Mural Kwewog Giiwednog on display outside of Thunder Bay Art Gallery, which remains closed under provincial COVID-19 measures.
THUNDER BAY – A new exhibit is bringing art outdoors as the Thunder Bay Art Gallery remains closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Kwewog Giiwednog — Women of the North, a 16-by-8 foot mural by artist Sharon Hunter, has been put on display outside of the gallery at its location on the Confederation College campus.
The mural portrays three female figures dressed in regalia looking out over the Mississagi River in the Mississauga First Nation, near Blind River.
It’s part of a series of murals by Hunter that seek to tell community stories, and were originally displayed on billboards along Highway 17.
That’s a reflection of Hunter’s fondness for bringing art into public spaces.
“That part of the work is really important to me, having the physical presence of paintings being out in a public space that everybody can access, and everybody can bring their own meaning to it,” she said.
Kwewog Giiwednog depicts Hunter’s long-time friend Dana Boyer and her daughters Brenna and Brooke Chiblow Boyer of the Mississauga First Nation, where the artist also currently lives. It speaks to the women’s respect for the water and contains allusions to their connections with their clans and home territories.
The piece explores the idea of connection to the land from an Indigenous perspective, but Hunter enjoys seeing how it resonates with all viewers in different ways.
“There are so many different perspectives that come out, whether you’re a settler or Indigenous,” she said. “It’s pretty interesting to see how those views and images co-mingle.”
Hunter and Dana Boyer will discuss the piece in a livestreamed artist talk organized by the gallery on Thursday at 7 p.m. More details are available online.
Kwewog Giiwednog was initially planned for indoor display at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, but curator Penelope Smart said with galleries closed for at least a few more weeks under Ontario’s reopening plan, they decided to honour its past life as a billboard by displaying it outdoors.
“I think it’s a natural fit to put it up on the gallery, and I hope we’re able to do more large-scale outdoor art projects – and not just through COVID,” she said. “COVID has inspired us to think about how we get more art outside in ways that are really accessible to everyone.”
Hunter originally came up with the idea of painting billboard murals while travelling along Highway 17. A company that manages billboards, Laird Signs, later agreed to provide space.
The project began with a billboard near the community of Iron Bridge, east of Sault Ste. Marie. Hunter chose a historic bridge in the area as her subject, based on feedback from residents.
“The whole premise of it was involving community, the stories of the area,” she said.
She received funding for two billboard paintings through the Ontario Arts Council.
The mural will be on display at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery through the fall.
Art galleries will be permitted to open when Ontario reaches Step 3 in its reopening framework. The organization is hopeful it will be able to reopen by the end of July, Smart said.
source tbnewswatch