I’m writing to you today about my great, lovely and wonderful artistic experience – linking the relationship of art to form awareness to important issues that concern us. Issues such as our relationship with our surrounding environment.

On July 6th, I was invited to attend a workshop hosted by the River Institute with the Artist Christine Fitzgerald to create a workshop which will assist her in creating an art piece on the Great River Rapport ecological indicators.

The Art piece that she is working on will be composed of multiple cyanotypes (photographic printing method that reacts to light). Those who participate will have the chance to create some themselves using materials that reflect the ecological indicators. The art piece will be featured in multiple locations across Canada in the lead up to the IMPAC5 Conference in Vancouver in February 2023 . In the workshop I learnt a new technique using fish, plants, wildlife and all that mother nature is offering to us. We learned about cyanotype, a photographic practice that utilizes light sensitive paper to produce beautiful white on blue silhouettes. It was very important to link information about the health of the river and the relationship of fish to the water that we all live around. We created individual pieces, but if we put them together, they become a beautiful collage. Personally, I advocate linking art to the formation of collective consciousness – I may forget information about the river and numbers – but I will never forget how happy I was to create a piece of art related to the river, to the plants and to the fish. The art pieces made at this workshop will be featured in multiple locations across Canada!

The event was sponsored by Ocean Week Canada – Semaine de l’océan Canada. Thank you, Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, Great River Rapport team and of course our participants for making this a great event. Leigh McGaughey, the project lead, Yanik, project coordinator Bailey Ruest, research assistant and everyone who came and participated in this special event