Photo: Doublespace Photography
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG) used the greenspace adjacent to Oshawa Creek for its summer camp activities. However, once the pandemic hit, and there was more demand for outdoor spaces, the RMG began to think about how the greenspace could be used for public engagement.
What began with funding from the City of Oshawa to build a fence for a dedicated space turned into the development of a community arts greenspace after additonal government funding was secured.
The RMG also wanted to ensure that the voices of unhoused people were represented in any creation of the space, due to the increase in homelessness during the pandemic. As a result, members from Oshawa?s Back Door Mission and The GAP Committee, two groups of volunteer service providers working to prevent and end homelessness, were included in the Community Advisory Circle which consulted on the project. Photo: Doublespace Photography
Through these consultations, the RMG learned that its all-concrete facade, designed by Arthur Erikson in 1987 and its art institution status proved to be “intimidating.” By acquiring multiple perspectives, the RMG realized that to help its neighbours, it had to welcome them. From this point, the project shifted from a fence building to something more.
LeuWebb Projects worked as lead artists in close collaboration with landscape architects Brook McIlroy and the RMG to reconsider the greenspace. With feedback from...