Metis Artist Advocates for More Public Art in Barrie

Monica Loney is a Metis artist and long-time Barrie citizen. Having resided in Barrie for over twenty years she has witnessed the changes of the local art scene.

Within the last two years, the Barrie downtown core has seen visual changes with the addition of many murals. Loney praises the Downtown Barrie BIA for their efforts in livening up Barrie’s downtown to make it more welcoming to all. She has been a part of multiple murals recently added to the downtown, the first being the Little By Little a Little Becomes a Lot, the strawberry mural, on Maple Avenue with Toronto muralist Bareket Kezwer.

This mentorship launched Monica’s career as a muralist in Barrie including pumphouses, trailers and paying it forward by partnering with the Clandestinos art duo, to mentor future muralists during Brightening Barriers, an arts project in the City of Barrie which sees local artists create designs to be displayed on patios downtown during the summer. Monica hopes to continue to see Barrie’s public art flourish.

The latest Barrie public art call is the City of Barrie’s Artist-Designed Traffic Cabinet Wraps. These wraps are part of a graffiti abatement initiative with the Traffic Services Department in partnership with Economic and Creative Development.

The wraps will feature original works of art that the Barrie Arts and Culture department says will contribute to "civic pride, bring vibrancy to our city, and showcase the talent in our community." The City of Barrie invites proposals from local artists for digital designs that will be used to wrap up to five (5) traffic cabinets. Artists will be compensated $750 for their digital designs and proposals are due March 20th. Visit the City of Barrie's website in their public art section to read the artist's call and see how you can apply.