Jessica Canard – photo supplied
Everyone is invited to witness and participate in a unique “live” art project which will result in a permanent mural display on The University of Winnipeg’s campus.
Commissioned by UWinnipeg and Canada’s National Arts Centre, Ojibwe multi-media visual artist Jessica Canard is designing a mural called Connecting Communities, to bring together people from different backgrounds and social circles through the creation of art.
From Sagkeeng First Nation, Canard uses art to explore, reclaim, and bridge her heritage with urban living, and to engage the public to build stronger communities. Canard graduated from The University of Winnipeg in June 2017 with a Bachelor of Business and Administration.
WHEN: Tuesday, October 17
from 10:00 – 11:15 am and 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
WHERE: Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex
Power Corporation Atrium
599 Portage Avenue
The mural pieces created will be on display for the NAC Orchestra’s concert on October 19 at Centennial Hall in Winnipeg, starting at 6:00 pm. In the spring, the complete work will be permanently mounted on UWinnipeg’s campus, as an ongoing representation of Winnipeg’s vibrant and resilient Indigenous community.
BACKGROUND
This project’s goal is to bring people together to share experiences through the creation of art. Mural participants will use hand-crafted stamps featuring animal and plant imagery to create images onto geometric-shaped cut-outs, which reflect the urban environment that the mural will be created in. The stamp imagery will represent the 7 Sacred Teachings and plant medicine, which are significant to Treaty 1 Territory, home to the Ojibwe, Cree, and Métis people. The images of plant medicine used in this mural are used for healing, ceremony, and smudging.
From her community, Canard learned to try to live at least one of the 7 Sacred Teaching each day, and this wisdom will be shared with all participants orally and through handbills designed specifically for this project.
Jessica Canard, mural in progress – October 17, 2017, staff photo
Artist Bio
Jessica Canard is a multi-media visual with a focus on street art and murals due to how accessible it is to the public. Born and currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she has goals of traveling and making art internationally. She wants to share skills, ideas, and experiences with others in an equal exchange so she can bring back what she’s learned to her communities. Her roots are from Sagkeeng First Nation where she is using art to explore, reclaim, and bridge this part of her heritage with urban living. Her main focus is to use art as a tool for self-reflection/growth, to engage the public, and build stronger communities. Accomplished at a young age, she’s been facilitating art workshops for youth since the age of 17, at 21 her work was purchased by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights thanks to a partnership that was started between the museum and the Michaelle Jean Foundation, at 25 she created her first out of province collaborative mural, and now she’s working towards those international goals.
Artist Statement
Mural stamps – staff photo
To me art is about bringing people together and creating positive change. I use various mediums in my work to share ideas and experiences that come from a place of building stronger communities because I believe it takes a community to raise a strong caring person. I have a focus on large scale production, such as murals, and I’m really into sharing knowledge and skills through the facilitation of art workshops. I was born in and am currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It has an influence on my art making and so does my heritage as an Ojibwe woman from Sagkeeng First Nation. Themes that come up in my work are influenced by the disconnect I have from my culture due to the process of colonization and how I am trying to reclaim that part of my identity. I don’t see myself reflected in the world around me and creating art is my way of making sure that I am represented, that my culture, and my communities are represented too. I also use art as a tool for self growth/reflection, to engage the public, and build stronger relationships between communities and their members.
jessicacanard@mts.net
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MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
