A mix of support and skepticism greeted the University of Toronto Scarborough’s announcement of the artists chosen to produce the first and largest art commission in UTSC history. Funded by the University, the original art will be displayed in the new Instructional Centre.
Out of the 92 artists who responded to the university’s international call for submissions, contemporary artists Christian Giroux and Daniel Young from Ontario emerged as the winning team.
With the help of student feedback, the selection committee, a mix of prominent figures in the art industry and representatives of the university, decided that Young and Giroux’s neo-futurist powder-coated steel tubing abstract design best celebrated UTSC’s architectural history.
“This is a very exciting initiative for UTSC,” says Ann MacDonald, head of the selection committee and curator and director of the Doris McCarthy Gallery at UTSC. “It is a reflection of the university’s continuing evolution throughout the years.”
“The acquisition will be the University’s first art commission ever since its foundation,” says Program Supervisor and Associate Professor of Art History Lora Carney. It will become the centerpiece of the three-floor atrium in the new Instructional Centre being built on campus.
A $175,000 project, the commission is singularly funded by UTSC and will not involve any student levy. But as construction draws nearer, more students begin to question the practicality of releasing such a huge amount of funding. While most agree that the new installation will certainly add to the aesthetic quality of the university, some are unsure whether purchasing art at such a price is the right economical move for UTSC.
“As much as I support UTSC’s acquisition of new art, $175,000 is a lot of money that we don’t have,” says Andreas Axiotis, an active student leader. “The university is just simply not in the right financial position to shoulder more expenses.”
“With the serious lack of study space and the abundance of more pressing issues in campus, the funding should be put towards programs and creating facilities that can directly and immediately benefit students,” says biology major Kadeem Lewis.
Marianne Rellin, an arts management student disagrees, “As a University with an impressive visual arts program, having the installation can be a way to promote courses and boost interest in art around the campus and in the community.”
According to Carney though, $175,000 seems like an unreasonable amount, but it is “a healthy, if not modest budget compared to other art commissions in the city,” especially for an installation spanning three floors. The price of the commission “does not only cover the artist’s salary, studio space, and materials but also transportation and the payment for the engineers who will make sure that the artwork is secured and compatible with the architecture.”
“The new installation is a milestone in UTSC’s history,” says Macdonald. “It will not only emphasize the campus’ ongoing commitment to contemporary art but also help the university’s effort to become an intellectual and cultural hub for the region.”
