Pickering yesterday announced that Tracey-Mae Chambers, Métis artist and a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, will install her work #HopeAndHealingCanada at the Pickering Museum Village, Puterbaugh Schoolhouse on Saturday, October 8 from 9 am to 4 pm.
The red string installation will remain on site for three months. During the installation, Tracey-Mae will engage with patrons through an Artist Talk and Q&A, said a city statement.
“Since July 2021, I have been building site-specific art installations across Ontario, at residential school historical sites, cultural centres, museums, art galleries and other public spaces. Many (but not all) of these public spaces serve to present a colonial viewpoint and primarily speak about the settlers who arrived and lived here, but not the Indigenous people that were displaced along the way,” Chambers said.
The installations are constructed with red acrylic yarn, which is strong and resilient. The string represents the connectivity between each other and the environment, as it will also not last forever.
Red is the colour of blood. Red is the slur against Indigenous people. Red is the colour of passion and anger, danger and power, courage and love, she added.
The goal of #HopeAndHealingCanada is to broach the subject of decolonization and reconciliation. These discussions are hard to start and harder still to maintain. I am hoping to bridge the gap between settlers and Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit people by creating art that is approachable and non-confrontational, so we can start,” said Chambers.
Pickering Museum Village is located at 2365 Concession Rd 6, Greenwood, ON L0H 1H0.
For more information visit: pickering.ca/PublicArt.