Pugwash Outdoor Art Gallery Readies for Launch

Communities in Bloom is rushing to round out its latest project ahead of its formal launch on July 30th.

The Pugwash Outdoor Art Gallery (POAG) was developed over the last two years in three phases. The third phase is the installation of student created murals.

The photo shows, left to right, Bonnie Bond, Norene Smiley, and Louise Cloutier, the principals behind the project, at the installation at Cyrus Eaton Elementary School.

Cloutier, who helped mentor the kids in Mrs. Laird’s split grade 3/4 class, describes We are All in This Together as a sculpture depicting the community itself.

She says the boat—somewhat like the dory display on the intersection island at Durham Street and Route 6— represents the community. She says, “The students were tasked with filling the boat (a symbol of our seaside community) with figures that represent the village’s origins, heritage, community values, and way of life.”

The passengers include a Mi’kmaw, a Scottish Highlander, an elder artist, a young swimmer, a basketball player, the school mascot, a doctor, police officer, fisherman, farmer, and salt miner.

Cloutier says the key element is the characters are working together to lift the vessel—the community— when there is no water to keep it afloat.

The display, along with another at the high school, are the latest to follow earlier works installed throughout the community over the last number of months.

The detail of many other components of the POAG concept will be revealed or explained as part of the official launch from the Harbourfront Centre in Eaton Park at the end of the month.

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