Coaker Foundation wins award
After competing against other groups in an online contest, the Union Art Project at the Sir William Ford Coaker Heritage Foundation has won the Big Projects Regional-east Prize — and $30,000 in funding.
The endeavour will see the Coaker Foundation develop a new art space in Port Union.
Jane Walker, who worked with the Coaker Foundation and Ruth Weller in this project, told The Packet she was so excited to hear the news this past weekend, she “fell on the floor.”
“It’s really special because it will be the first of a lot of good things happening on the street,” said Walker.
“What’s amazing about this competition is that it’s community driven and we did get the community support. It just shows people care about what’s happening here.”
The project will begin “re-imagining” remaining row houses at the Coaker Foundation, with a historic red duplex building’s exterior being restored. The interior renovations have been planned by artist and architect Frank Lapointe.
The space is planned to be the Union House Arts — complete with gallery and studio areas, a multi-media screening room, community kitchen and garden plots, workshop space and more.
The results were very close leading up to the final tally, and Walker says they were “overjoyed” to hear the news.
“This fantastic news will show others that we’re committed to seeing the project through and we hope that we can continue to get the community support.”
The results came after 25 projects from across Canada were pitted against one another in an online crowdfunding contest from June 14 to July 20.
In a news release issued on Monday, the National Trust says the funding is intended to revitalize communities.
“The goal of the National Trust’s ‘This Place Matters’ competition is to bring together community partners and community members to breathe new life into historic places across Canada,” said the release. “Since launching two years ago, over $1,400,000 has been directed to worthy heritage projects through ‘This Place
Matters.’”
The total amount in cash prizes and donations this year was $684,000. In addition to the Coaker project, there were seven winners across the country.