July 20th, 2010
Vacant Lot wanted
By Spacing Ottawa // 5 Comments
"Hyperallergina" is an artist from Montréal who has obtained a small grant to work with a vacant lot in Ottawa to try to give it more visual appeal. The grant came from the Awesome Ottawa Foundation, and though we are not talking about a lot of money – the foundation has as its motto "Forwarding the interest of Awesome in the universe, $1,000 at a time." – we think it is a worthy cause, and look forward to following the progress of Awesome as it disburses its modest but joyful awards through the city. Here is Hyperallergina in her own words.
Hi Ottawa,
I need your help. I am a visual artist from Montreal who is planning an art installation in your fair city this summer, and I am in search of the perfect location.
The ideal location site for this installation is a barren dirt lot in the city where construction has left it empty and no plans for development have been advertised. Site should be exposed to plenty of sun and be located in a fairly well trafficked area.Do you know of a place like this? I bet you walk by one of these everyday without even realizing it... Tell me about it!
If you are curious about the art installation I am planning you can read more about it here.
She has a picture of the kind of lot she means with her original post.
Her colleague's name is Emily Comeau, and Emily writes more about the project here.
So what say, Spacing Ottawa readers? Chinatown, Gladstone Avenue, Vanier Road, even Bank Street in Centretown; they've all been afflicted with unkempt vacant lots in recent years, and there are surely many other locations as well. If you have any suggestions for a vacant lot you'd like to see something creative happen to, even temporarily, you can leave your comments with this post, and we will make sure Emily and Hyperallergina see them.
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I have the perfect spot!
There is a vacant lot on Bank Street by James Street. It's a sandy lot with lots of sun and tons of traffic.
Good luck!
Behind the Yangtze restaurant, Cambridge near Somerset. This lot was recently used by the Chinese artisans to cast all the concrete pieces for the Chinatown Royal Arch. It's all messed up, ugly, cannot be used for parking, is vacant, sunny, and has a background of trees. Needs tender artistic care.
- Eric Darwin, WestSideAction.blogspot.com
Corner of Kent St. & Arlington Ave. -- that lot has housed a dilapidated school bus for the last 15 years
In Chinatown, Somerset Street West (South side), halfway between Booth and Rochester Streets. A building was torn down last year and the lot remains empty.
Nifty! Perhaps the corner of Bronson and Gladstone.. I can't remember if it's old asphalt, dirt or gravel and have no idea who owns it, but it is a nice spot.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Ottawa,+Ottawa+Division,+Ontario,+Canada&t=h&layer=c&cbll=45.407723,-75.703588&panoid=IhTkaaTAUT3sWlzzvjJcCw&cbp=12,64,,0,3.86&ll=45.407813,-75.703225&spn=0.001525,0.004128&z=19
Comment by Ryan
July 20, 2010 | 3:11 pm