Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from artist Leandra Almeida.
With so much development queued up around the city, that means plenty of unsightly barriers around construction projects.
But a new project looks to spruce up those fences.
City officials and the land developers were on hand this afternoon at the corner of Bayfield and Sophia streets, near downtown Barrie, to discuss the art that adorns the fence surrounding the corner property.
The site is home to a future residential development, but while this project is being built, the so-called hoarding wall was designated as a canvas for Leandra Almeida's artwork.
Almeida was not on hand for today's event, which highlighted the Artist At Work project, but got in touch with BarrieToday on Wednesday night to talk about the piece.
"After a lot of thinking and sketching, it became increasingly clear that 'community' is more of an abstract idea," Almeida said. "The physical location and structures are important, but without the people that occupy them they are just buildings. My interpretation focuses on the relationships of the people to the city, for they are it’s heart and soul."
The City of Barrie partnered with Coral Housing Group, which is developing the property, and the Barrie public art committee to commission Almeida to paint the mural.
Karen Dubeau, the city's director of Creative Economy, says it helped create "a shared sense of community and belonging."
"We've never done these type of murals, especially on temporary hoarding (barriers), but in terms the change and transformation that's happening in our downtown, we really want to engage the community," she said, which includes given young artists a proverbial voice to share their vision.
The work is the result of the public art committee’s support for community-engaged art.
"A key part of this was also making sure artists were properly compensated," said Dubeau, noting the Bayfield-Sophia project carried a budget of around $4,000.
Almeida says it's exciting to have her work on display in such a prominent area of downtown.
"Every now and then, when I get caught up in the stress of everyday life, I tend to forget that it’s even there," she said. "Then people will pop up and be like, 'Hey, I saw your mural today!' And it’s such a pleasant little reminder, like 'Yeah, I did that!'"
Almeida, who graduated from Sheridan College's bachelor of illustration program and who works in both traditional and digital media, says she got a lot of feedback on the piece from passersby while she was working on it.
"Everyone was so kind and curious and I loved talking to them," she said. "I felt like I got to see Barrie in a new light, and it was such a positive experience."
There's been a lot of positive feedback to the city, too, around the Bayfield-Sophia art project, Dubeau said, particularly since it involved a local artist.
"It really captured the attention of the community," Dubeau said. "Based on that positive feedback, we'd really like to do more, given the amount of development that's planned for downtown."
Dubeau says she hopes other developers will consider similar murals at their sites. She said another city department has inquired about doing something similar at the Fisher Auditorium site to give a young artist a canvas upon which to work.
It's unclear what will happen with the artwork once the construction project is complete and the fencing comes down.
"It isn't something that's really meant as a long-term installation; it's really meant to be temporary," Dubeau said. "It signals to the community that something exciting is happening."
Tina Grant, president of Coral Housing Group, which is developing the site, said it's going to be a mixture of market rents and affordable housing.
The project is expected to be around 95 units over seven storeys, plus two floors of so-called "podium" parking.
The company is still working with the city on rezoning and site-plan applications, which they hope to have in place by the spring.
Shovels could go into the ground in the fall of 2020, with a possible opening date in 2022.
Several homes were demolished in April 2018 to make way for the residential development.
