The Real Problem
London has invested in Harris Park’s shoreline, paths, river access, and ecology. It proves its value during festivals — but stays under-activated as an everyday cultural destination the rest of the year.
Part of the Vision 2026–2030 proposal family.See the four-year vision
PROPOSAL UNDER PUBLIC REVIEW
Public review — not approved, funded or submitted to Council. The current proposal is to study the concept, cost it, test technical and public requirements, and begin with a limited reversible pilot before major permanent capital is considered.
- Approval
- Not approved
- Funding
- Not funded
- Council status
- Not submitted
- First decision
- Feasibility work and a limited reversible pilot
Three-minute decision brief
The Problem, the Solution, the Result.
What I Would Push For
I would bring forward a feasibility-and-pilot motion for a phased Living Art Park that preserves the festival lawn, places art and programming along suitable paths and edges, uses movable installations where events need flexibility, and starts with a limited, reversible pilot before major permanent capital is considered.
What Would Count as Progress
I would track programmed days and attendance, local artists paid, participation across ages and communities, outside funding secured, municipal cost, and whether the pilot produces enough evidence for Council to decide what should happen next.
How I would move it
Baseline → Feasibility Motion → Technical Review → Consultation → Complete Cost → Funding → Pilot → Public Results → Council Decision → Tracker
Who decides: Council decides whether to direct the study, fund a pilot, or approve later implementation. Technical, environmental, procurement, accessibility, event-operations, and partner reviews still have to be completed through the proper public process.
Why Harris Park
The physical investment is already there.
Harris Park is an existing municipal riverfront park with a large unobstructed festival field, capacity for major temporary events, an established event history, and the Thames Valley Parkway — steps from downtown, Museum London, the Forks, Blackfriars, and Labatt Memorial Park.
The City completed major shoreline work in 2025 — a stronger naturalized riverbank plus pathway, lookout, access, tree, seating, signage, and ecological improvements, with finishing restoration continuing in 2026.
Official City information describes Harris Park as an all-year booking location for large festivals with capacity of roughly 20,000, while policy currently limits it to 12 days of amplified special events a year. The Living Art Park means year-round art, nature, learning, markets, family activity, and low-impact programming — not continuous major concerts.
The physical investment is already there. The opportunity is to complete the public-life investment.
Protecting major events
The central lawn stays open and festival-ready.
Permanent and rotating elements are positioned outside primary stage and sightline zones, production and vendor areas, emergency routes, crowd circulation, temporary fencing and servicing areas, and restoration-sensitive shoreline.
The design objective is not to fill every open space. It is to create meaningful daily use while protecting landscape, ecological function, and event flexibility.
What residents would see
Eight ways the park comes alive — year-round.
1 · Great Festival Lawn
Rock the Park, Canada Day, outdoor cinema, and other large gatherings continue through temporary infrastructure. The central lawn stays open and festival-ready.
2 · Sculpture & Installation Garden
Permanent anchor works, rotating exhibitions, interactive and environmental art, student work, and light-based installations in landscaped, technically suitable areas.
3 · Riverfront Art Walk
Art, poetry, audio, history, ecology, and Indigenous-led interpretation along existing paths and river connections.
4 · Community Creation Commons
Mobile art carts, tents, outdoor tables, portable storage, workshops, and seasonal teaching structures — before any permanent building is considered.
5 · Performance Garden
Acoustic music, choir, theatre, spoken word, cultural performance, and school showcases with mobile stages. Amplified events remain subject to City policy.
6 · Family Creativity Grove
Interactive art, creative play, storytelling, accessible creation stations, shade, caregiver seating, and sensory-considerate programming.
7 · Artist & Maker Market
Scheduled local art, handmade goods, demonstrations, cultural markets, food vendors, and community organizations — coordinated with existing downtown markets.
8 · Four-Season Light & Winter Garden
Illuminated sculpture, winter art, evening walks, snow creation, seasonal programming, and warming features where feasible.
