2023 YEG Dignity Mural
YEG Dignity was a project initiated during the time of the Mayor’s Task Force to End Poverty which resulted in what we know as End Poverty Edmonton today. At the time the task force was building plans of how to end poverty, JHC pulled together teams of young people, particularly with lived experience, to bring their voice to the plan. One of their calls to action was to make space for public art that would engage young people and challenge narratives on poverty and dignity. In honour of those young people, we strive to keep the spirit of YEG Dignity alive by working to transform public spaces and spark conversations.
The 2023 YEG Dignity Mural builds off previous collaborative work with Edmonton Transit Service as part of a Canada 150+ legacy project called Paint the Rails. Paint the Rails brought the histories of diverse communities into five transit stations in the City: Churchill, Corona, Kingsway, Clareview, and the University tell the stories of Cree, Métis, Ukrainian, French, Jewish, Muslim, Black, Filipino, Latin American and Chinese communities.
For the past year, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) has been working in collaboration with Edmonton Transit Service (ETS), Youth Wellness Alliance, Elder Joann Saddleback, Knowledge Keeper Lana Whiskeyjack and Lead Artist Carla Rae Taylor to mentor and guide a team of local artists in the creation of the YEG Dignity Mural which celebrates the diverse ways in which Indigenous communities and ethno-cultural communities have shaped Edmonton and the land it is situated on. The mural will transform the pedway that links Edmonton’s City Centre Mall and Churchill LRT, a space in need of vibrancy and love.
“The creation of the mural is being led by a team of 15 primarily young and emerging artists who represent an intersection of identities including Indigenous, Black and People of Colour, immigrant and refugee, gender and sexual diversity, and people with disabilities. Importantly, this mural will positively impact our city by offering opportunities to bring awareness to the quality and variety of art in Edmonton and create a space of collective storytelling, diversity, inclusion and introspection,” Nexi Alarcon
JHC is an organization that works hard to advance dignity, freedom, justice, and security through collaborative relationships and transformative education on peace and human rights. Since 2005, we have been working to build Edmonton as a Human Rights City and it is projects such as this that we are able to continue to engage people in learning and dialogue on the role of human rights and our responsibilities as citizens.
We are excited this year to have this mural to share with you as well as the world. This year is the 75th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which our namesake John Peters Humphrey, was the principal drafter. We will be inviting the world to Edmonton and will be proud to share this mural with them at the Ignite Change Global Human Rights Convention happening from December 1-10 to honour this important document and hero, as well as push important conversations on human rights.
The YEG Dignity Mural is a partnership between the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) and Youth Wellness Alliance with the support of Edmonton Heritage Council, Edmonton Community Foundation and Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton.
2023 YEG Dignity Mural
