Ribbon Cutting Unveils “The Oluuc” at E.M. Warwick Conservation Area
West Elgin – The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) received a $1000 grant through the McGregor Morris Fund with the Elgin – St. Thomas Foundation – Art in Public Spaces in 2019. This was followed by a “call to local artists” to create a sculpture with a Lake Erie theme, especially designed for the E.M. Warwick Conservation Area, near Eagle.
Local Artist David Morris was selected to create a piece called “The Oluuc”. David’s concept was to design a mythical creature that swam in the waters of the Great Lake. Standing back and taking a look at this brushed aluminum piece with the blue waters of the lake in the background, one envisions what it may have been like for the Indigenous peoples and settlers of this area, as they gazed out into the misty waters of Lake Erie. LTVCA staff have created a beautiful destination for this sculpture in the day use area; with educational signage, an improved pavilion and a nature trail leading the way to “The Oluuc”.
Today, a ribbon cutting took place on site with the Elgin – St. Thomas Community Foundation Executive Director – Terry Carroll, Artist – David Morris, LTVCA CAO – Mark Peacock and LTVCA Manager of Conservation Lands and Services – Randall Van Wagner. Also in attendance was LTVCA Director and Deputy Mayor Mike Hentz from the Municipality of Dutton Dunwich.
“I would like to personally thank the Elgin – St. Thomas Community Foundation for their financial assistance towards this great project, and of course I thank Artist David Morris for his unique vision and contribution to Art in Public Spaces in Elgin County,” states Randall Van Wagner, LTVCA Manager of Conservation Lands and Services.
Terry Carroll – Executive Director of Elgin – St. Thomas Community Foundation says “Through the McGregor Morris Fund, Elgin – St. Thomas Community Foundation is very pleased to be working with Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority on this art installation for the E. M. Warwick Conservation Area. It’s especially fitting that David Morris, advisor to the Fund, created the sculpture being publicly unveiled today.”
There is no charge to visit “The Oluuc”. E.M. Warwick Conservation Area overlooks the north shore of Lake Erie, east of the town of Eagle in the Municipality of West Elgin, just a half hour’s drive from London. The conservation area has four cabins and a main hall. It is an ideal setting for corporate retreats and family reunions with a full kitchen, washrooms, showers and sleeping bunks for over 40 people. Please email [email protected] for reservation inquiries. Visit our website www.ltvca.ca for further information. To view more of David Morris art check out www.davidmorrissculptor.com.
For further information contact:
Randall VanWagner – LTVCA Manager, Conservation Lands and Services
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 519-359-4559
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