Windsor chair sculpture featured in Jackson Park

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A long-overdue public art project known as You + Me chairs is finally sitting down very well in Jackson Park.

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The sculpture, consisting of two six-foot-high Windsor-style chairs, cast in bronze and partially facing each other, was unveiled on Tuesday after years of setbacks.

The city’s International Relations Committee commissioned the sculpture for the first time in 2012.

“We always liked the vision of two large chairs set up to encourage people to sit down and take pictures, sit down and chat,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens, who chaired the committee when the project was first approved. “This is a wonderful addition to Jackson Park and the city’s impressive and diverse collection of public art, and the city is grateful to the artists, donors and partners who worked to bring this vision to life.”

Local artists Mark and Laura Williams, representatives of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland and Ward 5 Coun. Ed Sleiman, on behalf of the International Relations Committee, joined Dilkens on Tuesday for the big reveal.

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The project has been in the works for more than a decade. The committee first suggested it in 2010.

But several attempts to solicit project ideas from the community failed. Artist Laura Shintani’s You + Me concept was finally commissioned in 2012 as a way to honor Windsor’s relationship with its twin cities and mark the 2013 International Children’s Games in Windsor.

But the project stalled for years after Shintani moved to Toronto. The wooden models of the chairs were shuffled in various places before putting them away.

The husband and wife team, Mark and Laura Williams, finally enlisted to finish the project. They worked with John Vickers of the Hopper Foundry to cast the chairs in bronze.

The sculpture cost about $ 120,000, including site preparation, installation and a commemorative plaque, according to the city.

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The International Relations Committee contributed $ 5,000 and the city’s Public Art Endowment Fund contributed about $ 65,000. The Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland donated $ 50,000 to the project.

“The Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland is pleased to be a part of ongoing plans to enhance and beautify Jackson Park for the Windsor community,” said Board President Gisele Seguin. “In honor of our 40th anniversary, the club is excited to help support the You + Me sculpture, 40 magnolia trees, a drinking fountain and a bike rack. We applaud the City of Windsor for its vision to maintain and improve the park, a gem in our park system. We look forward to continuing to be a part of Jackson Park for years to come. “

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