People and the City

People and the City was designed by Stuart Reid and Doreen Balabanoff. Installed in 1991, it is a civic monument that pays tribute to the peoples of London, from its Indigenous roots, through the latter half of the 20th century. The central figure is a cross section of two profiles, one embodying the First Nations, the other representing John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada.

The artwork encompasses a solid flat bronze sheet with a series of cathedral like windows – evincing a medieval reliquary, that houses outlined silhouettes of notable figures from London’s past. Situated across the street (on the East side of Wellington) is a bronze map that labels each window and the names of the represented figures. For example, the top two windows portray Indigenous Peoples and Early Settlers, the middle windows feature people who are recognized in the fields of Politics and Law, Religious Leaders, Service and Activism, and Humanitarians, while the bottom six windows depict people celebrated for excellence in Philanthropy, Research, Education, Business, Industry and Labour, Sports and Entertainment, and the Arts.

The form of the artwork references the city as a built construction, shaped by the forces of architecture and by the people who construct and reside in it. At the time of its fabrication, People and the City was created by cutting edge technology whereby a concentrated water jet spray, controlled by a computer program, slowly cut through the slab of bronze to create intricate forms out of negative space. A limestone base was constructed to give the sculpture further height and complement the bronze material.