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NIIMAAMMA

JULIE
CURATORIAL
Public artworks for Winnipeg Foundation
and Forks Corporation,  2018



Niimaamaa sculpture, a word meaning “my mother” in Cree, Ojibwe and Metis. Created by artists KC Adams, Jaimie Isaace and Val Vint, made of steel, copper and core ten metal and standing at a massive 30-feet tall, Niimaamaa represents motherhood, Mother Earth and new beginnings. She has seven strands of hair, one for each of the seven sacred teachings of love, respect, courage, humility, honesty, wisdom and truth. She is pregnant, acting as a water carrier and her gaze is focused between the water and the sky; her copper dress represents prosperity and strength; she is water, land and stars; she is kneeling toward the sun, a motion that signals rebirth.

Acts of Compassion

Throughout Manitoba’s history there have been acts of kindness or exchanges with settlers and Indigenous people. The foundation of Manitoba as a province was built on these exchanges and intermixing that created a new nation of people the Metis. The grounding principals of Manitobans are rooted in kindness, mutual respect, humility and love. Stories such as Indigenous people carrying settlers children across the province to a safer place, teaching traders and new comers how to survive in this harsh climate, marrying into each other families to create new generations of people are all acts of love and respect. The proposal of these public art works will be situated in the inspiration of these kinds of acts to build a strong foundation of Indigenous and settler relations into the future. It will inspire new generations of Manitobans, Indigenous people and new comers with these stories of compassion. Each artist has proposed stories of knowledge, cultural exchange and friendship as way forward to build relationships that will be strong and rooted in respect.histories that these acts represent. The proposal contains three new works by KC Adams, Jaimie Isaac and Val Vlint that will inspire new generations and at the same time create connections for past Manitobans. Each of these projects are examples of public art concepts which would be further explored if the proposal successful. Each work would have a storyboard or plague with the story of each of the work to have this knowledge shared with the public. This project could be timed perfectly with the Manitoba 150 year anniversary to launch this project. Three new public artworks for the Forks in Winnipeg.

Public art works for Winnipeg Foundation and Forks Corporation with artists KC Adams, Jaimie Isaac, Val Vlint.  






GLAM Collective
(Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums)