(Centre) The Department of Illumination’s Krista Dalby cuts the ribbon on the official opening of a public art residency project taking place at Delhi Park this summer. (Supplied Photo)
Summers in the park are now a whole new thing in Picton’s Delhi, thanks to the Department of Illumination.
Every weekend, Thursday to Saturday, from now to August 9, the Department will host a series of free public art events.
And every Saturday afternoon from 4:30-6:30pm will feature a public picnic with live music or a DJ.
“Everyone is welcome, whether you are taking part in the sessions or not, everyone can bring a blanket and a basket and enjoy the entertainment,” said the Department’s head, Krista Dalby.
The summer public art residency project culminates on August 23 with a pageant featuring a cast of 50 community members. The pageant will feature live music, drama, comedy, and dance to tell the tale from the time the space was home to Indigenous people — to its use as a landfill, through its remediation and rehabilitation to a huge public park and green space of great natural beauty.
“It’s the story of the park, what has been there, what is there and what will be there,” Ms. Dalby said.
Ms. Dalby said she started to look at Delhi and its 30 acres of brilliant-but-underused green space through a different lens after reading Landscape Architect Victoria Taylor’s proposal to connect communities within the town limits through pathways intersecting the park.
“It just seemed a natural fit to transform this underused green space to a hub of activity that focuses on art and nature — and get people coming to Delhi,” she says. “We’re hoping to introduce this park to more and more people and help them get to know this space better.”
Each weekend session will have a different theme around the art of nature, and a lead artist or collective. June 21 celebrates Indigenous Persons day. On June 28, it’s Pride in the Park and the session follows Picton’s Pride Parade. The South Shore Joint Initiative stops by July 26 for Monarch Butterfly day.
Each Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. are work days; DOI invites the public, of all skill levels, to pitch in with the art making. Saturdays in Delhi Park are more of a celebration, an opportunity for the community to congregate and connect.
“We are still doing work but the hours are 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. And then we host a picnic in the park,” Ms. Dalby said.
More details and a full schedule available at the DOI’s website.
See it in the newspaper
12° Light Drizzle and Fog
