New Bike Racks are in Woodstock

Tuesday, 24 October 2023 16:26

30 new bike racks have been installed in Woodstock. The Woodstock Art Gallery had the Woodstock Art Cycle project. 5 designs were chosen and each will have 10 racks put up through out the city.

WOODSTOCK - You might have noticed some new colourful bike racks throughout the Friendly City.

Woodstock Art Cycle is a project led by the Woodstock Art Gallery, which will see a total of 50 new bike racks installed throughout the city. The gallery says 30 of them have been installed so far.

Art Gallery Director/Curator, Mary Reid says when the other 20 will be installed.

"We've had to mothball about 20 of them. The City is working on doing a massive redevelopment of our downtown, which will roll out in 2024, and that will be part of that project too."

The Art Gallery accepted design submissions from members of the public last summer. Five finalists have been selected since then and they are Adele Figliomeni, Heidi Fotsch, Nicole Major, Filomena McMahon, and Claudia Silva Prates.

Reid adds, Maglin Site Furniture deserves a huge thank you as well.

"That was incredibly generous of our colleagues at Maglin. This was obviously the largest cost of this project. Not only did they work very closely in terms of translating the designs of the artists into these functional bike racks, but also manufactured them and donated the cost back to the city."

President and CEO Ian McAskile says Maglin is happy to support local artists through this project.

"Woodstock boasts a rich artistic legacy, with luminaries like the great Florence Carlyle. We are proud to contribute bike racks that serve as a canvas for our next generation of talented artists."

The Woodstock Art Cycle is also funded in part by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, also known as FedDev Ontario. Filomena Tassi is the Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario.

"Installations like the bike rack public art project are key to fostering a vibrant community that encourages an active lifestyle while celebrating the talents of local artists. We are proud to support creative tourism projects like this in partnership with the City of Woodstock and Woodstock Art Gallery."