Sculpture Saint John plans to make a return for one final year

After being put on pause for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sculpture Saint John symposium is poised to return for its fifth and final year this summer.

The event, which turns a space along the waterfront into an outdoor studio, is going to be held from Aug. 11 to Sept. 10.

It will feature eight artists chosen from a pool of more than 180 applicants from over 50 different countries.

“It attracts people from all over the world,” says Diana Alexander, the executive director of Sculpture Saint John. “I look at our interns and what it’s done – one of our interns has gone on to do eight international sculpture symposiums from Nepal, to Germany, to Italy.”

There are eight community partners this time around, meaning the sculptures will be installed in expanded locations throughout New Brunswick, including Saint John, Moncton, Dieppe, Oromocto, Deer Island, and Grand Bay-Westfield.

“Some of the communities that… will be participating this year are small communities like ourselves,” says Grace Losier, a board member and former mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield.

“Frankly, it would have been a dream to have public art the way we have had it, had it not been for the sculpture symposium.”

Although this will be the final year for the event, Alexander says another region could pick up where Saint John has left off.

“For instance, if Moncton, Riverview, Dieppe wanted to do a Sculpture Greater Moncton,” says Alexander. “Or if Fredericton wanted to take it on, that would mean we would expand to other parts of the province and I think that would be great.”