Pathway to Reconciliation mural project brings colour to downtown Regina
Louise BigEagle | CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2023 10:00 AM | Last Updated: June 21, 2023
2.4-metre-wide path painted on paved stone will be created in FW Hill Mall
Marian Donnelly is excited to unveil the Pathway to Reconciliation.
"It's just an incredible opportunity for us to do a visual representation of what does reconciliation mean, not to Indigenous people, but to all people. We are all treaty people. We all have a responsibility to be part of the efforts of reconciliation, to make sure that everybody.Is working together," said Donnelly.
The project — a 2.4-metre-wide mural/foot path at the F.W. Hill Mall on the 1800 block of Scarth Street in Regina — is a collaboration between Creative City Centre and the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District.
Artists started on the mural on June 1 so that it would be completed in time for National Indigenous People's Day on June 21, when an opening ceremony will be incorporated in the day's events at Victoria Park.
Donnelly, the founder of the Creative City Centre, said she was happy to partner on this project as the centre has always been interested in engaging the public in art downtown.
WATCH| Indigenous artists design 'beaded' Path to Reconciliation mural in downtown Regina:
Once Donnelly heard it was going to be on Scarth Street, she knew it had to be a reconciliation project involving Indigenous artists, Elders and cultural advisors to make sure it was done properly.
"We will be putting up signage that explains what the significance is of the work that is being done. You know there are going to be flower motifs, they're going to be bones. There's going to be things that have cultural significance to Indigenous culture," said Donnelly.
Two lead Indigenous artists designed and directed the project, with many volunteers helping paint and stencil the path.
Brandy Jones is one of the lead artists. She is an Inuvialuit and Gwitch'in artist from Williams Lake, B.C., but moved to Regina when she was 12 years old.
Jones's work is a mixture of native arts, with bright colours representing every Indigenous nation. She said she is excited to be a part of a project that has her working in the community.
"I absolutely love it because I always say my job is 80 per cent about community and 20 per cent about the art. So any time that I can be out in my community and just making those connections and relationships with people is the best day for me," said Jones while taking a break from painting the mural.
Geanna Dunbar, a Cree-Métis multi-disciplinary artist from Regina, is the second lead artist.
Dunbar's work includes spoken word and body modification, including body piercing, skin branding, and tattooing using both modern techniques and traditional practices like Plains Cree skin stitching.
Jones and Dunbar decided to use beadwork as a visual motif for the piece, because it would allow them to represent different nations.
They mapped it out row by row, made chalk outlines and then, with the help of volunteers, started painting. Dunbar estimated that the final piece would feature hundreds of rows and thousands of paints "beads."
"It's going to be a very large project. I just want to see people be excited. I want to see people interact. I want to see people have conversations during it," said Dunbar.
Signs along the fence surrounding the project as the work was underway explained what was going on and who the artists are, to spark conversations about the mural.
Elder Brenda Dubois was also at the site. She smudged before each day to set good intentions for the mural and bring her cultural knowledge to the project.
Everyone is welcome to the opening ceremony for the mural on June 21, during the annual National Indigenous People's Day Celebrations.