Location for Indigenous Artwork at the Lethbridge Public Library's main branch (Photo Credit: City of Lethbridge)

By Lara Fominoff

Indigenous public artwork unanimously approved by Lethbridge City Council

Aug 9, 2019 | 12:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – City Council has unanimously approved $65,000 to commission an indigenous public artwork display at the Main Library Branch.

At Monday’s meeting, council heard that in the spring of 2018 the city’s Public Art Committee was approached by library staff regarding the possibility of commissioning artwork in conjunction with the renovation of the downtown library. The project will be located in the indigenous learning space, called “Piitoyiss/Eagles’ Nest.”

A roundtable was held with several Blackfoot artists in May 2018 at the Galt Museum. However, during those discussions the committee learning that their processes were not welcoming to Indigenous artists. Competition, said Art Committee staff, does not align with the way opportunities are offered in the Blackfoot culture.

In the spring of 2019 Kainai First Nations artist Faye HeavyShield was chosen. She studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the University of Calgary. She is recognized for her large-scale installations and has work displayed at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada in Toronto.

The artwork will be focused on “voice” and will be called “Awaaniiyaawa” or, “They are speaking.” There will be seven panels; three in the middle will be a mural or portrait of the population in general and there will also be an audio component which will be placed at the bottom of the mural. The money for the project will come from the city’s public art program budget.

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During the meeting, Councillors Blaine Hyggen and Joe Mauro questioned the method in which HeavyShield was chosen, because the project was directly awarded, rather than going through a competition process.

“Is that common for us to do?” asked Hyggen. “

Library staff told council that it was the only way for them to achieve their objective and outcome.

“I think this is a really unique situation,” said Suzanne Lint, Art Committee Member and Executive Director of the Allied Arts Council. “We have reached out in a way we thought was appropriate many times hoping that indigenous artists would compete – and were not successful. So, it was very important in this project that we engage indigenous artists, preferably someone from our own region.”

“The very first thing we heard, is we don’t understand your processes,” she continued. “So, the things that we do in our culture to acquire and work through projects, are very different and not welcoming, and easily accessible to many indigenous artists.”

However, the public art policy will be reviewed and will come back to council with modifications to be approved.

It’s not clear when the project may begin or when the expected date of completion will be.