Gordon Bell treaty mosaic part of multiyear art project

Cover photo courtesy of Kristel Marasigan

Gordon Bell High School is undertaking a major, multiyear community art project that will feature several mosaic murals at different locations throughout the school.

“The three themes we are looking at are reconciliation, kinship and generosity,” said art teacher Mirae Young. “Creating these mural spaces helps to promote those ideas in the community. It also encourages students to contribute and feel a connection to their community and their school through the visual arts.”

Students and staff have already worked with local artist Ursula Neufeld to create a large mosaic piece that will be displayed at the school’s Borrowman Place entrance. It is the first of an expected three-year project to create several public art pieces at Gordon Bell.

“This is project that was conceived by Principal Vinh Huynh, who has worked on this type of transformative program before when he was at Hugh John Macdonald,” said Ms. Neufeld, who also happens to be a Gordon Bell graduate (Class of ’75). “We spoke at length about how we could bring the community and the students together through art.”

The Winnipeg Foundation provided the funding for the first phase of the project.

The leadoff mosaic piece features a treaty land statement recognizing that Gordon Bell and the Winnipeg School Division reside on Treaty 1 land. It is part of several art pieces that will convey the spirit of reconciliation based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.

The school’s Indigenous Leadership students will be designing another art piece to accompany the treaty declaration mosaic at the Borrowman entrance. An advisory committee, comprised of students from each grade level, will come up with a design.

“This first phase is really looking at reconciliation, and what does that look like to our school. How does this impact our daily lives and our relationships?” Ms. Young said. “The next couple of months are really about brainstorming, talking and developing visual imagery based on that. Then the students will create that artwork with Ursula and myself.”

Upcoming phases will have mosaic elements, but may also include other visual art mediums; much of the design and concept depends on what the students agree upon.

“It’s a very fluid, organic process—we are going to go where the students lead us,” Ms. Neufeld said.

Grade 12 student Aya Alshareh was one of several students who worked over the spring and fall to bring the treaty mosaic to life.

“It’s a wonderful piece of art. When I look at it, I feel we are acknowledging we are on the Métis homeland and First Nations territory. We are all so proud of that,” she said.

“When people look at this in the future, they will know other Gordon Bell students have worked on this …and they can do something too. They are not just students, they can contribute to make this school better.”