Brightening Barriers Public Art Exhibition Promotional Videos

Now in it’s fourth year, Brightening Barriers is a temporary public art project organized by the Barrie Public Art Committee (BPAC) and the City of Barrie. Local and regional artists are paired with downtown business owners to create an artistic response on their seasonal patio fencing.

Each artist is paid $5,000 for their design, materials, fabrication and installation. In 2023, six new artworks we commissioned, which were displayed alongside three legacy works from previous years.

To help promote the exhibition and give the artists added recognition, a series of promotional videos were developed. These videos offered an introduction to the Brightening Barriers program and featured the six commissioned artists speaking about their installations. The artists were asked to share what inspired their artwork proposal, what it meant to be selected for the exhibition, and why public art is important for the city of Barrie.

The videos were promoted on social media through City of Barrie and Invest Barrie channels to increase program awareness and encourage people to visit the downtown artwork. The videos were hosted on the City of Barrie’s You Tube Channel and received over 720 views. Exhibition information can also be found within the Public Art section of the City of Barrie website.

The total budget for the 2023 project was $35,000. Of this, $30,000 went directly to artist fees which included design, materials, fabrication and installation. $1,500 was spent on video production.

In general, the videography went smoothly. Weather could have been an issue but fortunately it cooperated. Some last-minute scheduling changes were required due to unexpectedly higher foot traffic in certain areas of the downtown that would have affected the audio recording. For future video recordings we would take a closer look at what times of day are less busy in the downtown and schedule accordingly.

This temporary art exhibition targeted a broad audience and was developed with accessibility in mind. The artwork was installed on patio fencing facing the street and sidewalk.

The videos were aimed at reaching a broader audience than had been reached in the past through increased social media impact. The target included younger viewers, members of the arts community, and visitors to Barrie.

Additional activities were created to attract targeted audiences including a scavenger hunt for families and a self-guided walking tour brochure. Sponsors and BPAC members were also invited on an “art crawl”; a guided tour of the exhibition sites that included the artists speaking about each installation.

In addition to promoting the exhibition and highlighting the participating artists, the videos may be used to inspire future partnerships and sponsorships in support of public art, while also serving as an archive for the development of public art in Barrie.

Brightening Barriers was developed as a free and accessible exhibition aimed at celebrating art by local and regional artists in our community. It is easily repeatable but also changing as new artists and local businesses are engaged each year.

Link to view videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz6JOL8k-oK2e5MEcrrZhMZjk9RkjyIdi

Public Art webpage:

https://www.barrie.ca/community-recreation-environment/arts-culture/public-art