The late Rush drummer Neil Peart is one step closer to being immortalized as a statue that will one day sit in Lakeside Park in the Port Dalhousie community of St. Catharines, Ont.
On Tuesday, the municipality announced it is commissioning an original work of public art honouring Peart, who died last January of brain cancer at the age of 67.
“The Neil Peart memorial is an important project in our community as it celebrates the life of an amazing musician, lyricist and author who called St. Catharines his hometown during his formative years,” said mayor Walter Sendzik, in a release. “I am looking forward to seeing the vision artists have for the memorial.”
The city is launching a fundraising campaign next month to come up with the estimated $1.5 million needed for the statue chosen to be installed in the park. Last June, a structure in Lakeside Park – the subject of a 1975 Rush song – was named “Neil Peart Pavilion.”
Sendzik said the pavilion and the statue “will be a beacon for Rush fans to visit our community for years to come to celebrate and reflect on Neil Peart’s amazing contribution to his craft.”
Artists and creative teams have until March 29 to submit a “request for pre-qualification.” A selection panel will shortlist six finalists for the design process.
“We’re excited to finally be reaching out to artists,” said David DeRocco, chair of the Neil Peart Memorial Task Force, in a release. “There’s great anticipation to see what kind of creative and original ideas artists submit for this project.
“Neil set the bar incomparably high when it came to his own art, so we expect to receive some very inspired suggestions for what no doubt will become a mecca for his fans around the world.”
One artist hoping to earn the job of creating a lasting memorial to Peart is Morgan MacDonald of Logy Bay, NL, who recently posted a video showing his work on a “Neil Peart Tribute Sculpture.” On Wednesday, he shared a photo on Instagram that shows him at work on a clay model of Peart behind his iconic drums.
"This is just a scaled-down model or what we sculptors like to call a maquette," MacDonald told iHeartRadio.ca. "It's a rough draft to be used to guide the creation of a much larger piece usually life-sized and larger."
The renowned sculptor said he is currently working on a design that he will share at a later date. "This is just a teaser for what's to come later," he explained.