Local artists have answered one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.
Call to Action #83 is a project that has brought Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists together to provide a creative take on their interpretations of truth and reconciliation.
In the commission’s report, Call to Action 83 reads, “We call upon the Canada Council for the Arts to establish, as a funding priority, a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process.”
The travelling art show has landed at St. Paul’s Centre in Orillia, where an opening event will take place Sunday, with a luncheon at noon followed by the presentation from 1 to 4 p.m.
“It’s their visions of truth and reconciliation,” said Anna Proctor, communications co-ordinator with St. Paul’s.
Artists are used to interpreting their understanding of a situation and putting it on canvas, but this project was different.
“I didn’t know exactly what the recommendations (in the commission’s report) were. We were told to read through it all and see if this is a project we wanted to be a part of,” said Xavier Fernandes, one of the six non-Indigenous artists taking part.
Reading the report was an eye opener for the prolific Orillia artist.
“This is important,” he said. “We needed to get out there and have people listen, hear the truth come out.”
While creating Hope — the title of the piece Fernandes contributed to the project — he was faced with a new challenge.
“I was very stressed about it,” he admitted. “It wasn’t just about creating a nice image. It was about finding out what truth and reconciliation means to me. It’s easy to do a piece that is nice. It’s difficult to do an image that is based on what truth and reconciliation means to me.”
During Sunday’s event, the artists will explain the stories behind their work. Those stories often come from a dark place, which can be reflected in their art. As one artist said at an earlier event, “My piece is big and ugly because the truth is ugly.”
Given the role of some churches in past wrongdoing against Indigenous peoples, “this show in this location is a big moment,” Fernandes said.
“There’s a lot of truth that is still not being revealed,” he said. “Here, you have a church that is saying, ‘Come look at the truth.’ I hope people will come and see it that way.”
The participating artists gathered a couple of years ago at the home of Paul Shilling. Following a sweat lodge ceremony and a feast, they determined the order in which they would make their works. They got to work, and Call to Action #83 was born.
It's not yet known how long the art will remain on display at St. Paul's. For the time being, following Sunday's event, it will be available for public viewing Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Learn more about the project here.
