. Former Alderville First Nation leader Dave Mowat will be in attendance, as will the artists and curators, and there will be a guided tour of the installation.
The second happens Monday, when the indoor exhibition opens at noon, followed by a panel discussion featuring the artists and curators in Room 222 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The third is Wednesday, the final day, with a performance by L’Hirondelle from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the park’s totem pole.
“I can’t believe how many people I meet who drive down Montreal street all the time and have never noticed that there’s a totem pole standing right there,” Murray said. “We have been doing research into the history of that pole, which was made at Joyceville Institution by members of the native brotherhood in 1973.”
The other artists exhibiting in the park will include a look at the history of the park as a golf club in relation to the history of lawns, while another will be placed among the park’s willow trees. In the Art and Media Lab, one piece will look at organisms living in the park’s mud.
The exhibit is part of the Belle Park research project, which was launched in 2021 and is being funded through Queen’s by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The project is led by Queen’s University’s Murray and Dorit Naaman — they will eventually make a documentary about Belle Park — along with Erin Sutherland, who’s now at the University of Calgary but completed her doctorate at Queen’s.
“We’re all interested in sort of the politics of space and how people can reimagine spaces they think they’re familiar with,” Murray explained. “So the project focused on Belle Park partly because it has always interested us and because it has so many layers.”
“Unearthed” endeavours to connect the park’s past to its present state, Murray said.
“We’re not really there to answer questions or decide anything, but we just thought that art would be a good method to open up various different perspectives on those hidden histories.”
For more information about “Unearthed” and the Belle Park Project itself, go to belleparkproject.com and click on “events.”
While this weekend’s Limestone City Blues Festival will see performances in Market Square and Confederation Park, there are plenty of other downtown venues in which to catch the blues if you’re wearing an admission bracelet.
On Friday, you can catch performances at BluMartini, Caesar & Co., Curate Social, RCHA Club, the Royal Tavern 2.0, the Toucan and Tir Nan Og.
On Saturday, you can add the Black Dog Tavern to that list as it will be offering an afternoon show. That list winnows to just the Black Dog Tavern and Caesar & Co. (at which the music starts at 11 a.m. at both).
Go to downtownkingston.ca for details and a schedule.
About halfway between Belle Park and Market Square is Cataraqui Street, which is where you can catch a free, outdoor screening of “Essential Noise,” a documentary about the music scene in Toronto’s Yorkville district circa 1968. Director Paul Koidis is a Queen’s alum and will be in attendance at the screening and will take part in a question-and-answer session afterward.
The screening, which starts at 8 p.m., will be held outside (bring a chair!) of Outpost12, 12 Cataraqui St. (near Rideau). If it rains, it’ll take place in the Broom Factory across the street.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.