Calling all poets! Submit your poem to Reshaping Ruins project by August 1

The following is excerpted from the City of Guelph.

Selected piece to be featured in Artist in Residence choral composition

Guelph, Ont., Monday, July 4 – It’s time for the community to play their part in the City’s annual Artist in Residence program. You’re invited to share your original poetry by August 1 to be used in the Reshaping Ruins art installation at Goldie Mill during Culture Days in September.

In hopes of breathing life into Goldie Mill Ruins, the prompt for creating poetry is “how does it feel to experience an old space in a new light?” It’s an open-ended question for people to write about their own experiences with familiar spaces. Poems can be submitted on the Reshaping Ruins website, reshapingruins.com. The author of the selected piece will be granted a $150 honorarium.

The selected poem will be turned into a choral composition by artist Silas Chinsen, a Guelph-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer. The final composition will be recorded at a choral workshop at Market Square on August 13 at 11 a.m. with members of the community providing vocals. Details on signing up to join the choir will be made available on August 1 at reshapingruins.com.

Fellow artists Caleb Bray and Sophia Chilton will use the musical ensemble as inspiration for the live art experience at Goldie Mill Ruins. They will be transforming the space with projections of painting, light, and sound.

About the Artist in Residence program

The Artist in Residence program is offered by the City of Guelph to broaden the community’s experience of the arts, inviting artists to engage with the public and showcase their creative practices while enlivening public spaces. The program is in line with the vision of Guelph’s Community Plan, fostering innovation through creativity, curiosity and collaborative expression.