Rob Adlam shows some of the moulds and other items recovered from the former Massey-Ferguson plant on Greenwich Street in Brantford prior to its demolition.
Another step has been taken on the path toward the creation of a large public art piece at Brantford’s new city hall.
Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant has put out a call for artists to submit proposals for the project that will reflect the city’s rich industrial heritage.
“Artists will be selected by a partner-led jury through a process involving a written statement of approach, qualifications, and a submission of a detailed proposal,” said Ana Olson, gallery director at Glenhyrst.
The project, with an award of $45,000, is supported by grants from the Samuel W. Stedman Foundation and the city’s Public Art Fund.
Olson said she expects the project will draw wide interest.
One requirement for the project is the inclusion of several wooden foundry mould forms that were saved prior to the demolition of the Greenwich-Mohawk brownfield site in 2013.
Brantford historian Rob Adlam arranged with the city to remove items of heritage significance from buildings on the 50-acre site that was once home to manufacturing giants such as Massey Harris and Cockshutt Plow.
“There were several hundred pieces,” Adlam said of the moulds. “Some small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and others as big as a car.”
The historian approached Olson about the possibility of using the artifacts in an art project, and the gallery director immediately thought of Brantford’s new city hall in the former Federal Building at 70 Dalhousie St.
Adlam has housed the collection on behalf of the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre, which has offered to donate the pieces toward the project. He said he hopes the public art work will “honour the legacy of the hard work of the men and women who laboured in our factories.”
In the early 1900s, Brantford was the country’s third largest manufacturer of exported goods.
The former Federal Building is undergoing renovations with the aim to be ready for staff to move in late in 2020 or early in 2021. Installation of the art project is slated for February 2021.
“Once completed, the public art will be gifted to the City of Brantford to add to their ever-growing public art collection,” Olson said.
The deadline for first submissions by artists is April 30.
More details are available on the gallery’s website at www.glenhyrst.ca.
– With files from Michelle Ruby
bethompson@postmedia.com
