A couple of hallways in a Winnipeg school have been brought to life in a meaningful way.
This year, local artist and Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre graduate Justine Proulx painted two hallways in Windsor Park Collegiate.
She came up with the idea after visiting an Indigenous Youth Leadership meeting and sharing examples of murals she painted in other schools.
This inspired the students to do something similar at their school, creating artwork that reflected their own community.
Proulx collaborated with the Indigenous Youth Leadership students to choose the themes, symbols and stories they felt would represent them best.
“In the end, the group created two unique ideas for their murals. The first one focused on a matriarchal figure. It featured a hummingbird, which represents Kookum Hilda, an elder who has shared stories and smugings with the students. It also incorporated a smudge bowl, sweetgrass, a fire and the sun and moon.
The second piece focuses on community and includes images of trees, fires, river and berries. It also showcases people smudging and sharing food.
Staff at the school say the murals have piqued the curiosity of students, with the hope that the art will serve as teaching tools.
“Lots of students who didn’t know what was going on were asking questions—why we were doing murals, what the symbols meant,” said Kristy Nakoneshny, WPC’s Community Liaison Worker to the Louis Riel School Division. “It created a lot of interest and conversation.”
Both murals have been placed in the most visible locations, including near the main bathrooms and stairwells.
Windsor Park Collegiate hopes this is the first step to something big and exciting moving forward.
