Two-Spirit mural brightens Montreal

In the heart of Hochelaga, in Montreal’s east end, splashes of neon colour consume the side of an otherwise grey residential building. Shades of turquoise, pink, blue, and green are encircled in orange and yellow, forming the shape of three abstract faces, the bottom one featuring an open third eye.

The piece is called 2-Spirit Symbiosis and aims to make visible the vibrant Two-Spirit identities that exist in communities across Turtle Island.

“Painting to me is so personal, that’s my spirit and energy on that surface,” said Cedar-Eve, the mural’s artist, who is Ojibwe from Saugeen First Nation.

Cedar-Eve said they were inspired by the idea of “shape-shifting creature-beings,” drawing on stories they heard growing up of how people are all made of energy that is always evolving and growing. They said they let that energy guide them through the piece, rather than meticulously planning every detail.

“When I’m painting, I sometimes feel like a vessel, because I’m doing it intuitively, and I’m not realizing what’s coming out in the moment,” they said, adding that their use of vibrant colours comes naturally to their work.

“I think painting is very therapeutic, I think colour is healing, and colour has the power to change a space and just bring in good vibes.”

The mural was made possible thanks to a collaboration between Mikana, a Montreal-based non-profit that works to raise awareness about the realities faced by Indigenous people, and a Two-Spirit advisory committee. The project was also supported by arts organization MU, which creates murals around the city, as well as the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal, who both provided financial support for the piece.

Widia Larivière, co-founder and executive director of Mikana, said the collaboration was years in the making, and the team wanted to make sure they took their time to get it right.

“We were talking about ideas for projects that could raise awareness other than just activities and educational tools, and then this idea came up and this opportunity with the City of Montreal to make a mural,” she said. “We thought that art is also a good way to raise awareness, and everybody was thrilled. We’re really excited, and we’re really proud.”

Though the mural itself was completed last September, it was decided that the piece would be officially inaugurated last Wednesday, in part to acknowledge the month of June being both Pride Month and Indigenous History Month.

The inauguration was opened and closed by Kahnawa’kehró:non Sedalia Kawennotas Fazio. She said it was particularly encouraging to see opportunities like this be taken up by Indigenous youth.

“I love it. Our youth need to get their self-esteem back, that’s what hurts a lot of our youth. We’ve got so many suicides, so many youths running away or living on the streets, and when youth are involved in things like this, it gives them their self-esteem back,” she said.

She said that she could see a lot of transformative feelings within the mural, including a sense of pain and hurt that melts into hope.

“You look at the top, you can see the sadness, you see the hurt, you see the pain, and then as you come down, you see that face with that third eye, and it’s starting to realize and understand that ‘Yeah, I am worth something,’” she said.

Alia Hassan-Cournol, a city councillor in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough was at the inauguration on behalf of the City of Montreal.

“I’m proud that we’re marking the territory through its stories its diversity, its perspectives,” said Hassan-Cournol.

“It’s not just art, it’s an inscription of history and a perspective that we don’t hear enough about, and it’s really great.”

Seeing the piece come to fruition was especially meaningful for Dayna Danger, a Métis visual artist who was part of the Two-Spirit advisory committee.

“This was something we had asked for in terms of representation for us and our community, and to actually see it visibly here, being honoured the way that it is, is kind of mind-blowing,” they said.

“There is a Two-Spirit visual art culture that’s here and thriving, and I think it’s really important that it’s amplified to this magnitude.”

They said that the mural makes them feel seen as a Two-Spirit person living in Tiohtià:ke.

“To have a mural, in the east end of so-called Montreal, here in Tiohtià:ke is really important and impactful. I don’t know how many people even know that we have so many amazing Two-Spirit artists here,” they said. “To be able to give this opportunity to other Two-Spirit people is what we’ve always dreamed of.”

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