A part of the City of St. Catharines' Civic Art Collection, the Carlisle Street Public Art Project is a permanent artistic display on Carlisle Street at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage Canada 150 Program as a legacy component of Celebration of Nations and by the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre's public art reserve, the project explores the themes of storied lands, meeting place and harmony within the context of performing and expressive arts.
After a shortlisted selection process involving many highly talented artists from across the province, the City selected the winning public art piece designed by visual artist Lilly Otasevic.
Curtain Call
Otasevic's winning "Curtain Call" piece, unveiled in 2019, is a contemporary celebration of the long-term vision of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Kakekalanicks and the City to build on the Celebration of Nations philosophy of the Two Row Wampum that promotes all Nations walking together, in parallel with respect, compassion and understanding, to cultivate an inclusive community for a shared future.
Created with a focus on the Indigenous lens and informed by the area's historical Indigenous presence, the main and only building block for the sculpture is a wampum bead. Rather than representing a particular pattern on a belt, Otasevic exaggerated the size of a bead to "weave" a wavy fabric that incorporates random colours. The multiple colours reflect our demographic and cultural diversity. The randomness of the colours represents interconnectedness of different people from diverse locations in the world who came and became part of our social fabric. This is continuously changing, organic and dynamic.
About Lilly Otasevic
Learn about Toronto-based, award-winning visual artist Lilly Otasevic, her public and industrial artistic pieces and photo collages.