M'wikwedong Manitous

As a child growing up in Toronto and swimming in the waters of Georgian Bay, I was told there were water creatures within the Great Lakes. I was always warned to be careful when swimming because I had to respect the water world and those beings that lived within it. The image I have chosen to paint is based off of the stories I heard about sturgeons in those waters; the creatures are shapeshifting, between human and animal. It is an orb of energy, they are interconnected, ebbing and flowing together in the water-world. Recently my cousin told me that early settlers would often over fish those sturgeons to try and rid us of our sustenance, and get rid of the Natives of this area … a tactic to starve us off. I didn’t know this history, so this mural honours those creatures and spirits of the waters, and their endurance to survive.

About the Artist:
Cedar-Eve (she/her) is a visual artist currently based in Montreal. She is Anishinabae (Ojibway), from Saugeen First Nation and Wikwemikong Unceded Territory, but born and raised in Toronto. She graduated from Concordia University in 2012 from Studio Arts, where her focus was primarily on painting and drawing. For the last few years Cedar-Eve has had opportunities to teach beading to Cree youth in different communities within Eeyou Ischtee (Northern Quebec) during the school year. She creates beaded jewellery full-time, along with screen-printed clothing for her business, Cedar Eve Creations.

About Women Paint Riverside:
‘Women Paint Riverside: Currents of Change’ is a public art program about transformation, community, and our relationship to the Don River and Lake Ontario into which the Riverside community flows. Twenty+ murals that form this project add beauty and colour to the laneways in the Riverside community, celebrate our important relationship with water, and were created by women and gender diverse artists from various backgrounds. This project is a partnership between East End Arts, Women Paint, Native Women in the Arts, and the Riverside BIA. #WomenPaintRiverside

This project was made possible with funding support by StreetArt Toronto, Hullmark, Streetcar Developments, and the Riverside BIA.

For more information on this mural visit:
https://eastendarts.ca/women-paint-riverside/