Artists selected to create public artwork in the new performing arts centre
The Fredericton Playhouse is proud to announce that the artists commissioned to create a new public artwork in the new performing arts centre will be Ann Manuel (NB), and Peter von Tiesenhausen (AB).
Following a national competition, the jury selected Manuel and von Tiesenhausen to collaborate on a large work spanning from the top of the feature staircase up to the third level of the performing arts centre (Ron & Erma Hawkes Centre for the Arts). The work will take the form of a circle 16 feet in diameter, comprised of 168 individually crafted aluminum plates. Each plate will have been etched and marked by hand to create a composite image. Viewed from the lobby, the work will represent the surface of the water in the Wolastoq/Saint John River.
As per the artists’ statement:
“We see this work as a monumental invitation to wonder. Rooted in our shared and deeply held values around community building, authenticity, craftspersonship, and site-responsivity, we are combining our artistic strengths to create a work that reflects and contributes to the stories of its site. In line with our understanding of the role Fredericton’s performing arts centre will play in the community, our work will welcome curiosity, imagination, and interpretation, and honour the work that performing artists will bring to the centre—in effect, we hope to build a conduit to the magic of the performing arts.”
Ann Manuel is a visual artist, arts community-builder, and arts educator. Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick has been her home since 1995. Based in Fredericton, Manuel has exhibited in Canada, Scotland, France, Italy, Brazil, Cuba, and Thailand; in recent years, Ann has worked on several large-scale art installations intended for public gallery exhibitions. Her most recent installation work, Breath, was exhibited at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery to critical and public acclaim in summer 2024.
Peter von Tiesenhausen is based in Demmitt, Alberta, where he has lived for most of his life. His more than 3-decade practice spans land art, sculpture, installation, video, and performance, and is characterized by evocative examinations of community, spirituality, life and death, and human relationships to the land.
“We are thrilled to have Ann and Peter creating this large-scale work for the Hawkes Centre for the Arts,” said Tim Yerxa, Executive Director of the Fredericton Playhouse. “Having one of our own community’s most celebrated artists collaborating with one of this country’s most respected public art figures is amazing. We can’t wait to see their work take its place in the new facility when it opens.”
The commissioning of this public artwork is made possible thanks to a generous donation from Laurie and Glenna Savage.