Those who aren’t aware of Orillia’s Peter Street Arts District soon will be.
Streets Alive will be spelling it out for them.
“It’s been on my radar for a couple of years that the big, blank wall is, well, a big, blank wall,” Streets Alive founder Leslie Fournier said of the building on the southwest corner of Peter and Mississaga streets.
Some of the sculptures are from Streets Alive’s 2013 Letters of Orillia art installation. The letters will spell out “Arts District” and will be situated at the side of the building at Peter and Mississaga.
“The locals know that Peter Street South is our Arts District,” Fournier said, “but people who are visiting wouldn’t necessarily know that.”
Ron Schell, who has been helping for years to create the Streets Alive sculptures that serve as the artists’ canvases, is on board with the latest effort. He will be creating new letters that will spell “District” — they will be smaller than the other letters — as well as the large T in “Arts.” The A, R and S will be repurposed from the Letters of Orillia.
“It will be quite a wall of colour,” Schell said, adding that area could use more attention. “That’s like the grand, old dame of downtown — that building. It’s still in a raw state. It’s still very much an artist’s space.”
While the Arts District should benefit from the colourful display, it will be good for the whole town, Schell said.
“It’s just a calling card for the town.”
Fournier took her idea to artists in that area to get their feedback. Some of them will be involved in painting designs that will be incorporated in the final product.
The cost — about $7,500 — is being covered by artists, private donors and a grant from the Community Foundation of Orillia and Area.
Fournier hopes it will be in place by early August, with an event that will be open to the public. Watch for updates on the Streets Alive Facebook page.
