Charity

In July 2017 residents of the Markham suburban development of Cathedraltown awoke to find a chrome replica of a prizewinning Holstein cow double its original size suspended on 25foot tall stilts in the centre of a small crescent facing their homes The sculpture was commissioned by Cathedraltowns developer and donated to the City of Markham as a public art piece The residents however quickly rose in opposition to a sculpture that they felt did not represent them and negatively affected their quiet suburban community Charity is presented as a public digital artwork produced by the National Film Board of Canada in partnership with Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto The interactive documentary employs 360 video and photogrammetry to share a variation on the familiar interactive real estate tour where a house in Cathedraltown becomes a site to collect and renarrate a communitys confrontation with a piece of public art in turn offering a portrait of private property