To commemorate native allies involved in War of 1812
MELINDA CHEEVERS,
NIAGARA THIS WEEK
January 14, 2012
The famous line from Field of Dreams is “Build it and they will come,” in Niagara-on-the-Lake, however, it seems “request to build it and they will come” is a bit more fitting.
Responses to a request for design proposal have flooded in, with many people vying for the chance to design a memorial commemorating the role of the Six Nations and Native Allies in the Battle of Queenston Heights and the War of 1812. The chosen design will become a reality and placed at the National Historic Site of Queenston Heights Park.
Lyle Williams, communications officer for the Niagara-on-the-Lake War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee, said they have been overwhelmed with responses. Copies of the request for proposal have been posted on the Town’s website at www.notl.org as well as at www.biddingo.com. The bulk of responses, he noted, came within the first 48 hours of the proposal going online.
Dawn McInnis, project manager of communications and customer service for the Town. said as of Tuesday morning 39 requests for the document had been received through Biddingo and 27 from the Town’s website.
The committee launched the design challenge, offering artists the opportunity to bring the significance of a largely forgotten history to life. The challenge is a call to artists to create a memorial that will commemorate the sacrifice and valor of Six Nations and Native allies who fought and to recognize their cultural, diplomatic and military contributions.
Williams said it will be one of the greatest legacies of the bicentennial commemorations.
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“The memorial will become a part of the landscape of Queenston Heights, much like the Brock Monument,” he said. “Once the reenactments and commemorations are done, it will remain.”
Submissions will be based on several criteria: artistic merit, content merit, adherence to design criteria, sustainability, and public appeal.
Williams said in addition to the number of registrations already he received, he knows there’ll be a lot more.
“People have been calling to ask for information about it,” he said on Tuesday, noting one person stopped by his house on the weekend and another wanted to arrange a site walkthrough at the park.
“It’s been overwhelming,” he said. “We thought we’d get a good response, but nothing like this. We didn’t think it would be this big, this fast.”
The design challenge launched on Jan. 3 and artists have until March 1, 2012 to register. Proposal submissions will be accepted from registered artist until April 30.
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