Downtown Dartmouth has no shortage of attention-grabbing, neck-craning, selfie-worthy artworks—the sorts of pieces that imbue a sense of place and make the everyday all the more considered.
As of Friday, though, these murals and story-high quotes got some company: Alderney Gate Library debuted a piece of public art, located above its newly revamped main lobby area (tucked inside Alderney Landing).
The permanent, untitled piece was created by Halifax artist Jason Skinner from library discards. It's a flock of 42 gulls—some in flight, some perched—that will, as Skinner put it in an Instagram post, "welcom[e] ferry riders, market goers and library patrons alike."
Halifax Public Libraries and the city put out a call for artists to submit proposals for public art installations in November of 2021. Skinner's not new to large scale installations, having created the raised mural on Blowers Street that depicts several city-dwellers in action (alongside other works, including a number of large-scale chalk drawings).
A similar opportunity for a professional, local artist was announced by the city last week when it put out a call for proposals for the new aquatic facility that's being constructed on the Halifax Common. The deadline for submissions is September 19, 2022.