The City’s Downtown Plan is full of commitments to activate public space — programming squares, markets, art, four-season use. The Living Art Park is Ward 13’s version of exactly that idea. My job is to make sure our end of the city is not left off the list when that investment gets handed out.
Source: Downtown Plan — public-space Big Move and Quick Start Actions (Rotary Square, Dundas Place place-making, projection artwork).
How it works
Start small and reversible — build only what proves out.
Phase 0
Listen, Test, and Cost
Site mapping, event-compatibility and floodplain/environmental review, accessibility, utilities, security, emergency access, public consultation, governance options, and preliminary capital and operating estimates.
Phase 1
Living Art Pilot
Temporary art, mobile programming, movable seating, acoustic performance, family activity, artist markets, wayfinding, and seasonal programming — low-cost and reversible.
Phase 2
Establish
Formalize art-walk elements, lighting, seating, landscaping, weather protection, defined creation and family areas, selected anchor art, and justified servicing improvements.
Phase 3
Signature Destination
Consider permanent or semi-permanent learning and performance infrastructure only after technical suitability, demand, funding, lifecycle cost, and pilot results are proven.
Connected cultural district
Harris Park as the anchor — not the whole project.
Museum LondonIvey ParkThe Forks of the ThamesEldon HouseBlackfriarsLabatt Memorial ParkDundas PlaceCovent Garden MarketVictoria ParkThames Valley Parkway
Who benefits
Children and familiesTeens and studentsLocal artists and musiciansSeniorsNewcomers and cultural communitiesNearby residentsDowntown businesses and vendorsSchools and postsecondary institutionsVisitors and cultural tourismEveryone seeking a free public destination
What City Hall controls
No governance model is predetermined.
The feasibility report should examine City-led delivery, qualified non-profit operation, a formal City/non-profit partnership, public-art administration through existing City and London Arts Council processes, and an advisory structure of artists, musicians, residents, accessibility experts, educators, youth, seniors, event operators, businesses, environmental experts, and Indigenous-appointed participants.
Named organizations are potential participants only. No endorsement or partnership is claimed.
Funding framework
Potential layers, subject to eligibility and approval — each classified as confirmed, applied-for, eligible-to-investigate, potential only, or rejected/unavailable:
- ◆Approved municipal pilot or capital participation
- ◆Public-art and cultural programs where eligible (without displacing existing obligations)
- ◆Provincial arts, tourism, community, accessibility, or infrastructure programs
- ◆Federal arts and cultural-infrastructure programs
- ◆Foundations and philanthropy
- ◆Corporate sponsorship
- ◆Artist loans and donations
- ◆Vendor, market, workshop, concession, and ticketed premium-event revenue
Honest about authority
What a councillor can — and cannot — do alone.
Can do
- Bring or support a motion
- Request a report and public information
- Ask budget, authority, and implementation questions
- Propose amendments
- Advocate for outside funding and partnerships
- Vote on policy and budget decisions
- Demand public status reporting
Cannot do alone
- Approve a budget
- Direct individual staff outside Council authority
- Award a contract
- Guarantee a grant
- Authorize construction
- Bind a partner
- Bypass environmental, legal, procurement, or consultation requirements
Your response becomes part of the record
Four questions we’re asking the public.
- 1Is Harris Park under-activated between major events?
- 2Should the City study a phased Living Art Park while protecting the festival lawn?
- 3Which outcomes matter most?
- 4Should the feasibility and pilot motion advance now, advance with conditions, wait, or stop?
Key official sources to retain in the public file
- —City of London — Harris Park shoreline improvements
- —City of London — Special Event Support / Harris Park
- —City of London — Special Events Policy
- —City of London — Downtown Plan / River District
- —City of London — Public Art and Monument Program
- —London Arts Council — public-art administration information
- —UTRCA / City requirements identified during feasibility review
Brought together by Schelley Bisson through lived experience downtown, community conversations, and review of City plans. The individual components are not claimed as personal inventions; Schelley takes responsibility for organizing, verifying, and moving the lawful public work forward.