YEG Dignity 2023
JHC is honoured to have embarked on a journey with Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) and other trusted partners, including Indigenous artist Carla Rae Taylor, the Youth Wellness Alliance, Rapid Fire Theatre, Edmonton Heritage Council, Edmonton Community Foundation, and Elder Jo-Ann Saddleback and Knowledge Keeper Lana Whiskeyjack. The use of murals in public spaces is known to create vibrancy and increase safety in the community. ETS has identified that one of their most problematic and unsafe areas in the transit system is the pedway that links City Centre Mall and the Churchill LRT. Building off the success of past collaborative work with JHC through the Paint The Rails project, ETS and JHC collaborated on a new public mural in this space that needs some love.
The #YEGDignity Project is a 127-foot mural that was led by artists diverse in gender, race, sexuality and ability to amplify the perspectives of a diverse range of backgrounds, abilities and experiences and highlight the histories and people that have shaped Edmonton’s landscape and our collective yet varied connections to Mother Earth. The project began in November 2022 with a first gathering with artists to share food and ground in a space of learning together supported by Elder Joann Saddleback and artist Lana Whiskeyjack to discuss the concept for the project. The team worked together over three capacity-building workshops and over the course of the larger project, these diverse artists will bring their own unique lens and heritage into the art. These sessions rooted the team to provide them the space to create in solidarity, share their personal stories, and create a beautiful art piece that will place the pedway on the map in Edmonton. By grounding in teachings from Indigenous knowledge keepers, artists will have space to share their natural history, cultural identity, language and story into this mural. Our goal is to create a space where all feel they can see a piece of who they are in Edmonton. The mural unveiling took place on June 27th to celebrate Multiculturalism Day and Indigenous History Month.
The journey of creating this public art space was well documented using a variety of methods to create further outcomes for education including video shorts, popular theatre, storytelling and a digital zine.
You can visit the mural at the pedway between Churchill Station and City Centre.
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Foster social participation of BIPOC Edmontonians by facilitating a collaboration of a diverse team of artists who will have opportunities to come together, create connections and document their stories into a place-making mural project that highlights the stories of Edmonton’s natural landscape, diverse cultural identities, languages and faiths
Create vibrancy, energy and increase safety in the community through public art and beautification
Engender a sense of belonging, connectedness and inclusion for all Edmontonians, across diversities and increase knowledge of anti-racism in Edmonton
Strengthen artist collaborations working to combat racism and other forms and discrimination and profile to diverse artists in Edmonton, providing platforms for growth and opportunity including career development, increased public art making skills, increased exposure and relationship building for lead and emerging artists
Strengthen ongoing engagement of the public and learning with the subject of dignity, community safety and well-being, anti-oppression and anti-racism
Increased spaces for artists and other marginalized community members from diverse communities for healing, connection and well-being
Strengthening of use of street based popular theatre and public art in Edmonton working to push social narratives
Educational tools and resources to support anti-racism and anti-oppression learning in the city of Edmonton
