Art Connects Community Mural

Art Connects is an ongoing initiative that started in 2019 to address North York Arts’ role in Truth and Reconciliation. As North York Arts builds programs, partnerships, and relationships, we continue to ask ourselves “As a non-Indigenous organization, what can we do to support the process of decolonization and build the right relations with Indigenous communities?”

Art Connects has consisted of multiple components and phases, all of which center Indigenous experience and teachings.

Two-Row Wampum Belt – Community Mural

Designed by Lindsey Lickers

In 2022, North York Arts hosted seven Indigenous talks about Treaty, the geography of North York, our responsibilities to Water and Land, and Indigenous Stewardship, Symbolism, and Art. This series was curated by Lindsey Lickers, and featured Jason Mercredi, Chyler Sewell & Daniel Rotsztain,Carolyn King, James Carpenter, & Raiden Levesque.

Inspired by these talks and teachings, community members and program participants were invited to come together to create a collaborative mural led and designed by lead artist Lindsey Lickers.

This piece depicts the Two Row Wampum, being restored in collaboration with the broader community, supported by the inclusion of participants’ visual responses to the truths shared within the Art Connects, I-Talks series. The wampum beads, stories, and commitments are framed by Lindsey’s stylized interpretation of spirit world above, with land and water below. Watch the mini-documentary below for a closer look into the creation of this project and mural.

Ongoing Indigenous Community Mural Space

Visit The Gibson House at 1572 Yonge Street throughout the years to see different community artworks on display in this space, designed and led by Indigenous Artists.